Hermanos Gutierrez, courtesy. This week we bring you cinematic instrumental tracks from Hermanos Gutierrez and Small Isles, sinister-sounding Southern rock by Brother Dege, alt-pop-rock by Rosie Frater-Taylor, an eerie lullaby by Jean Ryden and a tender fingerpicked ballad by Lau Noah and Cécile McLorin. Hermanos Gutierrez, “Blood Milk Moon”…

Brandy, “Christmas with Brandy.” “The Boy is Mine,” “I Wanna Be Down” and “Love Again” artist Brandy has released her first holiday album. Christmas with Brandy Brandy Motown, Nov. 10 7/10 Get the album on Amazon Music. One of the biggest names in ’90s and early aughts soul and…

Mount Kimbie, courtesy T Bone Fletcher. Brigitte Calls Me Baby exudes Roy Orbison cool, ThxSoMch explores nu-metal, Sammy Virji expounds on U.K. garage rock, Q Marsden blends R&B with pop, Nitefreak and Emmanuel Jal bring the Afro-house rhythms and Mount Kimbie tries on newfound shoegaze. Brigitte Calls Me Baby,…

Nelly Furtado performs at Portola Festival in San Francisco on Sept. 30, 2023. Matt Pang/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Portola Festival returned to Pier 80 near the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood on Saturday. The two-day fest included headliner Eric Prydz on the first day, along with pop singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado and…

Arctic Monkeys perform at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif. on Sept. 26, 2023. Chloe Catajan/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Over their nearly two-decade reign, the Arctic Monkeys have gained a reputation as one of the biggest rock bands of the new millennium. The reasons why were still apparent at…

Muzi, courtesy. This week we’ve got house-inflected South African rhythms by Muzi, dark pop by Isabel LaRosa, groovy dance beats by Shay Lia and VOXMANA, soul by Resavoir and alt-pop by Absofacto. Resavoir featuring Elton Aura and Whitney, “Sunday Morning” – Resavoir is a Chicago jazz collective led by producer…

Jungle performs at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Sept. 9, 2023. Matt Pang/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — British duo Jungle took its signature nu-disco electronic funk to new new electrifying heights at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Saturday. The tour was in support of Tom McFarland’s and Joshua…

Sam Smith performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Aug. 27, 2023. Matt Pang/STAFF. OAKLAND — Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation was literally center stage Sunday at Oakland Arena. An enormous golden statue of the curvaceous, recumbent, nude figure took up the entire…

Lana Del Rey performs during Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Aug. 12, 2023. Photo: Alive Coverage. SAN FRANCISCO — Cloaked in a thick mist and shrouded in inky darkness, Lana Del Rey never seemed brighter. The singer-songwriter, making her second appearance at…

Cannons, courtesy. We’ve got alt-rock from Hank May, experimental electronic music from Sandunes, pop by Laura Groves and CANNONS, atmospheric Western melodies by McKowski and pop-punk from… Orla Gartland (wait, what?!) Hank May, “I’m Just a Lover” — From the word art in the video to observational lyrics like,…