Just a couple months into 2025 and we already have too much music to listen to. It’s a good problem to have. Sorry, but you now have to add a few more sonic helpings to your plate with these local releases.
Darren Barrett, album out now
Berklee professor Darren Barrett is an ace jazz player. But you don’t come up in Boston and New York in the ’90s and not absorb some hip hop vibes. With “db-ish: Straight Vibesss,” the trumpeter and bandleader crashes jazz and hip hop (and much more) together to glorious results. Drum machines and drum kits lay down beats while Barrett and his collaborators create long, dreamy jams that recall hard bop, trip hop, funk, and ambient soundscapes. darrenbarrett.com
Debo Ray, album out now
Debo Ray is a great rock singer. She’s a great jazz singer. She’s a great opera singer. And yet she generally skips those genres for an album that blends ’90s neo soul with modern r&b. “Time With You” would fit nicely on the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack. “Tell Me What You Want” deserves to be a hit you spin between H.E.R.’s “Damage” and Janelle Monáe’s “Make Me Feel.” So… Debo Ray is a great r&b singer too. iamdeboray.com
Louie Lou Louis, album out now
Folk music in the widest sense. Louie Lou Louis’ “Moonlit Dream” shows off his ’70s singer-songwriter and jazzy pop vibes with welcome nods to his Haitian roots. The songs are political but relentlessly open, gentle, and breezy. You won’t find sublime sonic blends like “Where I Come From” or “Stranger in Town” anywhere; they are somehow soul, folk, and Caribbean jazz all at once. The Berklee grad returns to town to celebrate his new album with a March 28 Club Passim show. louieloulouis.com
Cameron Keiber, album out March 14
Cameron Keiber steps out from his ongoing project Eldridge Rodriguez to make his first solo LP. And it’s a doozy. It’s a goth record for our political moment. It’s an indie rock opus for the broken and introspective. Built from electronic bleeps and washes and visceral, raw instruments — check the harmonic on “A Newer Year” — these songs feel both modern and classic as they explore depression, death, justice, and religion. Oh, it’s also catchy, see the big guitar on “Sons and Daughters.” midriffrecords.com
Jen Kearney, single out March 21
Boston singer-songwriter Jen Kearney looks at the social media algorithms that manipulate us in a new single that manipulates genre boundaries. “Long Division” dips into Latin jazz, jam rock, and revivalist soul and pairs them with smart, defiant lyrics. Celebrate the single’s release with a March 21 show at the Burren Backroom in Davis Square. jenkearney.com