Hey! Did you know that there’s an entire aspect of KCRW music discovery that you might be missing out on? Fear not, because our 5 Songs to Hear This Week newsletter is now a weekly feature on our website. Watch this space for rundowns of the five songs that you need in your life immediately, curated by KCRW Music staff. Don’t want to wait for your latest taste of fresh tunes? Sign up for the Friday newsletter here, and always be the first to know.
Follow us on Spotify to keep up with our current obsessions, including 5 Songs to Hear This Week, Bent By Nature: Deirdre O'Donoghue and The Lost SNAP Archives (The Music), and our weekly sampler of KCRW’s Top 30 most played records.
Los Cojolites – “Son de Jazmín (Feat. Eugenia León)”
The Mexican state of Veracruz lines the southwestern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, pooling into the gentle curve of the coastline like so much tropical dew. This track from music workshop-turned-recording outfit Los Cojolitos reflects the region’s traditional sonero style through layered guitars, plucky percussion, and stunning vocals from famed Mexican singer Eugenia León. Moving, mournful, and grand, this track’s your escape perfecto from a long week of business-as-usual.
METZ – “Come On Down (Feat. Joe Talbot)”
Forks at the ready? We’ve got a hot one for your tall stack of punk rock pancakes. Canadian punk band METZ have been cooking up the goods, and sharing ‘em via god-tier indie label Sub Pop since the early 2010s. This latest banger places the distinctively raw voice and delivery style of IDLES frontman Joe Talbot into the band’s capable hands; the result is sweet, sweet mosh pit music. Just try to get through this one without violently drumming on your steering wheel. (Hint: you won’t.)
Dear Boy – “Swan Dives”
Weird vibes lately? Been in a bummer place, but ready to climb out? Let this track be the rope ladder unfurling down into your pit of despair — if you’ll only look up to see it. Shimmering with hopeful melodies, full-bodied production, poetic lyricism, and a bright, Britpop-influenced perspective, this shining single from LA indie outfit Dear Boy is the start to your inspired new chapter. Dive in!
Topaz Jones – “Black Tame”
We’re just getting hip to last year’s album and accompanying Sundance award-winning short film, “Don’T Go Tellin’ Your Momma”, from hip-hop artist Topaz Jones thanks to this big-love single. Featuring good-time, funk-friendly production and a chorus of joyful voices, Jones drops crisp, story-forward bars on themes of community strength, family dynamics, and lessons in trying to tame that straying eye. Click this one to teleport into the virtual cookout of your dreams and bask in Jones’ innate talent as a rapper — with the swag to match.
Dry Cleaning – “Gary Ashby”
UK outfit Dry Cleaning are the marvelously unexpected band that you’d get if you put art school-era Gang of Four rehearsals, a beat poetry night, and an adult puppet show into a meat grinder. We’ve been sold on their alt-rock riffs and deadpan delivery since last year’s debut, and this new single is just enough to tide us over till the next album, “Stumpwork,” drops next month. Oh Gary, tease me!
