Today's Top Tune

Kansas City-based Katie Crutchfield, best known as Waxahatchee , recently announced a new album Tigers Blood, dropping on March 22, plus a major North American tour this spring.

Slow-burning rocker Kurt Vile released an EP, Back to Moon Beach, late last year that clocks in at just under an hour. But as a prolific artist, it’s a way of sharing his relentless well of non-album tracks — a collection sourced from various sessions over the last four years, including a Wilco cover. A favorite is the melancholy “Another Great Year for the Roses.”

It’s no coincidence that Lebanese musician Ibrahim Maalouf snagged a Grammy nom for Best Global Music Performance this year with a track from his latest album, Capacity to Love. “Todos Colores,” or “All Colors” in English, transcends borders through Maalouf’s four-valve trumpeting and contributions from New Orleans royalty Tank & The Bangas’ rapidfire delivery, plus Cuban Cimafunk’s devilish rap in Spanish.

Let’s check in with one of the winners of KCRW’s Young Creators Project 2022 , Taty , a 19-year-old singer/songwriter who just released her first solo EP, Out Of My Hands, at the very end of 2023. Currently studying film composition at NYU, Taty still makes time to write, produce, and mix her intimate, pensive songs, like “Work It Out.”

Based in Madrid, psych-Krautrock band TUTUPATU share the first track from their forthcoming debut album, IV. To get in the right headspace to record, the band secured an underground location and set up a private studio, locking themselves in for a 72-hour recording session with their 32 tracks rolling non-stop. Lights dimmed, volume to 11 birthed “Tangerina,” one of the five tracks to be released on Valentine’s Day.

“I’m cousin to the world,” confesses Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. “I don’t feel like I’m a blood relation, but maybe I’m a cousin by marriage,” which is probably the idea that lead to the title of Wilco ’s latest studio album, Cousins. One of KCRW’s all time favorite bands, they have visited our studios a handful of times, and we’re excited that they return to our airwaves tomorrow for a full set of classic tracks and songs from their new album, including this beaute, “Meant To Be.”

Visionary artist Yussef Dayes released his debut solo studio album Black Classical Music in 2023. It’s a stunning collection of 19 compositions, anchored by Dayes’ on drums, Rocco Palladino on bass, plus a bevy of talented musicians. We gravitate toward the rich title track, featuring tasty solos by Venna on saxophone and Charlie Stacey on keys/synths. Prepare to fall in love with today’s jazz!

Having released a stand out album in 2023, Chronicles of a Diamond, Black Pumas are on the short list with a Grammy nomination in the Best Rock Performance category, and were among KCRW’s Top 30 Most Played Albums and Songs of 2023 . We can’t predict the future, but we can share a soulful track called “Ice Cream (Pay Phone)” with its hypnotic flavors mixed with rhythm and rhyme.

Jerome Matthews Jr. is a singer/songwriter and producer based in Chicago, and has had the distinction of contributing to Michelle Obama's compilation album. We’ll keep him on our radar, as he hasn’t released a debut album yet, but have fallen in love with his latest single, “just a thought (I love you).”

In honor of Dry January, let’s turn to a song about sobriety, written by Eric Hirshberg and featuring an artist close to our hearts, Aloe Blacc. “I Love Not Drinking” celebrates the joys of life sans alcohol, yet it’s not a song about addiction or getting clean. Take a moment to listen to beats created entirely from bartender sounds, clinking glasses, cocktail shakers, and the sound of ice cubes!