13 Songs You Need to Hear This Week

Chicago’s Kaina “Could Be A Curse” saved me from some nasty woes this week. How does she lend hope to bed rot? But she has made a meandering, wistful number featuring the moon, anxiety, and the Japanese flow tactics of Sen Morimoto. Thanks go out to this team. -Caitlin Donohue

The New York via Monterrey electronic music producer and perpetual highlight of the N.A.A.F.I. roster has proven to be a master alchemist of heavy techno beats and total ambiance, but for “Medicine,” she has changed course to experiment with electronic tribal guarachero in a minimalist setting. Debit is up for the challenge, and the result is some of the most intriguing deep listening dance floor burners, capable of sending you into a psychedelic trip by revealing the texture of the synthetic percussive instrumentation or make you go berzerk late into the rave, marrying the most sophisticated aspects of techno with the most primal. -Marcos Hassan

Canadian-Colombian singer Tei Shi is giving us a taste of her forthcoming sophomore album, scheduled to drop late this year, with “A Kiss Goodbye.” The honey-sweet bossa nova-referencing song makes us sway from side to side, as she reminds us in her breathy voice no one can teach us how to love and believe in ourselves but us. -Cheky

When it comes to feeling melancholic about hating mundane stuff like Sunday nights, and watching the rain outside, Niña Lobo has the perfect musical recipe for it. The Montevideo quintet channel the feeling of ennui with a slightly sneering twee pop take featuring energetic rhythms, layered guitar chords and a detached vocal performance that captures the range of emotions within the lyrics. When the music ramps up, there’s a moment of triumph as the protagonist spends a happy day laying in bed, achieving bedroom pop nirvana.

A slightly demented ode to love, this song is like a carnival game gone clunky, leaving you half wondering whether Josi Arias will unceremoniously dump you off before the gauzy pop tune concludes. -Caitlin Donohue

On “Na Fuga,” we jump into a car with MC Bin Laden and MC Buzzz (f.k.a. MC Buseta), with Florentino behind the wheel, as they burn rubber in a high-speed cruise down an empty highway. The grime-meets-funk carioca track has Bin Laden and Buzzz spitting rapid-fire verses, so make sure you hold on to your wigs before they fly out the window. -Cheky

Dreamy and restrained, Maria Usbeck’s latest single “Amor Anciano” perfectly sets the stage for her upcoming sophomore album Envejeciendo – a concept album exploring universal preoccupations with our aging minds and bodies. The song plays out like a memory of long lost lovers reuniting after what feels like centuries apart, striking a remarkably sober tone as she expertly tugs at the listener’s heart strings. -Richard Villegas

Despite — because of? — her divinity in the genre, Ivy Queen’s recent output hasn’t always been the gold that her fans know she’s capable of. Even if it’s not destined for the hall of fame, her latest single will delight acolytes of reggaeton’s long-time ruler who need their hit of aggressive Ivy Queen seduction. For “787”, she explains she plucked lyrics from reggaeton’s classic bangers, repurposing them for spitting at an unseen male object of affection. -Caitlin Donohue

There’s a new young lover in town, and we can just feel the air getting fresher. Megansito El Guapo’s “QQH” sounds so naïve it warms our hearts up; with an understated beat reminiscing of Miami bass, the Spanish artist finds a bittersweet sense of humor in the anxieties produced by relationships and couple’s expectations. He’s sad and wants to run away, but we’re rooting for him. -Cheky

One of the most inspiring creative evolutions in recent indie memory comes from Brooklyn-based Colombianos Salt Cathedral, who after years of hyper-cerebral releases began embracing the liberating rhythmic possibilities found across the Caribbean. In what feels like a full circle moment, their latest single “Muévelo” takes the duo to Panama, where channeling the undying resilience of El General has inspired the band’s first Spanish-language release as well as Nicolas Losada’s vocal debut. -Richard Villegas

Chihuahua is rapidly becoming Mexico’s folk music capital, and Sous-Sol further cements this blossoming DIY wave with his latest release, “Agua Con Chia.” Balancing boyish earnestness with laidback cool, the Magiobus-produced track sounds like a twee collision of Ed Maverick’s minimalist tales of heartbreak and Billie Eillish’s post-giving-a-fuck charm. -Richard Villegas

https://soundcloud.com/locamotives/cripi-ft-mula/s-foTwg?in=locamotives/sets/melcocha/s-EB5aM

Costa Rican rapper Macha Kiddo keeps delighting us with teasers off her upcoming debut EP Melcocha, this time teaming up with Dominican indie darlings Mula for a decadent, low-key reggaeton bop ready to spark a million perreo slow dances. -Richard Villegas

Akapellah imagines a day when Latin Americans fly direct to California sans visas – complete with enveloping cloud of kush. A more visionary future hasn’t been set forth since “If I Ruled The World,” honestly. Dezzy Hollow’s staccato flow is the perfect counterpoint to the Venezuelan emcee’s rich melody. -Caitlin Donohue