New Music Friday: Sylvan Esso, In Color, Boy Harsher, Saint Clair, Ash Leone

I’ve been going with three artists on the Fridays I remember to post new music so far, but there are five fresh tracks that I was into this week.

One of my favorite groups, Sylvan Esso, powered by one of my favorite music producers — Nick Sanborn — dropped a new track this week. Sounds trip hoppy to me but someone in the YouTube comments disagreed! Regardless, the meandering drum machine beat and the dreamy Sigur Rós sample is sick.

In Color is a new find for me. They are a Nashville-based band formed in 2024, so they’re kind of a new find for everyone I guess. I will be keeping an ear out because I was impressed by this new track from them. It’s a simple beat, reminiscent of When The Levee Breaks, with repetitive 8th notes from both the bass and guitar parts, but the vocals elevate everything else. Everything comes together in the bridge to give it a kind of epic feel. Is good.

Boy Harsher is my favorite dark wave band and I get excited every time they drop something, so this track I saw come across my feed this week was no different. Like much of their music, it’s a deeply uncomplicated beat with a leather-clad 80s vibe. They are incapable of missing.

Saint Clair is a new-ish guitar band from London that I kind of found by accident. If you guessed that I saw the name and got it mixed up with Saint Vincent, then you are correct. I was pleasantly surprised, though. I am traditionally a fan of whiny vocals arranged in a loud-quiet-loud motif. If you’re into 90’s alternative, this new track should strike a chord with you as well.

Ash Leone has made the rounds in Philly, Nashville, Los Angeles, and is now releasing music from Dallas. Like a lot of the new music I’m finding recently, I just found this track while scrolling through Instagram Reels. It is unfortunately an effective strategy for artists who want to find their way to my ears.

This is the most poppy track on my list of new music this week — upbeat and very danceable. Her voice is reminiscent of Lily Allen, but more sultry, less sassy — though she slides into the high notes with ease when she needs to.