Hey! Did you know that there’s an entire aspect of KCRW music discovery that you might be missing out on? Fear not, because our 5 Songs to Hear This Week newsletter is now a weekly feature on our website. Watch this space for rundowns of the five songs that you need in your life immediately, curated by KCRW Music staff. Don’t want to wait for your latest taste of fresh tunes? Sign up for the Friday newsletter here, and always be the first to know.
Follow us on Spotify to keep up with our current obsessions, including 5 Songs to Hear This Week, Bent By Nature: Deirdre O'Donoghue and The Lost SNAP Archives (The Music), and our weekly sampler of KCRW’s Top 30 most played records.
Def Sound – “Welcome 2 LA (Feat. Annabelle Freedman & Dr. John Murillo III)”
Whether you’re new to our fair city or a longtime lover of the basin, celebrate LA with this track, a one-take refresher course in all things LA — from sunbaked sidewalks, broad streets, and fresh attitudes to a nice lil shoutout to our own Morning Becomes Eclectic. South Central artist and poet Def Sound is the creative force behind this moving tribute track, but he cedes the final third of the piece to the stellar poetry of Dr. John Murillo III. Murillo’s impassioned words permeate the video’s concluding montage of real faces and real spaces from across the city. Welcome 2 LA!
Depeche Mode – “Ghosts Again”
We love to see a body of work stay strong. And what a body it is — Memento Mori, out March 24, is Depeche Mode’s 15th studio album, and their first full release since 2017. This single is a smooth synth-rock track showcasing the legendary band’s confident handling of their musical tools, and doubles as an excellent reintroduction to the Mode, who are playing as a duo since the passing of founding keyboardist Andy Fletcher last year. Click play for a deeply replayable electronic track that urges contemplation and gratitude, and enter here for your chance to see Depeche Mode in LA later this year!
Baby Rose – “I Won't Tell (Feat. Smino)”
Go on with your bad self (we won’t tell). This funky mover from on-the-rise DC singer Baby Rose is a sassy, tight-lipped track with its own secrets to tell. A sharp left turn in the song structure hits your heart hard, just as you think you know which musical planet you’re on. Featuring a stylishly naughty video, a chorus of friendly voices, and a bassline so good it’s a crime, this track’s the vibe for a “getting into trouble” phase.
Revenge Wife – “Niente”
Careful — those synths are hot. Released just today, this track stacks up layers of brilliant chords and filtered vocals to new heights, commanding you to scale the electronic mountain to win the prized company of Revenge Wife. Elizabeth Nistico is the force behind the multimedia project, a character she’s developed over a healthy bundle of releases since departing from her role singing for LA band HOLYCHILD. Italian lyricism and unrelenting sonic stimulation make this track an exciting new addition for your still-out-after-midnight playlist.
Nat Myers – “Yellow Peril”
Let’s end this week’s newsletter with a tire-screeching turn straight outta to the city and back to those country roads, courtesy of this stellar blues track from Kentucky musician Nat Myers. As a post-punk skateboarding teen, Myers experienced a musical awakening through closer examination of his dad’s beloved blues collection. Studies in poetry at NYC’s New School and a link up with Dan Auberach in Nashville flesh out the formula for this boot-tappin’ track, the lead single from his upcoming album of the same name — a reference to his life experience as a Korean-American in the South.