Art by Alan Lopez for Remezcla
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.
Florentino’s most coveted club bootlegs have been compiled by Mixpak in a vinyl-only release titled Contrabando, including a delicious flip of a traditional Colombian gaita titled “Colombian Flute.” On this track, a glimpse of folklore grows like a tiny plant through a crack in the asphalt in a grim, distant future. –Cheky
Cuco has reimagined his 2016 song “Amor de Siempre” as a sweet mariachi classic. The Chicano star’s laid-back vocals glide over acoustic guitars and brass horns, peppering some bold high notes throughout to turn his stoner-affected vocal style in a more traditional mariachi direction. The result is a delightfully earnest love song that will likely be requested at countless serenatas. –Richard Villegas
R&B renegades and twin brothers Vice Menta are back at it again after hustling their way into an EP last year and showing the world what they could do with harmonies and a few minimal beats. This time, they get a little more up-tempo on the bouncy “Granada,” a slick and slippery track en español with nods to their Mexican upbringing (“Vengo del norte, guey,” is the opening line.) While their last project La Wave was a collection of songs that boasted spacious production choices, “Granada” is a little fuller, front-loaded with the brothers’ vocal acrobatics. –Julyssa Lopez
Talisto is good at what he does, which is working a drifting sense of romance into cooled-down reimaginations of reggaeton. Here he gives a taste of his debut EP Síntesis Morena via a breathy joint effort with Dinamarca, surely a dream pairing. –Caitlin Donohue
Tajak, the Mexico City-based psych-rock quartet from Baja California, just dropped Ciclos, their latest full-length on Buh Records. Standout track “I’ve Seen It Fall” runs like the post-punk soundtrack to a high-speed car chase on a pitch-black road. They hit the gas with thunderous drums and distorted bass guitars, inducing vertigo for over three minutes. –Cheky
Afro-Peruvian crew Novalima struck an impressive balance between old world traditions and 21st century studio magic on their new album Ch’usay (“Journey” in Quechua). Standout track “Agua” calls to mind verdant landscapes while likening life to the ocean and a coursing river: vital, free-flowing, and unstoppable. –Richard Villegas
For their first song in Spanish, Mexico City’s twee pop MVPs recruited Jean Loup vocalist Emanuel Herrera to trade verses with bassist Yak Escandón to tackle a breakup. There are subtle changes to their typical sound, but they don’t get in the way of the feeling – yearning yet hopeful, driven in spite (or because) of heartbreak. Their songwriting chops remain flawless. –Marcos Hassan
As part of Inhabitant, the second long-form collaboration from Mexican sound experimentalist Concepción Huerta and techno maverick Turning Torso over the last year, the non-descript “1252044” brings heavy electronics to ambient music in an attention-demanding production. The screeching atmosphere becomes a cinematic and enveloping experience that doesn’t alienate the listener, but rather immerses them into a world unlike this one. –Marcos Hassan
There’s almost a sense of desperation to the Madrid garage rock lifers’ declaration of sincere feelings, but the snarl heard throughout this song can also be attributed to growing pains, as The Parrots affect something beyond punk abandon, with blues-inflected vocals in the verses and layered instrumentation marking an evolution for the devil-may-care band. –Marcos Hassan
Mystery fuels Colombia’s Prélude Noire, reflected in the lack of information available about who’s involved in the creation of the track and some aspects of their label, In Searching Death Records. But that only adds to the experience of listening to “All Of A Sudden.” A merciless trap beat propels the song, hard bars give it meaning, and jazzy trumpets form a soft bed for an off-kilter but satisfying banger. –Marcos Hassan
Brazilian drag queen Lia Clark has enlisted pop star Wanessa Camargo for a surprisingly political tecnobrega romp called “Bumbum No Ar.” The video casts both singers as spies trying to assassinate a homophobic, misogynistic politician, which reflects the anxieties Brazil is feeling nationwide ahead of their upcoming general election where far-right and borderline fascist candidate Jair Bolsonaro is leading in the polls. –Richard Villegas
Early Latin trap adopter Fuego and reggaeton OG Nicky Jam link up for some featherlight dembow balladry. Consider this the salve to your end-of-summer blues. –Isabelia Herrera
Brazilian producer DESAMPA told Remezcla that he channeled his feelings about immigration limitation into this textured baile funk summoning, aided by the searing source material of the evermore assured São Paulo vocalist Linn Da Quebrada and a healthy dose of ballroom inspiration. –Caitlin Donohue