KCRW's 5 Songs To Hear This Week

Lala Lala

Existential dread has never sounded this electric. Lala Lala, the project of Chicago’s Lillie West, kicks off her Sub Pop era with “Does This Go Faster?” a synth-smeared, sax-kissed spiral through self-doubt and acceleration. Co-produced with Melina Duterte (Jay Som) and featuring Sen Morimoto on sax, the track hums like a late-night anxiety drive, propulsive, glossy, and aching at its core. “Nothing on earth is free,” West sings, voice floating over distorted drums and neon atmospherics. It’s a song about motion and meaning, about burning it all down just to see what’s left, and somehow, it feels like flying. Catch her live performance at KCRW’s School Night tonight at Zebulon.

Does This Go Faster?

Leyla Ebrahimi

Newcomer Leyla Ebrahimi has a knack for turning heartbreak into a live wire. On “I Don’t Like Being Left Behind,” the Persian-American artist pushes her signature emotional chaos to cinematic heights, bending dark synth-pop and fuzzy indie rock into something raw and luminous. Her voice flickers between a whisper and a wail as she claws through the ache of abandonment, chasing catharsis in the noise. It’s messy, urgent, and beautifully human, the sound of someone refusing to fade quietly into the rearview. With a debut EP on the horizon, Ebrahimi’s already proving she’s one to keep close, not left behind. Also playing at School Night tonight at Zebulon.

i don't like being left behind

Syd Taylor

“Time To Go!” kicks open the door to After the Fact, Syd Taylor’s radiant solo debut and declaration of independence. After splitting from her longtime band with her twin sister, Taylor taught herself every knob, string, and slider, writing and producing the record entirely on her own. The result? A punchy, emotionally wired mix of rock swagger, pop sparkle, and twangy confidence that sounds like the freedom she fought for. “Time To Go!” channels that self-made spirit with crunchy guitars, a rush of motion, and Taylor’s signature blend of bite and vulnerability. It’s a sendoff, a fresh start, and a damn good reason to hit repeat. Catch her live performance at School Night tonight.

Time to Go!

Fred again.., CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso

What do you get when London’s emotional architect of the dance floor links up with Argentina’s wildest musical alchemists? “Beto’s Horns” a genre-bending, globe-hopping burst of chaos and joy. Born across Twitch streams from Athens to Paris, the track’s evolution has been as public as it is euphoric, a living document of collaboration in real time. Fred again..’s sleek production meets CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso’s kinetic energy, with Ezra Collective jumping in for a live jam remix that’s pure fire. Horns blare, beats melt, boundaries disappear. It’s the sound of continents colliding in rhythm, and a victory lap for the most nominated Argentine duo in Latin Grammy history.

Beto’s Horns

Oneohtrix Point Never

Trust Oneohtrix Point Never to find beauty in the discarded and divine in the digital. “Lifeworld,” the lead single from Daniel Lopatin’s new album Tranquilizer, floats like a memory trapped in a hard drive, weightless, glassy, and full of ghostly motion. Inspired by the lost archives of ‘90s and ‘00s sample CDs once housed on The Internet Archive, the track resurrects forgotten textures and turns them into a lucid dream of sound. It’s ambient, but alive; synthetic, but breathing. A gentle plunge into OPN’s vision of rebirth through technology, where nostalgia and noise fuse into something sacred and strange.

Lifeworld