Week of June 20, 2021

Listening selections for the week of June 20, 2021, featuring the latest from Weedie Braimah, The Marías, A Certain Ratio and more, best enjoyed with a cup of Koppi Roasters’ La Lia Yellow Honey Catuai, for juicy notes of black tea and plum.

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Highlights include:

• The monumental first single from djembe master Weedie Braimah’s new project

• The Marías’ swelting new Spanish single

• Deep disco house euphoria from Germany’s Soundstream

• Manchester indie dance legends A Certain Ratio groove-tastic follow up to last year's ACR Loco

• Shimmering alternative rock from the chameleonic Yves Tumor

• Contemporary rumba at its finest from Okuté’s self-titled debut, as reviewed this past week

• Breezy nu-disco from past masters Parcels

• Soaring yacht from Twin Shadow’s forthcoming self-titled, due out July 9

• The infectiously woozy stylings of Sunshine Boysclub

• Sludgy indie psych riffage from LA-based Communicant

• Far out guitar balladry from Caucasus’s Rüstəm Quliyev

• The always vibe-y act Khruangbin’s take on David Bowie’s “Right”

• Saxophone sorcerer Cochemea’s electric new single

• JOMORO’s swaggering symphonic vision, aided by Sharon Van Etten’s ethereal vocals

• Straight fire from Little Simz, off of what I am sure will be one of, if not, the best record of 2021

• The Chayla Hope Choice Find of the Week: Sexadelic disco-funk from Spanish actress Susana Estrada

• The title track of Francis Lung’s excellent new baroque pop offering

• One of Francis Lung’s musical forebears, the criminally underrated Emitt Rhodes

• The perfection that is Joni Mitchell’s Blue, released this week in 1971

• A good old-fashioned slab of vocal pop from Rostam’s atmospheric new Changephobia

• The collision of doo-wop and garage rock we’ve come to know and love from Shannon & The Clams

• The latest in kaleidoscopic sunny pop stylings from Sunni Colón

• Heartless Bastard’s soulful new single from the forthcoming A Beautiful Life, due out September 10

• Stereolab’s contemporaneous remix of “Since I Left You” off of the recently released 20th anniversary deluxe edition of the Avalanches album of the same name, reviewed this past week

• A musical mission statement from Cleveland’s Herzog, heralding the return of live music at beloved bar The Happy Dog this week