Best New Tracks

5) Wisp – If Not Winter (2025)

San Francisco based shoegaze artist Wisp is back with her debut album. In 2023 her single “Your Face” gained immense popularity on Tiktok which got the artist a large fan base from the start of her career. She began touring and playing at festivals where her light and breathy vocals contrasting with her guitar’s wall of sound captivated audiences.

This week’s highlighted track, “Black swan” is full of rough-textured guitars with sickly sweet vocals.

4) Lucy Gooch – Desert Window

Desert Window is filled with ambient, experimental pop flowing from Bristol, UK, courtesy of artist Lucy Gooch. Her musical journey began with her debut EP “Rushing” in 2020. With atmospheric vocals and hazy vibes, her soprano voice fits perfectly into the jazz-pop world. This most recent debut LP “Desert Window” features a wide swath of instrumental textures, including synthesizers, cellos, saxophones, cornets, and strings.

This week’s chosen track, “Keep Pulling Me In” is shimmering with compelling layered vocals and a pop beat.

3) Spacey Jane – If That Makes Sense

This indie-rock band comes from Australia to bring us their third studio album. The band came together when high school friends started playing as many local shows as they could, sometimes twice a night, and playing backyard shows to crowds of 300 people. Lately, to promote their latest release, the band headlines Triple J’s One Night Stand festival in Western Australia.

This week’s selected track, “Through My Teeth” is harmonious and layered, utilizing backing vocals that echo the verses throughout.

2) Sextile – yes, please. (2025)

LA-based duo Sextile formed a decade ago and consists of Brady Keehn and Melissa Scaduto. The formational duo has since spent their four studio albums exploring the bounds of post-punk and electronic dance with the addition of bandmembers throughout the years. Their dramatic style is inspired by the no wave movement, along with 90s electronic body music (EBM) which is characterized as more industrial and synth punk than traditional EDM.

This week’s highlighted track, “Kiss” is hyper-danceable with laid-back post-punk delivery.

1) Geese – Getting Killed (2025)

This Brooklyn based rock band formed in 2016 and consists of Cameron Winter, Emily Green, Dominic DiGesu, and Max Bassin. The band’s 2023 release, “3D Country”, gained a lot of love from fans of the band and indie fans in general. After this album they released some live versions and unreleased tracks while fans eagerly awaited a new batch of tracks. This project features vivid and sentimental story telling, hypnotic drums, and beautiful lush production.

This week’s chosen track, “100 Horses” features Winter’s signature raw and wavering vocals with an upbeat vibe.

Top Tracks of the Week

5) SASAMI – Blood on the Silver Screen

Hailing from New York, Sasami Ashworth got her musical start playing the French horn in middle school before going on to attend a performing arts high school, and later on the Eastman School of Music. It was there that Sasami began working on scores and orchestral arrangements for film, as well as teaching music in LA. She began releasing solo music in 2018 and quickly garnered positive attention from publications like Pitchfork, calling her debut single “Callous” one of the “Best New Songs” of the year. Sasami has taken influence from a variety of sources including Asian, femme protagonists in movies, and Bruce Springsteen’s Americana denim.

This week’s selected track, “Nothing But A Sad Face” contains lyrics of forbidden love delivered by SASAMI’s airy voice.

4) Ollella – AntiFragile

In her newest album “AntiFragile”, Seattle-based artist Ollella (Ellie Barber) continues to find her voice through her personal mix of contemporary acoustic folk. Originally trained as a classical cellist, her multi-instrumentalist skills elicit a softness through her writing. As a two-time finalist in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, her work has also been featured in the Sundance film festival.

This week’s highlighted track, “Too Good” is warm and groovy, utilizing comforting keyboard textures and soft but jovial brass.

3) Braxton Cook – Not Everyone Can Go (2025)

Here with his sixth LP, Braxton Cook’s unique take on a jazz and soul fusion creates a good-natured sonic ecosystem. Spanning across more modern R&B style beats and pulling from earlier smooth soul artists. Cook has been releasing music since 2014, originally learning how to play the alto saxophone while growing up in Washington D.C. He attended Juilliard in 2011 and studied jazz saxophone, eventually touring and releasing his own compositions. Cook worked on the soundtrack for “Soul”, Pixar Studio’s 2019 release, for which he won an Academy Award.

This week’s selected track, “Kingdom Come” is a meditative instrumental track, complete with Cook’s signature alto saxophone exploring dynamic octaves with a quick drum beat.

2) Franc Moody – Chewing the Fat (2025)

Dance/electronic duo Franc Moody has spent the better half of the last decade releasing synthesizer-infused funk that is positively dripping with catchy dance beats. Pulling influence from synth-funk greats such as Jamiriqouai and Daft Punk, this London-based duo composed of Ned Franc and Jon Moody lives to hypnotize with their eclectic disco arrangements. Their newest release, the LP “Chewing the Fat” is a modern funk odyssey, blending indie disco and upfront vocals for a danceable collection of tracks.

This week’s highlighted track, “Chewing The Fat” is the title track of their newest album, nested in the middle of the LP with an infectious disco-funk bassline.

1) Glare – Sunset Funeral

Glare, a shoegaze trio originating from Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, is here with their first-ever LP. Forming in 2017 with the release of their first singles “Blank” and “Into Me”, the group seeks to create intense yet dreamy rock tracks. Originally an emo outfit, Glare quickly moved into the alternative rock/shoegaze arena with their spaced-out and vast guitar tones.

The Gem of the Week is “Guts”, a riveting and emotional track that appears at the latter half of the album, contrasting the gut-wrenching lyrics with comforting, almost triumphant chord progressions.