13 New Songs You Need to Hear This Week

1

Clubz - "Cáile" ft. Buscabulla

After years of infectious singles, festival appearances, and starving fans with minimal output, Mexican duo Clubz have finally released their highly anticipated debut album Destellos. One of three collaborative songs on the record, “Caile” is a funky Caribbean bop featuring Buscabulla’s Raquel Berrios that takes Clubz’s retro-pop grandeur out of the stadium and onto a beachside cocktail party, radiating glamour and glitter with every pluck of the prominent bass. –Richard Villegas

2

Empress Of - "Love for Me"

3

Native Sun - "Big Succ (ess)"

Nowadays, slash-and-burn guitar solos and big rock choruses are more commonly heard when nostalgia acts play arena shows, but New York’s Native Sun makes them sound fresh and dangerous again. A cry against the injustices of our current reality, “Big Succ (ess)” will have you believe rock can still save the world. –Marcos Hassan

4

Kamerum - "Igboro"

With “Igboro,” Cuban artist and Ifá priest Kamerum pays tribute to the heated streets of Santiago de Cuba. The city has shaped him and his craft, so it’s only natural that he chose hip-hop, guaracha, and ragga to soundtrack this song. Between a heavy trap beat, faraway horn samples, and Afro-Cuban percussion, his words hit, half-rapped, half-chanted in Yoruba, and we get a real taste of his story. –Cheky

5

Juan Ingaramo – “Lo De Adentro”

Argentine indie pop singer Juan Ingaramo has been getting fans hot and bothered for months with a series of club-friendly singles lacing together trap, dembow, and R&B in the lead up to his forthcoming album, out in October. His latest release, “Lo De Adentro,” is a polished earworm about prioritizing what’s in someone’s heart versus what’s in their pants – but judging by his cheeky tone, he’ll likely try to get into both before the night is out. –Richard Villegas

6

Tatiana Hazel - "Sí o No"

In the first moments of “Sí o No,” Tatiana Hazel’s signature warble suddenly starts giving Shakira feelings. Chalk it up to the song’s bare guitar jangle and tambourines, but note the signs that Hazel is entering a richer vocal spread as the Chicago musician progresses in her career. –Caitlin Donohue

7

Elsa y Elmar - “Nadie Va”

It’s safe to say that with her new song “Nadie Va,” together with her last few singles, former Colombian folkster Elsa y Elmar has made a full transition into urbano. After taking a shot at pop-dembow and dancehall, she tackles the current strain of R&B/trap to sing about an old love she just can’t seem to shake off – one that’s better to keep as a distant dream. –Cheky

8

Branko - “Stand By” (ft. Umi Copper)

If there’s one producer who can warp celebratory genres like funk carioca and samba enough to do what he pleases with them, it’s Branko. “Stand By,” the second single off his upcoming Atlas follow-up, vibrates with rhythm, but Branko is more interested in moving us emotionally, with help from soulful vocals by L.A. newcomer Umi Cooper. By the end we can finally wipe our tears and let our bodies loose. –Cheky

9

Gaspar Peralta - “VII”

“VII” is a movement from Gaspar Peralta’s long-take album Entre el clamor a coro de las estrellas del alba. Peralta uses equal parts classical composition and electronic production to teleport us to a deserted place eroded by time, where ghostly sounds remind us of what was and never will be again. –Cheky

10

Dietscha Jung - “k royal con las de harina"

https://soundcloud.com/dietscha-jung/k-royal-con-las-de-harina?in=dietscha-jung/sets/hola

Dietscha Jung is the project of Mexican guitarist and producer Carlos Bergen Dyck, whose new album Hola is a whimsical and at-times absurd journey through his Mennonite background and ongoing battle with depression. Stand out track “k royal con las de harina” perfectly synthesizes the album’s sound, as well as Dyck’s sense of humor, colliding booming horns and fuzzed-out guitars in a track reminiscent of old-school hip-hop samples with a silly tortilla-inspired twist. –Richard Villegas

11

Kibi James - "Cada Día"

This week sucked, but luckily I had an ace in my sleeve – a two-song EP by this slick, self-described “all-girl rock group” from Atlanta. “Cada Día” is a languorous come-to-my-window kind of moment, a fanciful, self-assured proposition that can only be accepted. –Caitlin Donohue

12

De La Ghetto ft. Plan B - "Cogelo Pa' Ti"

The Puerto Rican rapero dropped his Mi Movimiento LP this week and one standout is this insistent dancefloor directive that features the beloved duo of Chencho and Maldy, in their loverboy element on an exuberantly electronic track. –Caitlin Donohue

13

Valdo Vinoz ft. Meny Mendez - “Agüita de Piña”

“Agüita de Piña,” Valdo Vinoz’s latest single on Mexican giants Worldwide Records, sounds as refreshing as its title promises, as it blends dembow riddims, cumbia, and tropical bass so smoothly it can surely quench anyone’s thirst. We might need a refill over here. –Cheky

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