Happy first day of May! Today we play music that feels like a fresh start, with selections from The Stylistics, Cocteau Twins, The Replacements, and Ruby & The Romantics alongside tracks from Nilüfer Yanya, Nadine Shah, Widowspeak, Momoko Gill, and Annahstasia. The set stretches outward with global sounds from Yasmine Hamdan, Zeid Hamdan, Sven Wunder, Jeff Parker, and AURORA. 

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 May 1, 2026 

• “I’ll Be Your Friend” – Ruti 

• “No Driver” – Widowspeak 

• “Doubt” – Holly Walker 

• “Need to Run” – Matthew Herbert & Momoko Gill 

• “Villain” – Annahstasia 

• “Just A Western” – Nilüfer Yanya 

• “Ya Banat” – Kazdoura 

• “Evil” – Nadine Shah 

• “Nahr El Mot نهر الموت” – Zeid Hamdan 

• “Shmaali شمالي” – Yasmine Hamdan 

• “THE THING” – TOMORA, AURORA & Tom Rowlands 

• “Hang on in There” – Mike James Kirkland 

• “How I Spent My Summer” – Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys 

• “People Make the World Go Round (Lp Version)” – The Stylistics 

• “Silently” – Tara Clerkin Trio 

• “Take a Break” – Sven Wunder 

• “I Can See the Devil” – S.G. Goodman 

• “Like Swimwear (part two) [feat. Anna Butterss, Jay Bellerose & Josh Johnson]” – Jeff Parker & ETA IVtet 

• “Love Story” – My New Band Believe 

• “Heavy” – Momoko Gill 

• “Thinkin Bout You” – Flea 

• “Our Day Will Come” – Ruby & The Romantics 

• “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” – The Black Keys 

• “Do Anything You Wanna Do” – Eddie & The Hot Rods 

• “Swingin Party” – The Replacements 

• “Closer Lover” – Nabihah Iqbal 

• “Cherry-Coloured Funk” – Cocteau Twins 

• “Daddy’s Gonna Tell You No Lie” – Red Hot Org, Laraaji, Kronos Quartet & Sun Ra 

• “Birthday” – The Sugarcubes 

• “Province” – TV on the Radio 

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. 

It’s been 40 years since the release of Cocteau Twins’ “Victorialand.” In celebration of the anniversary, we heard two tracks from the album. We also heard a track from New Order celebrating their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Then we heard a classic from Bjork as she gears up for her rave during the eclipse in Iceland this August and a new limited edition 7’ single from Nation of Language, covering the Bruce Springsteen song, “Tougher Than The Rest.”

Plus a track from the debut album from the new Italian shoegaze band, Yumeia & Tre Flip. Portland-based Phosphene has a new album, “Velveteen,” due out in May. We listened to “Wired,” along with new Hammock, The Twilight Sad, and more!

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

• “Lazy Calm” – Cocteau Twins
• “Skin in the game” – Slowdive
• “Emo Song” – The Haunted Youth
• “The Loudest Sound” – The Cure
• “Alma” – Deary
• “Vapour Trail” – Ride
• “Nirvana” – Glazyhaze
• “1963” – New Order
• “Wire” – Phosphene
• “Sweetest Perfection” – Depeche Mode
• “Slow (Clean Version)” – Basement Revolver
• “Falter” – Acopia
• “Drive That Fast” – Kitchens of Distinction
• “Back to Nature” – Doublespeak
• “Duel” – Propaganda
• “The Unsetting Sun” – Hammock
• “The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance” – Sinéad O’Connor
• “Lonely Town” – Steve Queralt & Emma Anderson
• “Spring And By Summer Fall” – Blonde Redhead
• “Pluto Drive / Solar Choir” – The Creatures
• “DESIGNED TO LOSE” – The Twilight Sad
• “500 (Shake Baby Shake)” – Lush
• “Gepetto” – Belly
• “Maid Of Orleans” – OMD
• “Fly to the Ceiling (feat. Rosa Rocca-Serra)” – Theis Thaws, Tricky
• “Death Cults” – Dead Can Dance
• “Unicorn” – Bel Canto
• “eterno riposo” – Yumeia & Tre Flip
• “Such A Shame” – Talk Talk
• “4ever” – Bathe Alone
• “Venus As A Boy (7″ American Dream Remix)” – Björk
• “Tougher Than the Rest” – Nation of Language
• “Little Spacey” – Cocteau Twins
• “Beauty*2” – Ladytron

Excited about some new music in Big Sonic Heaven this week. We played two tracks from the much-anticipated album “Birding” from dreampop three-piece Deary, which was released this week. We also heard the new single from She’s Green, “Paper Thin,” from their upcoming EP, “Swallowtail,” which is due in July.

Plus, the latest from The Julies, Dead Can Dance, Searows, and Miki Berenyi Trio, along with your favorite shoegaze, dream pop, and post-punk.

• “Elysium, Honor Him, Now We Are Free” – Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
• “Doot Doot” – The Fauns
• “In Violet” – Searows
• “Baby’s Breath” – deary
• “Love’s Easy Tears” – Cocteau Twins
• “I Think I Knew” – The Church
• “A Night Like This” – The Cure
• “Low December Sun” – Air Formation
• “Paper Thin” – She’s Green
• “Sweetness And Light” – Lush
• “I’m So Tired” – Deserta
• “Out Of Sight” – Hooverphonic
• “Nobody Loves You More” – Kim Deal
• “Neon Afterlife” – The Julies
• “All Mine” – Portishead
• “Island Of One” – Miki Berenyi Trio
• “Run” – New Order
• “Orange of the Westering Sun” – The Innocence Mission
• “Primal” – Slowdive
• “Smile” – deary
• “Everywhere” – Cranes
• “New You” – My Bloody Valentine
• “Fine Friend” – Pale Saints
• “Stranglehold” – The Churchhill Garden
• “Hazlewood” – Toothpaste
• “Halo” – Depeche Mode
• “Thin Circle” – Bug Teeth
• “Success Has Made A Failure of Our Home” – Sinéad O’Connor
• “Vanity (feat. Rachel Goswell)” – Drab Majesty
• “Coldsweat” – Sugarcubes
• “Our Day Will Come” – Dead Can Dance
• “The Worst Taste In Music” – The Radio Dept.