Clockwise from top left: Read Southall Band, Fantastic Negrito and Miko Marks, Wage War, Hayes Carll, Carter Ace and Men Without Hats.

Fantastic Negrito with Miko Marks, “Rolling Through California” — Oakland mainstay, friend of the site and overall good guy Fantastic Negrito has won three Grammys for his last three albums. His first, The Last Days of Oakland, remains one of my all-time favorites. So when he drops a new song, the odds of it being one of the best songs of the week are nearly 100 percent. Continuing to defy genres as a concept, this track blends his signature sound with a touch of country twang, reinforced by the video featuring the legendary Oakland Black Cowboy Association. Combine that with the lyrical themes of climate change, drought, and fires, and the song really meets the moment.

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Wage War, “Circle the Drain” — I infamously refuse to leave the ’90s. I still wear too much flannel and black, I’m still roughly as mature as I was in high school and most of all, I’m still fixated on ’90s music. So the second the grinding industrial guitars on “Circle the Drain” reminded me of something from “The Matrix” soundtrack, I was sold. Granted, the vocals on the chorus edge toward the early ’00s Linkin Park aesthetic, but that’s at least ’90s-adjacent, so we can let it slide this time.

Men Without Hats, “No Friends of Mine” — Oh yeah, this is that Men Without Hats. The ones who did “Safety Dance,” one of the best one-hit wonders of the ’80s. They’re still around and, in fact, this is a reworking of that same song. And it’s really good! It trades the original joyful ’80s pop of the original for a slow, almost mournful ballad. The first minute and a half are reminiscent of the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” “Mighty Science Theater” end credits theme but with lyrics. Then it transitions to a more triumphant ballad that sounds like it should play over the climax of an Oscar-bait drama. It’s novel, it’s unexpected and it’s pretty great. Props to Men Without Hats for showing their range.

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Read Southall Band, “DLTGYD” — Mixing genres is always better than sticking within the confines of one. Once a local scene’s sound or musical movement graduates to being a genre, it develops a set of strict guidelines and rules that dictate what does and doesn’t qualify it for the label, so breaking out of that is the only real way to stand out with a novel, personal sound. And while not fully ignoring genres like Fantastic Negrito, on “DLTGYD” (which stands for Don’t Let Them Get You Down) Read Southall Band combines the heavy guitars of the late- and post-grunge era with southern rock vocals and a country music sensibility to create a sound outside the expectations of any of those genres by themselves. That’s to be commended and encouraged.

Hayes Carll, “She’ll Come Back To Me” — This song is actually leaning toward the end of the country spectrum I usually don’t like. For example, when a song has a “freedom isn’t free” reference, it’s not my style. If you stop to think about it, conditional freedom doesn’t sound very free at all. But despite myself, Hayes Carll hooked me with the old-school outlaw country guitar and southern rock sensibilities. Plus, it’s just one item on a list of opposites to imply “she’s” not actually coming back—he’s not exactly Toby Keith out here.

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Carter Ace, “Stay Here Instead” — I’m rounding this out with some some old-school soul music. “Stay Here Instead” is a throwback to the silky smooth soul grooves of the ’70s, and I couldn’t be happier to hear it. There’s a reflex to compare Carter Ace to someone like Pharrell Williams, but that’s not entirely fair, because Ace’s voice may actually be a little better. Pharrell is just more famous.

Danny’s Pick: Obviously it’s Fantastic Negrito. My apologies to everyone else on the list but you had the misfortune of releasing your single in the same week as one of the most talented, innovative, consistently great musicians of the 21st century so far. “Rolling Through California” is a really great song even by his lofty standards. He’s played with a lot of sounds in his career so far, and if this is the next, we’re in for a treat when his next album drops.

Follow editor Daniel J. Willis at Twitter.com/BayAreaData.