Illegal Foreign Object

Each of these albums gave me feelings of wide-open spaces, top-down cruising, and/or movie-like magic. Read on and find a little somethin’ for ya!

It certainly wasn’t, but Y La Bamba’s 7th album sounds effortless. It flows, dips, dives, and slides around while combining elements of funk, Latin, pop, jazz, and folk with ease.

Required listening: “Dibujos De Mi Alma”, “Hues”, “Nunca”, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”

Combining “West Coast AOR classic hits, weirdo pop, and Hawaiian Hapa-Haole music” (because, sure — I mean, obviously), Unknown Mortal Orchestra gets introspectively funky about life, love, and the dangers of buying into the bullshit.

Required listening: “Guilty Pleasures”, “Meshuggah”, “That Life”

On Todo Esto Junto, Costa Rica’s 424 snags an electro-pop comet by the tail and rides it straight into a neon-drenched night.

Required listening: “¿Ahora Qué?”, “Matizo”, “Cocone”

In 1972, Witch’s Introduction became the first commercially released Zamrock album. 40+ years later, the band returned with its second album Zango, a brilliant fusion of garage and psychedelic rock with traditional African music.

Required listening: “Waile”, “Nshingilile”, “Avalanche Of Love”

I’m a godless whore for catchy pop, and Cuts & Bruises is unquestionably catchy. If imitation is, in fact, the sincerest form of flattery, bands like Travis, Oasis, and Jet must all be grinning ear to ear.

Required listening: “These Are The Days”, “If You’re Gonna Break My Heart”

Largely a collection of singles released over the last few years, Horizontes is a laidback ride back from the beach in audio form.

Required listening: “Sagitario”, “Corazón”, “Amigos”

A good friend turned me onto this album when it was released in November 2023, knowing how much I love an artist you can file away in a half dozen different places in the record shop. Autopoiética is a beautiful, layered album that weaves trip hop, synth pop, dance punk, bossa nova, and cinema score with Laferte’s stunning vocals to deliver an airy, dramatic listen.

Required listening: “Tenochtitlán”, “NO+SAD”, “Mew Shiny”

Goth rock Meatloaf, everybody! Sanguivore is a surprisingly pleasing listen (for me, y’all) from William Ghould and the gang. I am not usually a big fan of rock operas, but the songwriting and execution are so damn strong I can’t help but love it. If you hear bits and pieces of Type O Negative’s Peter Steele and Ghost, you aren’t alone.

Required listening: “Further Than Forever”, “Cry To Heaven”, “Teenage Sacrifice”, “More Than Death”

Chris Black Changed My Life is the first full-length release of new music from Grammy-winning Portugal. The Man since 2017’s Woodstock. There was no guarantee it would ever see the day’s light, but serves as a fitting tribute to former MC and hypeman Chris Black, who tragically passed in 2019.

Required listening: “Thunderdome [W.T.A]”, “Dummy”, “Summer Of Luv”, “Time’s A Fantasy”

On Birds Nest, Perth, Australia’s the Bures Band marries the funkier parts of rhinestone country with the sweeter side of Californian folk-rock for an instantly accessible batch of tunes.

Required listening: “Birds Nest”, “Drifting”, “Sway”

Singer/Producer Marcus Brown’s Erotic Probiotic 2 conjures deep nostalgia. These are time machine tunes — roller rink birthday parties, grade school playground rap freestyles, and 808 beats filling my headphones for endless bike rides to nowhere.

Required listening: “The Field”, “Daddy”, “Quantum Suicide”

Synth-heavy soul meets jazzy electro-pop on one of the smoothest listens of 2023. This is top-down, cruising music at its very best.

Required listening: “Shake It Up”, “Cosmic Zoo”, “Fool”, “Still The Same Ride”

That’s all for today, fellow audiophiles! Stop by tomorrow for some hair-raising hell-raisers!