Kevin Bronson on December 9th, 2022

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Filling ears on Friday: Here are new songs from Nik Freitas, Cuco, Alicia Blue, Wyatt Blair and Rachel Goodrich  …

NIK FREITAS, “Where Did We Go?”

Songwriter Nik Freitas is galloping through the sands of time on the buoyant new single, “Where Did We Go?,” released this week to cap a huge 2022. The Visalia native, who before turning to music photographed the skateboarding world for Thrasher Magazine, published a hardbound book of images documenting the Central Valley scene from 1992 to 2004. It’s titled “Tule Fog,” and Freitas even released a companion album of instrumental music. (Spoiler: It’s pretty great, too.) That marked the 10th full-length from a musician who besides his own work has played in Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band and also with Broken Bells. “Where Did We Go?” follows his 2021 EP, “Searching for Device.” It’s self-produced and might be closer to Lord Huron than anything in Freitas’ catalog.

CUCO, “Pendant”

Fresh off the release of his sophomore album, “Fantasy Gateway,” Cuco is back with a heartrending tribute to his late grandfather. “I started to write ‘Pendant’ while my grandpa was still alive, and after his passing, I felt like I had to finish the song for him. I feel like it holds relevance to any guiding figure in your life.” With piano, guitar, arching synths, Sen Morimoto’s saxophone passages and strings arranged by Johan Lenox, there’s damned near a Pink Floyd moment here. And an astral one at that.

ALICIA BLUE, “I Want It Faster”

Pop-Americana siren Alicia Blue released the EP “Inner Child Work – Part 1” earlier this year. The second installment arrives Jan. 20. After introducing “Inner Child Work – Part 2” with the singles “Young” (a collaboration with John Paul White of the Civil Wars) and “Best Hands,” Blue this week released “I Want It Faster,” a brisk rocker with some nifty internal rhymes. Of the two EPs, Blue, an L.A. native currently stationed in Nashville, says: “These ‘Inner Child Work’ EPs and my existence as an artist come from a need to connect and develop relationships — yet simultaneously I’ve always felt like this lone candle in a dark room. Each song on the EPs are really just about the difficulty of navigating this life and not having all the proper tools to live it in the most successful way, and by successful, I mean the healthiest way. I like to think that getting this all out helps me in some way.” Blue returns to L.A. to play It’s a School Night at Bardot on January 30.

WYATT BLAIR, “Something About You”

No matter what he’s doing, Wyatt Blair somehow always sounds like he’s having more fun that anybody has a right to. Blair, the prolific songwriter and head confectioner at Lolipop Records, last year stretched out from his power-pop roots with the album “Big.” Today brings the release of another new album, “Ricky’s First Dance,” an admittedly bubblegum frolic through retro disco-pop. While not for anyone rankled by homage, “Ricky’s First Dance” prevails with melody and sheer ebullience. Put it on while leafing through your parents’ prom photos. See Blair perform tonight at Harvard & Stone.

RACHEL GOODRICH, “I Can’t Remember”

The follow-up to “Think About Me” and “Number Down,” “I Can’t Remember” is Rachel Goodrich’s third single of 2022 and the latest in a batch of music where she’s let her Rickenbacker be her guide. Co-produced by Jenny O., it’s a heartfelt I-miss-you missive with inviting harmonies. Goodrich has a full album in the works, but like the song says, “Don’t let me wait too long.”