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, “Eddie My Love” — Chicago’s Brigitte Calls Me Baby recorded a ballad that recalls a bygone era. Two of them, actually.  The gorgeously aching vocals of Wes Leavins recall both ‘80s new wave and the ’50s rockabilly swoon of Roy Orbison.

The track shares a title as the hit 1956 doo-wop tune performed by The Chordettes, The Teen Queens and The Fontaines. It also shares an air of vulnerability, obsession and despair. The rickety percussion and Leavins’ impassioned voice is paired with an arrangement that’s more contemporary and reminiscent of The Smiths. Brigitte Calls Me Baby recently released its debut EP, This House Is Made of Corners.

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ThxSoMch, “Lost” — Toronto artist ThxSoMch’s sinister nu-metal track should be played at full volume. The frenzied track kicks off with steady drumming, crashing cymbals and a scratchy old-school turntable. ThxSoMch’s raspy vocals punch through the noise: “Everybody shut up/ I got something to say.” He delivers angsty lyrics reminiscent of a 2000s SoundCloud rap: “I coulda been something/ I got blues now.” The overall effect is a feverish and infectious sound in which you can actually get lost.

Sammy Virji, “If U Need It” — The U.K. garage renaissance is underway and Sammy Virji’s uptempo electronic track, with its pitch-shifting vocals and earworm vocal hook, is a banger. This subby bass and jittery two-step sound create an irrepressible groove made for the dance floor. The DJ and producer will tour through North America in February.

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Q Marsden, “Changes” — Q Marsden’s emotive falsetto vocals express gratitude in this lighthearted track. “Changes” has a timelessness to it and that might be because the drumming and synth bass evoke Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust.” Marsden imbues the lyrics, “I won’t forget the times/ When I felt the love from you” with sensitivity. There’s no guitar here. It’s just Marsden with a synth. That feels like enough. This track is from Marsden’s newly released EP, Hello Everyday Changes. Also, props to Q for using his last name now, because it was impossible to find out last mention of him in 2021, when he was was simply “Q.”

Nitefreak and Emmanuel Jal, “Gorah” — Zimbabwean producer Nitefreak’s Afro-house rhythms and the vocals of Sudanese singer Emmanuel Jal’s suffuse this track with cheer. The lyrics are sung in Nuer (a South Sudanese language) and deal with a variety of topics like handling pressure, coping with ongoing global crises and the importance of reaching out to support one another in challenging times. My favorite part come at the 2:20-mark when the production nearly comes to a standstill before accelerating back into its catchy refrain.

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Mount Kimbie, “Dumb Guitar” — This is the most somber of this week’s tracks. U.K. band Mount Kimbie, now a quartet, returns with a more shoe gaze-laden sound. Add that to the band’s earlier sound (they had one of our favorite albums of 2017) and you get the idea. There are whisps of electronics, woozy synths and guitar fuzz. The vocals are back-and-forth interactions which add to the sensation that this song is somehow caught between two worlds. Mount Kimbie kicks off a U.S. tour in San Francisco on May 17.

Sery’s pick: “Dumb Guitar” by Mount Kimbie is both nostalgic and innovative. It manages to sound true to the band’s sound while keeping fresh. Its somber autumn vibes are just what I want to hear this week.