Every week, we highlight some of our favorite releases in a handy list. Although we try to cover as much new music as possible, there are so many stellar releases to talk about. Consider this our genre-diverse guide to songs we have on repeat.
Follow our playlist featuring these tracks and more on Spotify or Apple Music.
Just like perreo super heroes, Mula have returned at the height of summer, precisely when we need them most. The Dominican trio’s first new single since last year’s banger-filled Aguas LP is a sensual dancehall siren’s call beckoning fans to dance pegaito late into the sweaty Caribbean night. –Richard Villegas
Electronic outfits MOÜGLI and MNKYBSNSS have many things in common: they’re Colombian, they’re both duos, they love all caps names and now, they’ve collaborated on a new track. For their new single “11:11,” MOÜGLI let their naturalistic sound get soaked in MNKYBSNSS’ chic dance floor glitz, making up a new after-hours anthem that will buzz in your head the next day together with a hangover. –Cheky
Washington Heights native Rubby has dropped a new track called “Unlovable,” laying his silky R&B vocals over an incandescent perreo beat produced by dance floor mastermind Ynfynyt Scroll. “Unlovable” is an impassioned – and at times frustrated – plea from Rubby to his new flame to get over his ex and embrace the possibilities of new love; a profoundly relatable emotional obstacle that ends many relationships before they even begin. –Richard Villegas
After a prolonged silence, elusive Mexican artist and former Porter frontman Juan Son has now emerged as a loving guru and we’re feeling it. His new electro-pop single “Siento” irradiates a warm light we can all tap into when we’re feeling down. The message conveyed through his high-pitched voice is plain and simple: we are loved everywhere. We just have to believe it. -Cheky
When pure psychedelic music hits you, there is joy amongst the disorientation; it’s pop music that threatens to break at any moment but stands secure in the air. With “Waterfalls,” Chile’s The Holydrug Couple demonstrate that they can make a single song sound like three playing in different tabs of your browser at the same time – and yet, it all holds together perfectly, thanks to their use of delicate sounds and irresistible melodies. –Marcos Hassan
https://soundcloud.com/chaboila/sets/dembow-cumbia-reggaeton
The LA crew Late Night Laggers’ Chaboi adds his skills to this summer’s chorus of remixes and reworks calling for Keke’s return. If she’s still holding out on love after this dancehall-dembow monster, it may be time for us all to move on. -Caitlin Donohue
In which the goth queen of the Tijuana experimental music scene decides she wants to be the dancing queen of the Tijuana experimental music scene. While the beat says “let’s party,” the synths appeal to a nostalgic sentiment that recalls both a lost childhood and your days downloading mp3s from blogs. Few can pack so much in to such minimalistic music. –Marcos Hassan
“Picos” exceeds the one minute mark by two seconds, nothing surprising if you’ve delved into the Mexico City-based power trio’s discography so far, but even if it’s a (very) fast track, it’s not a sprint. The song takes it sweet time to develop a musical narrative within the tight drumming, distorted riffs, and desperate vocals. –Marcos Hassan
Mexico City-based producer Marco Polo Gutiérrez has mastered multi-genre electronic expression of cross border cogitation and this track (off his first NAAFI release in two years) sees Siete Catorce tapping out a careful tribal-inflected missive that ultimately leaves the listener alone to re-center, guided by the beat of a surrogate heart. -Caitlin Donohue
Young Tender have risen through the ranks of Mexico’s competitive indie music scene with cinematic songs that call to mind the angst and romance of teen films from the 80s. “Tokyo,” the band’s latest single, laments a scrapped fantasy visit to the Japanese capital – a classic tale of overzealous promises dashed by heartbreak. “Tokyo” is one of the most polished efforts by the Monterrey heartthrobs to date, building on the DIY aesthetics that made them local indie favorites and investing in rich production that points towards pop greatness. –Richard Villegas
With a mix of dancehall, Afrobeats, and Afro-Caribbean percussion, a stellar and diverse cast of Cuban artists send us a blast of cool breeze all the way from the island in the form of a track called “Cubanéatelo.” Niño Fony, Sigrid, Luz de Cuba, El Individuo, and DJ Lapiz joined forces to create this carefree summer anthem to remind us life is nothing without joy. -Cheky
Montebello, CA producer Katzù Oso just dropped his debut mixtape Pastel, and it’s an injection of hopeless romanticism into this troubled world of ours. The song “Coqueta” is a bilingual indie pop courtship that’s making us blush in English and Spanish. He asks his crush to give him all her love, to whom we say: girl, don’t think twice about it. -Cheky