Since this is our inaugural edition, we took a slight step back in time to spotlight some standout releases from the past couple of months. They are still fresh and very much worth your ears. Moving forward, though, we'll keep things ultra-current, only featuring tracks dropped within the last month. For now, dive into gems from Mold!, Juke, Pocket of Lollipops, and more, served up in alphabetical order.
Got something we should be listening to? Let us know here.
Otherwise, buckle up and let the mind-blowing begin.
1. Devin Mollegard — "Poseidon"
A regular performer and host at Vice City Kava, Savage Labs Wynwood, Tea & Poets, Syndicate Kava Bar, and elsewhere, singer-songwriter Devin Mollegard has honed his smart, heartfelt balladry into something unusually powerful and affecting — as the recent single "Poseidon" clearly demonstrates. "I'm going for that old-style poetic storytelling mixed with a raw modern sound," he tells New Times. In the process, Mollegard does his heroes — ranging from Cash, Dylan, and Hendrix to Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan, and Mumford and Sons — proud. Don't miss his hosting set at Vice City Kava (recently featured in our Best Live Jazz Spots in Miami list) on Monday, July 28.2. Earthburner — "Permanent Dawn"
The jams that come out of the Magic City ain't all sunshine and rainbows. Exhibit A: Two-fifths of this grindcore supergroup featuring current and former members of seminal extreme metal acts Broken Hope, Sanguisugabogg, and Napalm Death call Miami home. And the band's debut full-length, Permanent Dawn, was recorded at North Miami's legendary Criteria Studios. So, we can safely claim at least some of the madness contained within the grooves of this eleven-song, twenty-one-minute slab of socially conscious dissonance. Don't forget to tip your craniologist between first and second listens.3. Juke — "Burnin Hell"
Though an EP beginning with an opening title track dubbed "We Just Want Your Soul" and ending with the above "Burnin Hell" might give ol' splitfoot vibes, the truth is what Juke delivers across the three tracks on We Just Want Your Soul is rapturous, blues-based old-school rock n' roll of the heavenly (if winkingly mischievous) brand. Led by Eric Garcia — who storms stages, harmonica in hand, under the banner of Uncle Scotchy — and featuring a murderer's row of seasoned Miami musicians, Juke possesses the talent and experience to let the songs breathe, expand, and take on a life of their own. "We've been called the best band nobody knows," Garcia told New Times in a recent interview. "But the music community here knows. It's time more people heard us." Hear, hear! And if you want to put your soul on the dancefloor for consideration, watch Juke socials for upcoming live activations where the band truly shines.4. Mold! — "Wait for the Weekend!"
If Dinosaur Jr., Cold Cave, Torche, and Turnstile decided to collaborate on a crossover record, they'd probably land somewhere in the sonic neighborhood of this lovely and enlivening new Mold! record III. But those bands are never going to collaborate on a crossover record, so stop dreaming and appreciate the actual exclamation mark-centering, tropic-gaze summoning quartet of geniuses right here in your own backyard already. Check out the album standout track "Wait for the Weekend!" above and put a red circle around 8/30 on your calendar for the band's homecoming show at Gramps with Ben Katzman, Palomino Blond, and Dime.5. Los Garcias — "We're Not Made of Honey"
Gene Simmons, eat your no doubt officially licensed KISS heart out: Miami sees your Demon and Starchild, and we raise you our anonymous indie pop creator extraordinaire, Los Garcias, who appears "only as fictional personas, including a bunny on a Vespa, a self-inflating bee, and the sun bouncing on a castle." (Did The Spaceman ever self-inflate?) (Well, physically not metaphorically, that is…) (Didn't think so!) Point is, the Family Reunion 2025 EP is as eclectic as its alter egos, with a sonic mélange flavorful enough to include dreamier elements of Dirty Projectors or Tame Impala, jangle that calls to mind Teenage Fanclub, driving electro-pop seasonings à la Stereolab or Postal Service, and even acoustic bits that wouldn't be out of place on a Elliot Smith or Neutral Milk Hotel record. We're hitting you with the most immediate track below, but do seek out the full EP to experience the dazzling scope of imagination and emotional resonance in its entirety.6. Pocket of Lollipops — "Slingshot"
Long-running Miami atmospheric post-punk art-rock experimentalists Pocket of Lollipops return with this single described by the duo as "the first piece of a bold conceptual album rolling out monthly through December" — and it bodes very well for the future if the slinky, sexy, more-than-slightly foreboding sweet spot between Sonic Youth's "Bull in the Heather" and the solo records of Jarboe and Julie Christmas is your jam. (And, for the record, it absolutely should be.) Pocket of Lollipops tells the New Times to "expect fizzling guitars, jackhammer drumming, DIY vibes, and a visual puzzle that unfolds with each track." After this appetizer, those subsequent courses can't come soon enough.7. Patafunk — "Patavision 100 (To Yourself)"
Across four albums and a slew of singles, Venezuelan DJ and producer Patafunk (Carlos Eduardo Martinez) has dedicated his life to the successful pursuit of an idiosyncratic sound "that blends the vibrant energy of a happy psychedelic beach day with the melancholic beauty of a nostalgic autumn walk in the park." More recently, he has expanded his purview to include collaborating with other artists as a producer under the auspices of his Patavision series. Track 100 features Miami-based singer-songwriter Jahzel Dotel, whose incredible layered Spanglish vocals breezily float in and out of Patafunk's techno-disco grooves, which somehow manage to be a perfect musical mirror to the lyrical call to self-actualize and fearlessly follow one's muse.If you want to listen to all these songs on repeat, we also put together a Spotify playlist for your convenience. You are welcome!
