Essential Tracks This Week: Wu Lyf, Tortoise, and more

In case you were wondering where Essential Tracks went last week, we took a little break. Even the best new songs need a week off! But we’re back with a selection of five new songs that need to go on your 2025 playlist. Among them are the return of a celebrated 2010s indie group, the return of a celebrated ’90s and beyond post-rock group, some doom, some psych and more. Queue up this week’s best new songs.

WU LYF – “A New Life is Coming”

After releasing their only album, Go Tell Fire to the Mountain, in 2011, the indie rock (or as they preferred, heavy pop) band WU LYF played a handful of live shows, then broke up. Their attempts to cloud their identities and all information about them granted them an air of mystery at the time, but as the years passed, fewer people discussed them. They became a buried treasure of 2010s indie, which is likely what they desired in the first place. This also removes all expectations from their first new track in 14 years, “A New Life is Coming.” The stakes are lower than any of their prior music, but it crackles with exuberance, keeping the band’s lust for life aflame. In some ways, “A New Life is Coming” is a time capsule of what indie rock was a decade ago—sharp, vital, and shameless, without the stench of what the genre would become. – Colin Dempsey

Out now

Tortoise – “Oganesson”

It figures that the week we take a break from Essential Tracks, the mighty Tortoise should return with their debut single for International Anthem. Which isn’t so surprising, given that Jeff Parker has been a member of the venerable post-rock group for nearly three decades. “Oganesson” is a spectacular new chapter for the group, showcasing their jazz chops as well as their sense of economy and groove, its three minutes feeling much bigger and broader than their brief runtime might suggest. Atmospheric, rhythmic, pulsing and immersive, “Oganesson” is a legendary band returning at the peak of their powers. – Jeff Terich

Out now via International Anthem/Nonesuch

Divide and Dissolve – “Grief”

Fans of Divide and Dissolve probably had a hunch that the instrumental doom-metal project led by Takiaya Reed would, like Mogwai, eventually incorporate vocals into the mix. We just didn’t know they’d be coming courtesy of Reed herself. “Grief” presents a shy introduction for Reed on the mic; the song is only 86 seconds long, and Reed’s voice is a very light whisper, with any words undecipherable. (The eerie accompanying video evokes Lost Highway-era David Lynch.) After listening to what amounts , we have to wait for a couple of weeks to find out what else Reed has in store for Divide and Dissolve’s upcoming full-length, Insatiable. – Kurt Orzeck

From Insatiable, out April 18 via Bella Union

Levitation Room – “It Happens All the Time”

Levitation Room’s first new song in a smidge over a year captures the L.A. crew more effervescent than ever. Julian Porte’s whimsical singing is cradled by his guitar, the strings of which he lightly touches to give this delightful ditty even more uplift. “It Happens All the Time” is ticklish and so light that it melts in the mouth, leaving a pleasant aftertaste that reminds the listener that Levitation Room will float across the country to play concerts next month (and release a special vinyl EP on Record Store Day too). – Kurt Orzeck

Out now via Greenway

KAMM – “No Deal”

“No Deal,” the first single from the third and final installment of the KAMM triptych project, feels of the moment, with its heaviness reflecting the world we live in today. It’s from the mini supergroup of techno, house, and upper BPM heroes: Dave Aju, Alland Byallo, Kenneth Scott, and Marc Smith, who joined together nine years ago in Berlin to make something influenced by their love for “early ’90s MoWax era laid-back beats.” 

With Let The Light In, two projects later, these friends come together once more to meditate on loss and the lessons that come with it. Their friend and co-contributor Alland Byallo, the former San Francisco techno stalwart, passed away in his Berlin home last year. The record, a sonic expression of mourning, love, and letting go through audible flavors that range from minimal tech house, downtempo, electro, and numerous other genres from across the spectrum, will be released on Dave Aju‘s Elbow Grease label, a West Coast LA-based underground imprint. – John-Paul Shiver

From Let the Light In, out April 25 via Elbow Grease