Today's Top Tune

For “Silver Bullet,” The South Hill Experiment employed pitched seismometer waves and twelve-story-stairwell tracked vocals alongside their guitars to provide a sense of scale. You may not be aware of the layering you are hearing because the lyrics provide a mantra you might find yourself repeating: “I think I’m getting older/I think I’m getting over it.” And that seems to be their intention. 

Earlier this year, KCRW’s Young Creators Project invited undiscovered musical talent in the greater Los Angeles area to share their work. We got a couple hundred submissions and then had the hard task of narrowing it down to five finalists. One of those finalists was/is the talented jazz pianist and Crenshaw-native Veritus Miller. And now we get to share Miller’s latest composition “The In Between.” It’s a languid, meditative piece equally alluring to the jazz novice and the jazz cat. 

As we await the arrival of Franz Ferdinand’s new studio recording The Human Fear – slated for release in early 2025 – we wind back the clock to 2004. At that time the Scottish band was just breaking through in the U.S. and they chose to make their radio debut on Morning Becomes Eclectic.  

SoCal musical polymath Cameron Lew has an alluring way of pulling you inside his work as Ginger Root. His homespun sound, informed by his Asian-American roots, also leans into his love of music from the ‘70s and ‘80s: from Japanese and French pop, to Philly soul. 

The title of his third album SHINBANGUMI translates from Japanese to ‘a new season of a show,’ and it features a very appropriate track for today — “Better Than Monday.” 

Feeling restless? Austin-based duo Warm Sound are back with a new song today — just in time for the full moon(!). This new phase sees them emerging from their downtempo, electronic psychedelia into a more optimistic register. Warm Sound offers a message of resilience, self-love, and emotional buoyancy on “Moons.”

Labyrinthian electronics, organic live instrumentation and sublime vocals are the ingredients that make up Maribou State’s “Otherside” — a track which also features their long-time collaborator, singer Holly Walker.  Their new/next long-player will come early in 2025, and will celebrate their influences from jungle, UK garage, IDM, and trance … to everything in between. 

Share the joy of “Three Piece Suit” from the London-based, eight piece collective Kokoroko. The group comes to us with worldbuilding sonic capabilities, sublime talent, and a vision to unite the African continent and its diaspora with us today! P.S. This track features vocals from singer-songwriter (and Massive Attack collaborator) Azekel.

French neo-psych outfit La Femme have the unique distinction of being one of the few bands to present an entirely live show, i.e. one that’s free from computers or pre-recorded backing tracks, when they are on stage. What this means is that when they are live, you are hearing the present moment. Tap into the hypnotic energy fueling the song “Amazing.” 

Alt-rocking, Melbourne-based dream pop quartet Arbes (a play on trees in French), recently released their debut album Counterways. Jess Zanoni’s breathy vocals on “Full Sight” conjure the wistful embrace of Suzanne Vega. The mathematical and intricate guitar work of this track was the first to be written and built for the album, and it came about during their first full rehearsal welcoming new member, guitarist Ryan Basile, into the fold. 

Hometown hero Eddie Chacon, who you might know as half of the duo Charles & Eddie via their ‘90s mega-hit “Would I Lie To You,” is back with his second solo album for Stones Throw Records. Thirty years after the heyday of his pop success and on the heels of his 2023 LP Sundown, Chacon’s new album Lay Low is due on Jan. 31, 2025. As a bonus, it’s produced by one of our other favorite singers — Nick Hakim. “Empire” is a stunningly soulful track featuring the multi-talented LA staple John Carroll Kirby.