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 – from the most exciting new names in urbano to the burgeoning SoCal neo-Chicano soul wave and everything in between.
Consider this your genre-diverse guide to the most exciting releases from rising Latinx artists each week. Follow our Nuevo Noise playlist featuring these tracks and more on Spotify or Apple Music.
1
Alvaro Diaz & Papi Sousa - "Uwi"
One of those songs you’re going to be yelling out the window of a cab in 3 … 2 … 1. The Puerto Rican rappers team up on a playfully exultant trap siren call. -Caitlin Donohue
2
Cachorra & Charly G - "Vamos a Hacerlo"
In Mexico, a wave of young women in reggaeton are getting their start, from Alzada’s Yoss Bones, to emcees Dylan Jesse and Baby Boss. Vocalist, DJ and CyberWitches crew events promoter Cachorra has just recently started sharing her luxe voice with the public — she previously paired with Neoperreo’s Tech GRL and Lester Ray for the shameless single, “Beso de 3.” Here she teams with CDMX rapera Charly Gynn for “Vamos a Hacerlo,” a steamy perreo ride. -Caitlin Donohue
3
Los Plastics Revolution - "Superego"
Los Plastics Revolution spent their 2019 perfecting their pop skills and taming their psychedelic sensibilities with an impressive string of singles, and now they’ve shared one last song to cap the year off. “Superego” is a feel-good track where singer Juls Gudiño imagines getting so involved in a relationship that he and his lover become one. While it might sound scary at first, he’s ready to embrace it head-first. -Cheky
4
Velvet Hallucinations & The Furry Animals - "Artes Marciales"
The appropriately named Uruguayan band takes a bit of the drug-haze of Velvet Underground ballads, the molly-afflicted tenderness of Super Furry Animals and the noisy warmth of the Flaming Lips to make comfortable acid pop. While their name might be too on the nose, their music evokes feelings that transcend whatever preconception of what this should sound like to deliver something lovely and sedative. It’s perfectly produced and composed music to bliss out to. -Marcos Hassan
5
Linda Guilala - "Será Más Fácil"
The third and last single of a trilogy released by Galician trio Linda Guilala this year is a double A-side that includes the gorgeous “Será Más Fácil.” Linda Guilala built the song using their shoegaze and dream-pop references, with lyrics that consider forgetting and letting go as a healthier way of living than being stuck in the past. -Cheky
6
Cariño - "X Navidad"
If you’re not feeling the Christmas spirit just yet, maybe a power-pop suicide pact will do the trick. “X Navidad,” the latest single from Spanish trio Cariño, is a darkly humorous letter to Santa Claus drafted with wavy synths, guitar power chords and beautiful harmonies, all pleading for a gift you can’t exactly fit in a stocking. -Richard Villegas
7
Florentino - "Na Fuga" (ft. MC Bin Laden & MC Buzzz) (Kelman Durán Remix)
Kelman Durán grabbed one of the hottest tracks released in 2019 and made it bigger by stripping it down. His remix of “Na Fuga,” originally Florentino’s collaboration with MC Bin Laden and MC Buzzz, barely features both rappers’ vocals, a skeletal beat and little more, yet it’s still fast and intense. The “Na Fuga” remix is ready to put you in a cannon and fire you into the New Year dancing. -Cheky
8
Lizbeth Román - "Nana Para el Llanto"
Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Lizbeth Román has delivered a final nugget of 2019 poetry with “Nana Para el Llanto,” a stunning musical embrace that invites the listener to cry their eyes out as a means to much-needed catharsis. As another year rife with tumultuous social change and ever darker headlines comes to an end, emotions continue to run high, and Román’s guitar strumming and delicate cooing make it more than OK to let it all out. Hers is a song of comfort and solace, content with looking an uncertain future in the eye and letting the cards fall where they may. -Richard Villegas
9
Robotica Fury - "Only Hope"
San Diego’s Robotica Fury’s brand of pop music is quiet and intimate, ripe for introspective thoughts and confessions of love made telepathically to a person of their affection. “Only Hope” features digital production that throws it bag to the Reagan era with blinking synths that motion the song to step with a firm pace towards a safe place, and Edna Lugo’s voice reflects coolness in the face of overtly emotional situation, becoming a whisper of subconscious desire to bring a wintery banger for all the lonely souls out there. -Marcos Hassan
10
E.N.V.E.S. - "Suelta"
Guadalajara-based duo E.N.V.E.S. are one of the best-kept secrets of Mexico’s thriving R&B scene. Their new single “Suelta” steps away from the moody vocal runs dominating this rising R&B wave and dives into a much more danceable pop production. The song is whimsical as hell, literally encouraging us to let life take the wheel, conjuring plenty of Nelly Furtado vibes in the process. -Richard Villegas