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Nilüfer Yanya – “Like I Say (I runaway)”
Julia Roberts who? In her first release since 2022, singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya channels the runaway bride through this swoon-worthy alt-indie single. Lyrics about the preciousness of time encourage you to question every choice you’ve ever made while big fuzz guitars in the chorus bring your shuddering bones to ecstatic freedom. Fans of ‘90s legends like Aimee Mann, Smashing Pumpkins, and Fiona Apple will find a cozy home here. Run faster baby, there’s something better just over the horizon.
Dark Dazey – “Enemy”
You’re into music, so you’ve likely heard the discourse about the rock vertical going quiet. Enter Dark Dazey. Featuring statement guitar work, ominous white-rabbit lyrics, and a face-melting psychedelic bent courtesy of synth-keys that are shrill in a good way, this thrill-ride single and its psych-ward video is a wild trip encompassing the best bits from decades of rock history. And if you made it out to School Night on Monday, you saw ‘em bring the house down live. Don’t miss the next one!
Apifera – “Bazooka Zoo”
Ready to blast off? This track sounds like jazz put through a meat grinder coated in psilocybin. Delightful, challenging, and above all else — stimulating. This track is the score for your third-eye-opening interior journey. Apifera is made up of four accomplished musicians whose expertise shines through their insanely tight arrangements to bathe you in divine sonic light. Don’t be afraid, the experimental four-top comes to us from Stones Throw Records…trust in the ear of Peanut Butter Wolf and you shall find nirvana.
A Certain Ratio – “All Comes Down to This”
What is it about English post-punk that’s just so unmissable? Even those who are new to A Certain Ratio — veterans of the 80’s and 90’s iteration of the UK scene, in which they were known as ACR — will clock them as experts: vocals so confident as to be almost lackadaisical, one-two beat structure that’s energized yet sustainable, and moments of experimental discordancy to keep you double-taking. We slept on this single, which led an album of the same name released in January, but this track feels right to spin among the spring renewal energy hitting all over an allergy-laden LA.
YG Marley – “Praise Jah in The Moonlight (Live at Coachella 2024)”
One last gasp of Coachella content before Stagecoach, the country-music iteration of Goldenvoice’s world-renowned event, is fully struck after last weekend’s festival. And it’s YG Marley — you guessed it, a descendent of Bob, one of several native sons keeping reggae flowing all over the globe. But YG’s infused with talent from both sides… his mother is the one and only Lauryn Hill, who’s seen backing up her son in a truly killer outfit. Click play for a rousing live rendition of a Marley classic, and praise Jah with us. One love!
More: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ director Reinaldo Marcus Green earns the family’s blessing