Diving into new music from Azekel, JIM, Kokoroko, Nate Smith, Don Glori, Phoebe Bridgers, Getdown Services and Kurt Vile.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for August 14, 2026

• “Mountain Top” — RIO KOSTA
• “What It Gave Me” — Jordan Rakei & Jalen Ngonda
• “Comin’ Home Baby” — Mel Tormé
• “Lived In Bars” — Cat Power
• “Moon & I (feat. Céline Dessberg)” — Azekel
• “I’m So Glad” — Magic Sam
• “KEEPS ME WARM” — JIM
• “Da Du Dah (Aleh Remix)” — Kokoroko
• “SPOTTIEOTTIEDOPALISCIOUS” — Kassa Overall
• “PATCHWORK” — Nate Smith, Kiefer, CARRTOONS & Kenny Beats
• “All Blues” — Nicholas Payton & Butcher Brown
• “Sundancer” — Don Glori
• “Miffed It” — Way Dynamic
• “Haunted” — Phoebe Bridgers
• “Lost Boys” — Phoebe Bridgers
• “Summer Sweat” — Hannah Cohen
• “Golden Gate” — Miranda Lee Richards
• “Germfree Adolescence” — X-Ray Spex
• “Backstairs” — The New Pornographers
• “Buena” — Morphine
• “Up on the Sun” — Meat Puppets
• “Days” — Television
• “Rein Me In” — Sam Fender & Olivia Dean
• “Cha Cha Slide” — Getdown Services
• “Glory” — Sault
• “Si, Si, Si” — Abelardo Carbono & Quantic
• “Pelota (Cut a Rug Mix)” — Khruangbin & Quantic
• “Cajun Moon” — J.J. Cale
• “Hey Joe” — The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• “Zoom 97” — Kurt Vile
• “22° Halo” — pôt-pot
• “You Ain’t the Problem” — Michael Kiwanuka
• “Rite of the Ancients” — The Budos Band
• “Spanish Grease” — Willie Bobo
• “Slipping into Darkness” — Funkees

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Sometimes it’s good to just hang out inside of a song that feels like a sunny day.

There doesn’t need to be a destination or some grand lyrical proclamation. It’s a hang-out song; a cruiser.

Some of my favorite movies are “hang-out” movies that just feel like a slice of life instead of a plot-driven narrative. That’s the sonic vibe Kurt Vile has captured (yet again) on “Zoom 97.” It’s the latest taste we get from his upcoming album “Philadelphia’s Been Good To Me,” out at the end of the month via Verve.

Vile has spent most of his career boosting up the city of Philadelphia (much like a proud Detroiter, so I totally get it). On this song, he’s really going for it. The whole affair is a jangly, airy affair that feels like being stoned in middle school and just walking around the park. In this case, Vile is a bit stoned and casually behind the wheel.

Jump in my whip (Yeah), my engine whines, yeah
Zigzag my way down Lincoln Drive, yeah
Puck on my lip, feel I can fly
For a while

This isn’t groundbreaking stuff lyrically, but damn it feels good! You can feel Vile’s bite of bliss oozing through the sparkers. It’s infectious. Because even when things outside of Vile’s pretty Philadelphia may not be the greatest, he’s grateful for what he’s got.

World’s been meltin’ in front of my eyes, yeah
My baby girls, they keep me high, yeah
Ain’t on no trips though, no LSD
True love is the pure drug for me

Vile isn’t breaking new musical ground here. That’s not the point; it’s truly something I don’t want from him. He’s sitting down inside of his sound, perfecting it bit by bit, album by albu … and these dollops of tunes from his latest effort show me that he’s the sharpest he’s ever been at being himself – blissed out and buzzed with nowhere in particular to be.

This story was originally posted on Midbrow.