\u201cEverything is made new in the spring,\u201d Anne of Green Gables author L.M. Montgomery wrote. \u201cSprings themselves are always so new, too. No spring is ever just like any other spring.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is especially true in the Miami music <\/a>scene \u2014 we all know we\u2019re gonna have bountiful releases blooming, but the specific songs and artists are as delightfully unpredictable and varied as ever. So, find shelter, shake off that umbrella, and dig into the eleven songs you absolutely need to hear before the month is out.<\/p>\n Got a bead on something else we should be listening to? Hit this button right\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5LOKO \u2014 \u201cCouch\u201d<\/p>\n So, yes, the chorus for the new single from these self-described pioneers of flo-pop \u2014 i.e., Florida pop \u2014 declares \u201cF*ck the party!\u201d Reality is, this impossibly catchy, effervescent, melodic, smooth jam is more likely to launch (and elevate) a thousand shindigs than play pooper to a single one. It\u2019s a bit reminiscent of the heyday of \u201990s\u00a0hip-hop<\/a>-infused electro pop and bodes well for the group\u2019s forthcoming third album,\u00a0Fredonia. Oh, and boasting production by former Criteria Studios<\/a> engineer Isaac Diskin (Rosal\u00eda<\/a>, Lana Del Rey, Mitski, etcetera), it sounds top-notch as well. Check them out at this weekend\u2019s BIG: Arts & Culture Festival this weekend in Gainesville, which we cover here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eddy Gatoe \u2014 \u201cAway From U\u201d<\/p>\n The upcoming solo album from Magic City underground music scene mainstay Eddy Gatoe has been one of the most hotly anticipated local releases since he dropped the epic earworm \u201cThe Path\u201d<\/a> last summer. Well, the second bite has come in the form of \u201cAway From U\u201d \u2014 and it is just as tasty, showcasing Gatoe\u2019s ability to infuse pop, rock, and virtually any other genre with a signature off-center punk sensibility. It\u2019s an infectious mix, and the rest of the record can\u2019t come soon enough. \u201c[\u2018Away From You\u2019 is] a song about letting go of toxic situations regardless of how painful it seems at the time,\u201d Gatoe tells New Times, \u201cbut it\u2019s over a poppy-acoustic-punky ragtime rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n Haz\u00e9l Mulan \u2014 \u201cHappily Ever After\u201d<\/p>\n Even in a city that has a well-deserved reputation as a bit of a mecca for pop R&B torch singers, the wildly versatile voice and unorthodox-yet-beguiling delivery Haz\u00e9l Mulan stands out. (Mulan\u2019s official bio suggests she comes by her deceptively easy ability to bridge subgenres honestly: Her love of artists ranging from Mariah Carey<\/a>, Whitney Houston, and Beyonc\u00e9 to Nicki Minaj, Donna Summer, and Rihanna was leavened by the music her jazz musician grandfather Ricky Thomas brought into her orbit.) While fantastic 2025 singles like \u201cSugar\u201d<\/a> and \u201cFeral\u201d<\/a> suggested a major talent emerging, \u201cHappily Ever After\u201d shows Mulan is not only continuing to evolve but really just getting started.\u00a0<\/p>\n Helio \u2014 \u201cFeel the Power\u201d<\/p>\n Last October, we praised<\/a> the EP Affirmations in this space as a near-perfect m\u00e9lange of \u201cgospel, pop, and classical from which Helio\u2019s dynamic, assured R&B vocals build up, up, and further up.\u201d Guess what? This otherworldly talent wasn\u2019t done rising \u2014 not by the longest of longshots: Helio has, in fact, returned with not one, but two EPs. We\u2019re streaming the soul-stirring EDM-based title track from the first above; the second, Follow Me, can be found on all streaming services. Between the two, which continue and expand upon Helio\u2019s restless explorations and uplifting lyricism, we have a true statement of purpose. (Check out his collaboration with Amara La Negra \u201cDance All Night\u201d<\/a> for good measure.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Inmate 305 \u2014 \u201cMy Unfair Lady\u201d<\/p>\n Man, Miami\u2019s premiere \u201990s throwback alternative rock outfit Inmate 305 really does an amazing job of capturing that moment when grunge began to meld with pop. And those vibes extend to lyrics, apparently: \u201c\u2018My Unfair Lady\u2019 is about having a casual relationship that you wish would become serious,\u201d Inmate 305 multi-instrumentalist mastermind Cai Schwartz says, \u201cbut the other person doesn\u2019t care about what you want.\u201d Luckily, Schwartz and Co. are able to squeeze excellent fuzzy, angsty lemonade out of such sour rejection.<\/p>\n Jessi Campo \u2014 \u201cY Hoy Como Ayer\u201d<\/p>\n Bilingual singer\/songwriter Jessi\u00a0Campo makes a triumphant (not to mention steamy) return with Boleros, a new collection of\u00a0smoldering, romantic\u00a0Cuban standards assembled, at least in part, to honor her Cuban heritage as well as the musical legacy of her father, Giovanni, who performed with legends such as Beny More, Tito Puente and Perez Prado in Cuba and New York. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be able to share the music that continues to inspire everything I do,\u201d\u00a0Campo says. \u201cI can only hope to continue in my father\u2019s footsteps and further champion the cause of Cuban music through this release.\u201d\u00a0Check out \u201cY Hoy Como Ayer,\u201d originally by Pedro Vega, above and come out to the Boleros release party at Books & Books in Coral Gables on Friday, April 17.<\/p>\n Kayla Isabelle \u2014 \u201cCry to Her Now\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve seen Kayla Isabelle pop up at venues across the city you are already well aware that her evocative, affecting voice possesses the power to reduce rooms to hushed silence, and elicit both tears and cheers from audiences. It feels like an event when she gets on the mic and, while, sure, you appreciate the intimacy of the performances, it also is clear Isabelle is justifiably destined for bigger stages. Anyway, it\u2019s been a minute since we\u2019ve had a new single from her \u2014 a deficit that is beautifully rectified with \u201cCry to Her Now,\u201d a track that is somewhere between indie pop, \u201970s soul, and modern country. It\u2019s about as bittersweet and elegiac, yes, but also lovely and strengthening.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Nucay \u2014 \u201cDisfruto (Carla Morriso Remix)\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last couple years and a few incredible singles \u2013 2025\u2019s \u201cSakura\u201d<\/a> being an excellent starting point \u2014 Dutch-Dominican DJ Nucay has established herself as a pioneer in a boundary-defying sound that curates the most rousing, vivifying, mesmerizing elements of Afro, Latin, and European rhythms and melodies from across the globe and synthesizes it into something that feels both familiar (in the best way possible) as well as wholly unique. Now, she\u2019s back with this stellar remix of a Carla Morriso song she calls<\/a> \u201cone of my favorite tracks of all time\u201d \u2014 you can definitely feel the love \u2014 and which we can only hope is a tantalizing foreshadowing of imminent releases to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n Phoric \u2014 \u201cForward\u201d<\/p>\n Are you ready for some dreamy, lilting electronic dance pop crossed with heartfelt, passionate crooning? Rising Miami electro-troubadour Phoric is here to tug on your heartstrings, let you know you aren\u2019t alone, and invite you on an actualizing journey \u2014 both sonic and emotional. \u201c\u2018Forward\u2019 is a song that explores the tension between nostalgia and ambition,\u201d he tells New Times, \u201cbetween wanting to hold onto the past while realizing growth requires moving forward.\u201d Sign. Us. Up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sasha Atlas \u2014 \u201cHome\u201d<\/p>\n The Sasha Atlas set<\/a> at the recent Music Industry Meetup<\/a> gathering at Sable in Wynwood a few weeks ago was a revelation, full-stop. Her hybrid approach to electronic music \u2014 a massive, propulsive house foundation serving as canvas for her astonishingly potent and moving live vocals and keyboard playing \u2014 feels like the next step in the evolution of music, re-centering humanity and feeling (not a surprise the duo behind Electric Glue<\/a> were on hand for her Sable set) even as the driving beats and strains of melody improbably expand any room into a stadium. (Not for nothing was she handpicked to open for Gioli & Assia at the DAER Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel.) Apparently, Atlas cut her teeth as a producer and DJ in New York, but she\u2019s our now. And that, my friends, is a big get.\u00a0<\/p>\n World Islaand \u2014 \u201cSkylark\u201d<\/p>\n Come sail away! God, is this Miami-based project \u201cblending indie rock with Caribbean and Latin rhythms\u201d \u2014 mission accomplished, btw \u2014 life-affirming and joy-inducing. There\u2019s a lot of layers here, but \u201cSkylark\u201d never feels busy \u2014 the vibe is definitely more transportive, hypnotic, and basically flawless. This track could be the soundtrack to a better, more culturally intertwined world.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t