63 songs and albums submitted this week for review
Two new songs by Olivia Rodrigo landed in my mailbox this week. That reminded me that she has a huge following in Mexico. (she was born in California). Her first headline date in Mexico City last year sold out all 114,168 tickets, and she had to schedule a second sold-out concert because of the demand. So, given her cross-border popularity, I’m including both of her new songs this week.
Serena Joy, single by Olivia Rodrigo. You know this is going to be a protest song when you realize that the title references Serena Joy, a character in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Rodrigo uses that figure to address complicity: people who accept harm to others, or look away. It is almost dance-punk, with a 1980s-inflected post-punk driving beat, but it is, in its way, constrained – the arrangement is rock and catchy, but the vocals have a cool, controlled bite instead of turning the song into a grand protest anthem. Stream everywhere.
Stupid Song, single by Olivia Rodrio. The Rodrio we all know and love. A pop-rock and synth-rock single, exactly in her wheelhouse. It’s a giddy, irrational rush with rising excitement and a hypnotic hook. This is aimed at a stadium audience who you know will be singing You’re a spark in the dark/And my clothes are caught aflame at the top of their lungs. Released as the third single from You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, it pairs piano-led verses with a guitar-and-synth-driven chorus that reaches a head-shaking, gut-grabbing crescendo. Love it. Stream everywhere.
¿Cuál Es La Razón?, single by David Byrne, Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican Institute of Sound. How much more cross-border can you get than this collab? A cumbia-driven remake of Byrne’s “What Is the Reason for It?” from his 2025 album Who Is the Sky? The new version pairs Byrne with Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade and producer Camilo Lara’s Mexican Institute of Sound together using new Spanish verses along with the English. The Mexican Institute of Sound (one of my favorite bands) shifts the original’s art-pop sound into a cumbia pulse groove with conversational interplay between Byrne and Lafourcade. Brilliant songwriting, arranging, producing – and fun. Spanish-English. Stream everywhere.
Ola de Amor, single by Emilia Bordone, Madame Recamier. The Chilean-Mexican duo brings us a warm, bachata-pop song built around tenderness rather than the heartbreak of pop popularity. They perfectly complement each other with gentle syncopation and an intimate guitar-centered pulse. Borlone’s light delivery and Madame Récamier’s indie-pop feel: each singer brings a slightly different texture to the song. But they blend so well. It feels like a sunny Saturday afternoon by the pool. Spanish. Stream everywhere.
Maiz, single by Gina Chavez. Not a new song -it’s from her 2024 album Uprooted, but it seems timely. Maíz is “corn” in Spanish, and the song tells a metaphorical story about the NAFTA treaty that allowed subsidized American corn into Mexico, putting tens of thousands of small farmers out of business, who then migrated to the U.S. to earn money for their families in Mexico – and who are now being deported. The song uses corn—and its deep roots—as a metaphor for Mexican and Indigenous identity, endurance, and the pain of displacement. Aside from its message, which is understated, I think that Chavez’s delivery (who is American) makes us feel the pain of torn-apart families and the loss of Mexico’s universal staple crop. Stream on major platforms.
Marigolds, single by Andrea Bejar. Gentle, hypnotic, beautiful. A bittersweet reflection on growing up—it is heavy with nostalgia, and the realization that places and relationships cannot remain exactly as they were. The marigold image gives it a gentle seasonal symbolism: warmth, memory, and beauty alongside the acceptance of transition. It also underscores her connection to her birth country, Mexico; in Día de los Muertos, Mexican marigolds—called cempasúchil—are traditionally used on graves and ofrendas as a path for the ancestors to return to the present and their loved ones. This one sneaks into your heart. Stream on Spotify and major platform. Spanish.
Patrick O’Heffernan
Banner: scene fro David Byrne’s colab video. ¿Cuál Es La Razón?,
