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.”

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.”

A rolling drumbeat and solid tambourine punctuate Austin-based Charley Crockett’s twang on his slinging new country hit, “Lonesome Drift.” It’s a precursor to an album coming in March — co-produced with Shooter Jennings.

The title track to Salami Rose Joe Louis (aka Lindsay Olsen’s) new album “Arm fell asleep” came to her when she felt that familiar numbing feeling. “I was reflecting on a period in my life when I had lost agency in my life, forgot my strength, and ability to steer my ship to safety,” explains Olsen. “It is a terrifying thing to be so under the influence of hegemonic forces that a part of you falls asleep. In the final section of this song, the person emerges back on land, limbs awake, but despite their return to safety, they are pretty bedraggled and are freshly confronted with the complexity of reality. Their body is weak, [and] they are overwhelmed by social etiquette and how to heal in a fast paced, ruthless environment.”

With a new album on the horizon in August, Jack White sticks to his DIY roots by recording, producing, mixing, and pressing to vinyl his forthcoming album, No Name, at his Third Man Studio between 2023 - 2024. We’ll let Jack’s crunchy guitar, righteous licks, loving lyrics and band tear it down on “Archbishop Harold Holmes.” Jack White’s record-store-only release No Name took the world by storm in the summer of 2024. So much so that it was eventually shared with the public at large. The album sees White sticking to his DIY roots by recording, producing, mixing, and pressing it to vinyl at his Third Man studio from 2023-2024. So let’s make way now for Jack’s crunchy guitar, righteous licks, loving lyrics, and ferocious band to tear it down on “Archbishop Harold Holmes.”

A Nordic sibling duo to keep an ear on in 2025, ORA fills the airwaves with the sounds of the rivalries and harmony within families — a testament to the alchemy of their bond.

Last night, Jeremy Sole premiered a new track by Okonski. The project is led by Durand Jones & The Indications’ pianist and bandleader Steve Okonski, and features a couple of his bandmates — drummer Aaron Frazer and bassist Michael Montgomery. Tightly improvisational, we dig into the meditative “Dahlia.”

If you can believe it, it’s Friday once again! To celebrate the end of a tough month, let’s turn to revered British trio Jungle who set our hearts ablaze with “Keep Me Satisfied.” Nuff said.

What the world needs now is a little love and goodwill and that’s what you’ll hear when you spin Montreal-based Yves Jarvis’ new driving song “All Cylinders.” We believe you’ll find it to be in the style and warmth of Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach.

Let’s tap into the work of composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Serebii (aka Callum Mower) — a talented, jazzy crooner based in New Zealand. Here’s “Verrans Corner,” which AI says is a location in Auckland that includes character shops.

LA’s electronic OGs Bitter:Sweet are back with a magnetic new song; a preview of their forthcoming album scheduled to be released in the spring. “Baby Is Back” sends a strong message, letting us know that frontwoman Shana Halligan is fully in charge of their sound.

As we know, change isn’t easy — whether it’s going through puberty or adjusting to what life throws at you. LA-based trio Trousdale — Quinn D’Andrea, Georgia Greene, and Lauren Jones — address all of it head on with their ripping new track “Growing Pains.”

808s stay bumpin’ to the bone when LA artist, DJ, and producer TOKiMONSTA turns her attention to music making. With new album Eternal Reverie slated to drop on March 7,let’s spin the slick sound of “Feel It (Feat. grouptherapy.).”

Afrobeat superstar Seun Kuti teams up with Zambian singer, rapper, and songwriter Sampa the Great. Dedicated to uniting a panoply of voices across the African diaspora, Kuti lights up the airwaves with the powerful “Emi Aluta (Zamrock remix).”