HOT HALF DOZEN 2.17.26

151 songs, albums, and videos submitted this week for review

 Everywhere Isn’t Texas by August Ponthier. This is country-rooted pop with folk, rock, and “smoky lounge” textures.  But lyrically very singer-songwriter/indie- an exploration of her complicated relationship with Texas, queer identity, family dynamics, generational pain, ambition, and reinvention.  Musically, it is nine songs that both reveal and try to understand who she is, now that she has escaped the repressive upbringing of her home in Allen, Texas.  Her voice is angelic;  the lyrics heartbreaking; the listening pleasure is over the top. Stream on Bandcamp and major platforms.

Leaving Home is Going Home, single by Gracie and Rachel. Ethereal, mysterious; a search for home, not as a physical place, but inside yourself.  Beautiful harmonies, a piano-led, slow-build, light-filled verses sparking with piano notes, while the duo muses on how departure and arrival blur together. A  work of art at many levels, conceptually, musically. arrangements, production, singing – it all fits together in a masterpiece that I, for one, will put in my permanent, every day playlist.  It makes me soar and think.  Stream on all major platforms.

La Vie en Rose, a recently discovered single by Peggy Lee. Cover of the romantic song written by Édith Piaf (lyrics) and Louiguy, the stage name of Louis Guglielmi (music).  Peggy Lee Associates today announces the release of a previously unheard recording of Peggy Lee performing the beloved classic “La Vie en Rose” in French, accompanied by a jazz trio. Captured on Lee’s personal reel-to-reel tape recorder around 1952, the intimate performance makes its long-awaited debut as a Valentine, shared publicly for the first time. The digital-only single is available at all digital service providers.

 Quiero Querete, single by Bebo Dumont. Puerto Rican singer-rapper Bebo Dumont turns inward on 2025 single “Quiero Quererte,” a mellow R&B-leaning track about needing self-love before you can fully love someone else. Over spare production, he confesses to life “de avión en avión” (plane to plane) and patterns that pushed a partner away.  The singing is kind of flat, neutral, emphasizing the meaning of lyrics, played to a slow R&R beat, except where he moves from singing to talking.  Stream on major platforms.

Love to be Loved, single by Carin Leon and The Warning.  I. Love. The. Song.  Carin, of course, is a Mexican mega star with 18 million followers, and The Warning is the hottest rock band in the country. This is addictive down and dirty rock by four of the best rockers on the planet. The contrast between the heavy masculine lyrics of Carin and the strong, urgent vocals of the three women in The Warning is especially thrilling – not to mention the screaming guitar riffs of Daniela  Villarreal Vélez, and the kick- you- in- the- stomach drumming of Paulina Villarreal Vélez, all leveled out by  Alejandra “Ale” Villarreal Vélez bass notes.  Stream everywhere.

Lo Que Se Dice Amor, single by Carolina Ross.  Solidly in the Mexican Regional genre, this song expands the category with a ballad-like structure and, of course, Carolina’s fabulous voice.  The urgency she puts into the lyrics isa joy to listen to.  It moves along at a gentle pace to give her ample space to caress each word with her voice.  You’ll learn to sing this one in the shower. Stream on all platforms.