DragonWulf (Eman Esfandi), courtesy.

This week’s column has synth-pop by DragonWulf (actor Eman Esfandi), alt-pop by Leo Lauren, highlife music by The Cavemen, grunge by BERRIES, troubadour rock by Josh Gilligan and power pop by Ben Kweller.

Leo Lauren, “Damage Drop-Off Site” – This dancey alt-pop track by L.A. singer-songwriter, producer and visual artist Leo Lauren has a Bowie-like slickness and style. He produced and art-directed the video for the song, which is about the transitory nature of the value we place on things we hold dear. His EP, Supernormal, will be out in early 2025.

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Josh Gilligan, “500 Questions” – Nashville singer-songwriter Josh Gilligan brings us this dreamy ballad about realizing it’s time to stop questioning and start living. “How am I supposed to sit and wait?/ Wasting every second of this day in my mind?” he sings. The song has a Todd-Rundgren-esque feel to it, with a long electric guitar coda. Gilligan’s debut album, Party of One, is out Jan. 24.

DragonWulf, “Alexei 3049: DeLorean” – DragonWulf is usually known for smooth rap, but this song finds him shifting gears with an ’80s vibe of synths and a hyperactive beat. DragonWulf is the nom de musique of Eman Esfandi, a Persian Ecuadorian artist and actor from Laredo, Texas. You may recognize him from Disney+ show “Ahsoka,” on which he played Ezra Bridger.

This new musical direction is working for Esfandi, and it certainly demonstrates his versatility as a music artist. In the song, DragonWulf confesses that he doesn’t exactly have it all together. “I’m lost in the darkness of my mind/ I can’t seem to reconnect/ I need to find my light,” he sings in falsetto.

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Ben Kweller, “Optimystic” – Ben Kweller’s son, Dorian Zev, was killed in a freak car crash in 2023. Kweller said he needed to make music to work through his pain, and he ended up enough songs for a new album. The artist has long been known for his clever power pop, and “Optimystic” is catchy and rocks hard, too. “I need to get a grip on what’s happening around me/ I need to take a dip in the pool of tranquility,” Kweller sings. Kweller’s new album, Cover the Mirrors, comes out on what would have been Dorian’s 19th birthday, May 30. He’ll be playing at The Independent in San Francisco on July 21.

BERRIES, “Jagged Routine” – BERRIES, from London, say “Jagged Routine” is all about the beauty of unpredictability, and that it’s dedicated to anyone struggling with the daily grind and desperate to cut loose. It’s got a punky, riot-grrl-esque energy and it solidly rocks. BERRIES will be opening up for Frank Turner on his tour next February. Their second album, BERRIES, is out now.

The Cavemen, “Medicine” – The Cavemen are bringing highlife music to the world. Highlife is a genre that mixes Western jazz and soul with traditional African rhythms. “Medicine” grooves with horns and piano in this ode to a partner: “Beautiful Melanie, you are my medicine,” The Cavemen sing. Catch their Cavy in the City tour when it hits San Francisco on May 15 at The Independent.

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Rachel’s pick: The new one by DragonWulf is so catchy, and props to Eman Esfandi for going outside his comfort zone; it definitely paid off. It’s got kind of a Twin Shadow vibe, and I dig it.

Follow Rachel Alm on Twitter at @thouzenfold, on Instagram at @thousandfold, and on Bluesky at @thousandfold.bsky.social.