Today's Top Tune

How about a little country twang from Waxahatchee, who shares an outtake from her 2024 album Tigers Blood? From a gifted storyteller with a fluid style, “Mud,” is a song you’ll hear if you are lucky enough to catch her on the road with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Iron & Wine. 

Nigeria-born, UK-based Obongjayer reflects on a surprising theme which you wouldn't guess when you hear the beat of “Just My Luck.” 

“Up All Night” mega-hit co-auteur James Bay is back with a new banger for you! This time, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist teams up with five-time Grammy Award-winning beam of light Jon Batiste for  heartfelt inspiration via “Sunshine In The Room.” 

These days, we all want to be swaddled and soothed so we’re turning to the Greek artist Σtella. Her new song “Adagio” is a sonic warm blanket replete with nylon-string guitars, lilting percussion, and kaleidoscopic keys; it’s the precursor and the title track to her forthcoming album, due this spring. 

Pacific Palisades-based electronic duo Pyramid32x met online in 2022 and communicated their musical thoughts through recordings and improvisations. The pair bonded over a shared gear-head ethos and love of industrial, techno, trance, and acid house. Their debut song, “MTN WZRD,” was recorded before the fires. It feels especially poignant now as it’s about the mountains in the Palisades where one of them lost their home. 

This Valentine’s Day we are excited to share Café Tacvba’s Emmanuel “Meme” del Real’s long-awaited solo project. While having produced for many great artists including Julieta Venegas, Natalia LaFourcade, and Los Bunkers, it is finally time for del Real to be in the limelight. “Princesa,” an epic and almost ironic scorcher, echoes the romantic ballads of the ‘70s. A full album is due out this Spring. 

Brooklyn-based Alsarah & the Nubatones were formed out of many conversations around modern migration and the cultural exchanges between Sudan and Egypt (plus a common love of the pentatonic scale). Their third full studio album Seasons of the Road has been five years in the making and marked by perilous milestones. “Bye Bye” is one of the first songs they’ve written in English — a break up song written in the tradition of the blues. 

One night, Canadian artist Leif Vollebekk dreamt that Jeff Buckley taught him a song in a Manhattan rehearsal space. Vollebekk watched Buckley’s hand on the fretboard of his guitar as he followed along. Vollebekk felt like he was in heaven, as their falsettos rang out. When he woke up, he wondered which Buckley song that might have been. He quickly realized that it was “Rock and Roll,” his own new song. 

Belgian outfit Black Flower has created a song around the parable of the monkey. It is said that a trap is set in a hole in a tree and hidden within is an enticing prize for the primate. The monkey takes it, but as danger approaches he refuses to let go and gets his fist stuck in the hole. The monkey finds himself in a bind, trapped by clinging to desires that hold us back. “Monkey System,” which features Ethio-Belgian troubadour Meskerem Mees, helps us learn an important lesson. 

Lonnie Holley faithfully follows his heart by making art and music out of hardship, curiosity, and biological necessity. His practice is by no means typical as he does not work out of a studio, but improvises on the spot. Each performance unfolds organically and speaks to his evolving experimentation. Holley’s new album, Tonky, is set for release on March 21 and features “Protest With Love.”