We've got incredible vibes from the Afro-Latin electronic duo Sotomayor, raw and beautiful bluegrass from Big Richard, Canadian alt-country from Boy Golden, a pair of perfect collaborations in Baby Rose with Leon Thomas and Anna Calvi with Iggy Pop and songs for the moment from Jesca Hoop and Cat Clyde.
Check out this week's suggestions from Music Director Kari Hedlund and Asst. Music Director Malachy Koons.
Albums
Sotomayor - WABI SABI
Within the first minute of listening to the first song, "Me dejo llevar," you know this album is a vibe. Celebrating 10 years of being a band, the siblings are back with WABI SABI, blending Afro-Latin beats with electronic music. Raúl and Paulina Sotomayor wrote the album in their home of Mexico City before heading to Puerto Rico to record. Wabi-sabi is a Japanese philosophy that embraces imperfections and the impermanence of creation, similar to the kintsugi artform, a concept they have learned to adopt in music. - KH
Big Richard - Pet
Big Richard had already made an imprint on the KAXE Music Team in 2026 with their single “Millionaire,” so when the full-length album came out, I couldn’t wait to get an ear to it. The neo-bluegrass quartet from Colorado did not disappoint with lyrics that are pointed and direct to our experience in today’s world, and instrumentation that digs into the bluegrass tradition. Both the instrumentals and vocals balance beautiful with raw and guttural, which matches the stories in the songs perfectly. The band is really bringing that Big Richard energy into the bluegrass space. - KH
Boy Golden - Best of Our Possible Lives
The brief two notes of saxophone on “Chickadee,” following Liam Duncan of Boy Golden singing, "From the river to edge of the world / From here on to the sea / Everybody’s passing through / Except my sweet little chickadee,” is one of countless subtle touches that sets the Winnipeg singer’s fifth album apart. With country as the starting point, Duncan draws on blues, folk and soul in catchy song after catchy song. - MK
Singles
Anna Calvi - "God's Lonely Man (ft. Iggy Pop)"
A duet that fits so seamlessly, I’m going to be disappointed if this is their only collaboration. Calvi’s plea to break free from the mundanity of modern life and “do more than just survive” is a perfect fit for the singular-voiced Iggy Pop, pairing the ominous slink of “Nightclubbing” and the shuffling chorus of “Passenger” into an edgy art-pop banger. As if this isn’t cool enough, Calvi will also be covering Kraftwerk's “Computer Love” with none other than Laurie Anderson when the full EP, Is This All There Is?, arrives in March. - MK
Jesca Hoop - "Designer Citizen"
Jesca Hoop is one of those musicians I will always follow. Her imaginative arrangements offer something different for the ear, something unexpected. “Designer Citizen” was just released ahead of her upcoming album, out in May, Long Wave Home, and for the first time, features Hoop as the solo producer. Alongside sparse production and vocal layering, the song is a satirical look at current American politics and society. - KH
Baby Rose - "Friends Again (ft. Leon Thomas)"
Baby Rose is one of the truly unique voices in the current soul music boom, and she finds a partner up to the task of matching her in the Grammy-winning R&B singer Leon Thomas. They don’t have any answers to the question, “Can you go back to being friends after romance ends?”, but it sure is nice to hear them sing it. - MK
Cat Clyde - "Man's World"
Figuring out how to navigate the world can be a tricky thing. In “Man’s World,” Cat Clyde is touching on that experience through her own lens in a patriarchal world. A country rockin’ tune that is bouncy and inviting, Clyde is tired of toxic masculine energy that invades all spaces. As she states in the song, “I can’t express my woman’s self without a shield across my chest.” - KH
