120 songs, albums, videos submitted for review this week
To my readers. I have changed my schedule so that I have more time to listen and re-listen to the songs I recommend and write more about them. I hope you enjoy the longer reviews. I love writing them.
Crown of Roses, album by Patty Griffin. Patty Griffin’s Crown of Roses blends quiet resolve with lyrical reflection. Eight songs ranging from the snappy opening “Back at the Start” to the slow R&B feel “I Know a Way, ” to the mysterious finish “A Word,” her restrained production strips each song down to voice and melody and sometimes quirky beat.. She knows how to give space for tones that feel weathered and wise yet kind. The result is an album that feels handmade—intimate, steady, and rooted in a grace that comes after long seasons of change. Hypnotic and mesmerizing. Stream on Spotify and all major platforms.
Love & Hyperbole, album by Alessia Cara. Alessia Cara’s Love & Hyperbole radiates self-assured warmth, weaving R&B textures and pop melodies into a collection that feels both adventurous and intensely personal. Fourteen radio-ready songs, some standouts, some less so, but all produced with a creative flair that matches her varied lyrics and lyrical subjects. Each song reveals a new shade of emotion—from hesitant infatuation to calm reflection—tied together by Cara’s supple vocals and elegant restraint. The album embraces contrast rather than perfection, and that is its strength. Stream on Spotify and all major platforms.
Extranos de Nuevo (re0versi), single by Renee with Marco Mares. Renee and Marco Mares breathe new life into Extraños de Nuevo, turning its story into a soft harmony. The stripped-down arrangement gives the song a cinematic sadness, capturing that quiet moment when acceptance finally overcomes heartbreak, encapsulated in the finish. The steady, soft drum emphasizes her voice and makes it the kind of song you want to hit replay on. Stream on Spotify and all major platforms. Spanish.
El Verdgo, singe by iLe . El Verdugo unfolds like a smoky confession, her voice balancing vulnerability and strength as she reclaims power from a failed love. But the musical arrangement and her vocal tone also encourage visions of a table with tequila and amigas, a Mexican celebration of fun and friends. The arrangement is sparse but full—each rising chord pushing her toward a cathartic crescendo that turns heartbreak into defiance. A brilliant combination of catharsis and fellowship. Stream on major platforms. Spanish.
Un Pueblo Solo Y Cautivo single by Lissette. This song is so powerful. Un Pueblo Solo y Cautivo was written as a tribute to the Cuban people, their pain under repression and exile. The lyrics, adapted from the poetry of José Martí, mourn her homeland, but are a universal expression of spiritual and cultural endurance. Born in Peru of Cuban parents – themselves a singing duo – she was raised in Cuba, the US, and then Puerto Rico. She has seen a lot. Lissette gives voice to collective sorrow and endurance. The lyrics and orchestration evoke both personal heartbreak and national identity. Wow. Stream on all major platforms. Spanish.
Eclipse Total Del Amor single by Lissette. I don’t usually review two songs by the same artists, and hardly ever a song that is not new. But I stumbled onto this while listening to Un Pueblo Solo Y Cautivo. Lissette’s 1984 single “Eclipse Total del Amor” transforms Jim Steinman’s dramatic ballad into a Spanish-language torch song steeped in theatrical longing. Her soaring vocals and orchestral arrangement turn heartbreak into spectacle in a way that made the version an enduring Latin classic. I went back and listened to Bonnie Tyler’s original version, and frankly, I prefer this one. It grips me. Stream on Spotify and all major platforms. Spanish.
Banner photo: Alissa Cara
Patrick O’Heffernan
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