Songs You Need To Hear Now #38

There are plenty of anticipated albums coming up, but I want to shine a light on a handful of great songs out of New Mexico!

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Between year-end lists and the holiday break, it feels like forever since I’ve been able to bring you a buncha fresh tunes, and wow, do we have a great playlist to kick the year off!

Much of this weekend’s playlist comes from some of my favorite artists and their upcoming records: we have the first single from Four Tet in a grip, the third single from GospelbeacH’s final (😢) album, a selection from NewDad’s debut LP, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals continuing his remarkable solo career, and the return of Waxahatchee with year-end fav MJ Lenderman featuring on “Right Back to It.”

At the same time, I want to shine a light on some excellent songs from around northern New Mexico that all dropped over the past few weeks. This scene continues to surprise me, and there’s a great chance you wouldn’t come across otherwise, so let’s celebrate this severely underrated scene with four songs and share the love worldwide!

benwork - “Sunbeam”

Anyone remotely familiar with the Albuquerque music scene knows that it doesn’t much better than Side Montero when it comes to indie rock. The foursome have been playing together since high school. It shows as they continue to grow their following and even recently featured in a Ralph Lauren ad campaign after Ralph Lauren finally decided they should include indigenous designers to create the southwestern patterns they have been aping for over five decades.

At the end of December, their bassist Ben Work (stylized as benwork) dropped his solo debut EP, Violet, a breezy collection of four songs that show a softer, more atmospheric side. Wonderfully produced and mixed by Mama Mañana Records alum Zivi, who was kind enough to give me an early taste of these songs in late summer, Violet is one I listened to many times over the break. Even better, I had the opportunity to watch Work make his solo performance debut at an intimate house party Zivi hosted a few weeks ago, which was the perfect atmosphere for these delicate songs.

Free Range Buddhas - “End of the Story”

When I moved to Santa Fe, Free Range Buddhas was one of the first bands to hit my radar. Listening to and seeing their growth over the past few years has been amazing. They may have an album and a handful of singles under their belt, but their new one, “End of the Story,” is their first recorded song that truly captures the carefree live essence of the band. It’s a wonderfully heady psych-folk tune that snakes at a grooving jaunt - think a combination of first set Dead and Blind Melon - that will let the mind wander and get the feet shuffling. The music video, directed by scene go-to photographer Monty Montgomery, is out today, and we’ll be welcoming Free Range Buddhas for their second show at The Mystic tomorrow night (1/13), so don’t miss out if you’re a local reader!

Sweet Roll - “Slow Burn”

Albuquerque’s Sweet Roll has been rolling out single after single since 2020, and “Slow Burn” may be their best yet. Anchored by their signature atmospheric synth-pop goodness and singer Rayna Torres’s Sade-esque vocals, “Slow Burn” has me hoping again for an EP or debut album soon. Once again, for local readers, I’m stoked to host Sweet Roll with Strange Magic at The Mystic next Saturday (1/20).

Dissolves - “Neurodive”

The small Taos scene is chock-full of troubadours, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but also one of the reasons why I am eating full plates of Dissolves’ self-described “heavy surf sludge queer noise rock fuzz pop.” “Neurodive” is the lead single from their upcoming debut album, which drops at the end of the month, and if the rest is like this, we’re in for a treat. Crank this shit up!

What albums are you looking forward to in the next few months? Let me know in the comments!