New songs for July 27th 2026

 here they are:



"Better" by Baby Rose:  One of a growing number of soul musicians dedicated to bringing back the "old school" soul sound of the '60s and early '70s, Jasmine Rose Wilson, aka "Baby Rose," is making her debut this week with a song that asserts her independence! "How many times can you expect me to change/While you stay the same?" she asks midway through the song. She tells the listener during the chorus that she's "better than that." She is not someone who will be played for a fool in relationships! As for the sound of the song? That's what really enchants me about this track! Rose doesn't approach R & B with the dance-heavy flavor of most of her more popular contemporaries. Instead, she does it the old fashioned way with horns, piano, and even guitar in a way that makes her brand of music sound old and new at the same time!

"Light the Way" by Leon Bridges:  And speaking of musicians bringing back the vintage soul sound, Leon is master at it at this point in his career! He started back in 2015 with a Sam Cooke-esque approach to the genre and worked his way up from there, incorporating funk, jazz, hip-hop influences, and more into his repertoire. With his latest song, "Light the Way," Bridges has even earned comparisons to proto-funk musicians like Fela Kuti! With the way the song focuses on bongo drumming, jazzy sax playing, and a "stab" approach to guitar playing common in funk and reggae music, I can see why his song earned those comparisons! There's even undercurrents of Latin jazz in this one! The song was released just in time for the season, which Bridges mentions in the opening lyrics, and as you could probably guess from the song's title, "Light the Way" is a positive song in both sound and lyric!

"Lovesick" by Wishy:  Thus far, the only other song I know by Wishy is "Fly," which had wistful vibes with a sort of shoegaze-y undercurrent. "Lovesick" REALLY pours on the shoegaze influences to the point where people in the comment section of its video seem to legitimately think it's an early '90s track long overdue for its release! The song DOES give off a flavor of a lighter My Bloody Valentine with Cocteau-ish lead vocals, so I can see why people think that! Various other shoegaze bands like Drop Nineteens and Ride also come to mind when I hear this one. Not really much to analyze here with the lyrics, which have a minimalist vibe (though "cut the pink out of your hair" is a memorable line, especially since the pink-haired Nina Pitchkites is the one singing it!) But yeah...highly recommended to any shoegaze fan!

"Several Got Away" by Dinosaur Jr.:  Want more early '90s college rock stuff than what I just talked about?! Then here you go! Legendary noise-rockers, Dinosaur Jr., are back for the first time in about 5 years! Where their previous comeback single, "I Ran Away," was largely folk-rock-y, "Several Got Away" retains the noise rock they were known for in the late '80s/early '90s, albeit with a slightly melodic undercurrent. The song doesn't sound too different from the noisier sections of Dinosaur Jr.'s best-known song, "Feel the Pain." We're never told who the "several" are in this song, and I honestly don't even know what this song is about! But the fact that one of alt-rock's most innovative pre-grunge-era groups are still active is pretty cool in and of itself! Seems to be a bit of a trend this year since Sugar and Afghan Whigs have both released new material recently, too! J. Mascis' trademark squealing Neil Young-ish guitars also figure prominently into the song, especially during its blistering solo!