We are living through an era where more music is available to us than ever – whether it be via social media, streaming or apps. But despite this wealth of options, it can be difficult to cut through the industry hype, the homogenizing algorithms, and find something new and exciting. In our weekly Nuevo Noise playlist, you’ll find some of our favorite releases of the week.
Follow our Nuevo Noise playlist featuring these tracks and more on Spotify.
UPDATE, July 16 at 11:30 a.m. ET: This post has been updated to accurately state Mula’s new album release date.
Ivonne Galáz – "Vanessa Guillén"
Vanessa Guillén’s remains were found earlier this month outside her Fort Hood military base. Authorities believe the United States army soldier was killed after telling her family that she was being harrassed by someone in her unit. The tragedy hit Rancho Humilde’s first woman artist signee Ivonne Galáz hard. On the track named after Guillén, Galáz lets pathos filter through her retelling of the story, which was released exclusively on Galáz’s Instagram page. –Caitlin Donohue
Mula - "Agua Que Quema"
Dominican indie darlings Mula have released a string of heart thumping singles over the past year. Their latest dance floor molotov “Agua Que Quema” comes with the exciting news that their third studio album Mundos will be released November 6. A sultry dancehall banger about a blossoming romance, “Agua Que Quema” glides through the impeccable storytelling of sisters Anabel and Cristabel Acevedo. Producer Rachel Rojas maintains a relentless slow-grinding beat that at times veers into trap, dubstep, and tambora breakdowns that always keep us guessing. –Richard Villegas
Paola Navarrete - “Única”
Ecuadorian artist Paola Navarrete created her new single “Única” in a matter of minutes during her first studio session with producer Ivis Flies. As the words flowed, a love letter to her boyfriend quickly took form. “Única” is a gorgeous pop song with a Caribbean-tinted beat, where Navarrete caresses our ears with tender words about a love so beautiful it makes you feel unique. –Cheky
Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba - "El Valle"
Like mad scientists of rock’s highest order, Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba have figured out a way to stir familiar musical elements into something exciting and unique. Mixing up cantaor flamenco vocals with Eastern-influenced psych riffs and some of the hardest drumming this side of your worn Led Zep records, this Sevilla, Spain band surely makes quite a first impression. “El Valle” tosses in heavy stoner riffing that will have true rock believers head-banging, smiling, and scratching their heads at the same time. –Marcos Hassan
Hiran - "Galinheiro"
Brazilian rapper Hiran just dropped a stellar new album titled Galinheiro, which features an evocative melange of trap, club, R&B, baile funk, and any other rhythm that crossed his mind and ears during the recording process. Featuring an all-star cast of collaborators, including Majur and Tom Veloso, the title track is a bass-heavy baile funk jam with a nursery rhyme hook designed to get stuck in your eardrums for days to come. –Richard Villegas
Gera MX, Santa Fe Klan, Neto Peña - "Siempre High"
This flat chorus from a lineup of Mexico’s hip-hop luminaries perfectly mimics the vibes of a heavily medicated afternoon. Santa Fe Klan and Neto Peña of the Alzada crew link with Gera MX for a stoner’s day out, accompanied by a bright and bouncing animated video. –Caitlin Donohue
Pedropiedra - "En Llamas" (Sokio Remix) feat. Angelica Negrón
Pedropiedra has been an influential act from Chilean indie scene for over a decade. Like clockwork, his new album Aló! arrived at the top of 2020, thrilling legions of fans with a freshly updated sound of low-key reggaeton beats, processed percussion, and funky arrangements. Swooping in with a delightful summer-y remix of album closer “En Llamas,” producer and New Latin Wave co-founder Sokio transforms the sullen ballad into a heartfelt duet by enlisting composer and Balún frontwoman Angelica Negrón. She revamps the track that might have been overlooked as a bookend into a captivating centerpiece. –Richard Villegas
Cocó Cecé - "Dame"
Following “Tamaño Nuclear,” Cocó Cecé has now released the second single from her upcoming debut album, and it’s a refreshing piece of quirky pop. “Dame” reflects Cocó Cecé’s trip to New York City, her first outside Mexico, as she sings about wanting to let go of fear and self-doubt and simply get lost in the city night, absorbing whatever it brings. –Cheky
Mabe Fratti - "Alguien Detrás De Mi"
Not satisfied with releasing a full-length, that has been gathering a cult following worldwide, and recent collaborative effort, singer-experimentalist Mabe Fratti continues to share her rapturous music with the world. “Alguien Detrás De Mi” uses cyclical vocal hooks like mantras that get lifted to the heavens thanks to cello, electronics, and distortion. At times unsettling and at times uplifting, this track shows the Mexico City (by way of Guatemala) musician pushing the envelope and plucking at our heartstrings with equal amounts of passion. –Marcos Hassan
Los Llamarada - "I Don't Know Where I'm Going"
Flourishing in the late 2000s Monterrey, Mexico scene, psych noise band Los Llamarada made three fantastic cult classic records before sitting out most of the next decade. They left a space only they could fill. Now in 2020, they have announced their return with “I Don’t Know Where I’m Going,” a track that wastes no time in giving us evidence of their brilliance. It’s propelled by a Stooges-worthy riff and constant descents into dissonance and chaos through keyboards and erratic vocals. We’re so glad these weirdos are back. -Marcos Hassan
Something Obscura - "Human Torch"
“Human Torch” is an inspiring, goth elegy from one of the most important bands to come out of the current dark scene in Perú. In their short years together, Something Obscura have made their mark by remaining close to the classic goth sound along with their own flavor, an aesthetic that is full of despair and elegant morbidity. The song exploits a simple acoustic strumming along to the netherworld, setting the tone for a journey into desolation, beauty, and melancholy for your entertainment. –Marcos Hassan
Terror/Cactus - "Yarará"
The Seattle producer turns in a flowing collection of electronic journeys on the Confluencia album. “Yarará” pairs trippy desert strings with a carefully-plotted digital rhythm. –Caitlin Donohue
Turning Torso - “Glide”
Mexican electronic music producer David Sanchez just dropped Apex, his latest album under his Turning Torso moniker, and it’s another step forward in his dazzling experimental techno trajectory. Second on the tracklist is “Glide,” and it could either reference the airy synths that populate the propulsive jam or what we do with our bodies when we play the song in our living room with the lights off. –Cheky
Memory Leak - "Gravedad"
After releasing their dreamy 2018 EP Graduate Into Nothing,, Tijuana/San Diego foursome Memory Leak return with a brand new single titled “Gravedad,” which covers us with a heavy cloak made of haunting voices, thunderous drums, reverb, and distortion. The dark, puzzling lyrics talk about feeling the forces of loneliness and despair that pull hard like gravity, while trying to grab onto love as a lifesaver. –Cheky
Tony Money & Young Miky T.Y. - "Evangélicos de Calle" feat. Kaydy Cain
Mexico City rap duo Tony Money & Young Miky T.Y. have long been a staple of the perreo underground. For their latest heavenly single “Evangélicos de Calle,” they’ve tapped the patron saint of Spanish trap maleanteo Kaydy Cain. “Evangélicos de Calle” is an epic slice of sacrilegious glee. With malevolent production from Kabasaki, the track draws eerie parallels between the ostentatious swagger of reggaetoneros and fanatical preachers, also underscoring the many ways neither are saints. –Richard Villegas