At Paste Music, we’re listening to so many new tunes on any given day, we barely have any time to listen to each other. Nevertheless, every week we can swing it, we take stock of the previous seven days’ best tracks, delivering a weekly playlist of our favorites. Check out this week’s best new songs, in alphabetical order. (You can check out an ongoing playlist of our favorite songs of 2024 here.)
Bat For Lashes: “Home”
Natasha Khan has crafted a deeply personal and emotionally resonant collection of music for her daughter, most evident on the singles released ahead of her upcoming album, The Dream of Delphi. “Home” is an especially poignant continuation of these love letters—serving as a gift for the album’s titular muse. According to Khan, this was her favorite song. “Home” is a cover of DJ Bauuer’s dance track, but Khan’s rendition transforms the crisp beats of the original into a dreamy swirl of delightful, grooving electronica—as she promises, “I’m on my way.” The album is a deeply intimate reflection of how motherhood reshapes your life and your perspective on it, and the inclusion of Delphi’s favorite song is a testament to the limitless depth of a mother’s love. —Olivia Abercrombie
Crumb: “The Bug”
There’s a part of Crumb’s new single, “The Bug,” that I keep returning to: While synthesizers swirl like a cloud of bliss, Jesse Brotter’s basslines are building their own temple of muted groove beneath the surface. It’s ecstatically fascinating, further punctuated by Lila Ramani’s vocals—which glide through angelic octaves before settling into a vocoder-style, down-tempo glitch. “We hold on tight, wrapped up just you and I, while the moon looks full of red,” Ramani sings. “It’s the pull, keeps us moving straight ahead.” Following the momentum of lead single “AMAMA,” Crumb’s new era includes all of the bells and whistles. Ramani’s silky guitars compliment Jonathan Gilad’s percussion and Bri Aronow’s programming and harpsichord, while Brotter’s bass anchors the song’s colored pulse. —Matt Mitchell
DIIV: “Frog in Boiling Water”
Brooklyn’s DIIV is back with the title track of the album that almost destroyed the band. Like the other singles, “Frog in Boiling Water” arrived this week via a strange and cryptic website called Soul-Net. The song is a reference to Daniel Quinn’s 1996 novel The Story of B—a similar metaphor to the band’s near demise—describing how an unsuspecting frog can stay in a boiling pot until it’s too late. The song opens with the line, “All collapse in the sun”—a foreboding message from a band on the brink. “Frog in Boiling Water” is a mash-up of fuzzy shoegaze-inspired guitars and grungy riffs weaved between a dreamy vocal from Zachary Cole Smith. The whole album feels like teetering on the edge of ruin, and “Frog in Boiling Water” plunges you deep into that disquieting uncertainty. —OA
dog eyes: “fair”
The latest single from Oakland duo dog eyes—Davis Leach and Haily Firstman—is a green-as-grass folk track with cosmic vocal harmonies that sound like acid-covered flannel shirts come alive. It’s a truly delightful sound to behold, as dog eyes reckon with relationships and friendships now-separated but, in the eyes of hope, never fully surrendered. “Living like we had forever, knowing though it was fair weather,” Firstman sings. “I would make my bed with/for you, if all is fair you’re comin’ through.” As the duo explains, “the song feels nostalgic and kiddish with pitched up vocals and [a] mention of ‘kool aid hair dye’ and ‘trading snacks,’” and it’s a truth that explains exactly why the song’s nostalgia works and why the turning seasons of the music feels so invigorating on the first, fifth and 100th listen. —MM
Dr. Dog: “Talk is Cheap”
I have been craving a new Dr. Dog album for all of the six years since the band’s last, and the time is finally here. In July, the Philadelphians will put out a self-titled album via We Buy Gold Records, and new single “Talk is Cheap” follows their previous release “Still Can’t Believe.” The former was written by bassist Toby Leaman, who says it’s “about my wife and how much I rely on her, how she’s always there for me,” and it cracks open with percussionist Eric Slick pounding on a cowbell before Leaman’s vocals join the party. “Feeling old and dumb and in the way, but I can change before the moon explodes and the sun stops shining,” he sings, as the band slowly begins to envelope his voice. Soon, Dr. Dog throw you into a full-blown, psychedelic soundscape filled-out with soulful, bluesy background harmonies. If you were hoping for Dr. Dog to come back with a bang, “Talk is Cheap” is everything you could ever want. —MM
Fat Dog: “Running”
“Running” is an apt title for a track that made me want to take a breather after listening. South East Londoners Fat Dog have officially announced their debut album, fittingly titled WOOF and with a relentless barrage of high hats and sampled “woofs” mixed into this jam-packed face melter of a track, “Running” is an accelerated journey through the cultic origins of Fat Dog. The song emphasizes the band’s particular flavor of chaos with a music video that takes us through a cycle of ritualistic activities, horror imagery and laser special effects. Vocalist Joe Love said they wanted to make something ridiculous, and Fat Dog knocked it out of the park with a ludicrousness that stays in tune with the band’s infectious energy. —OA
Florist: “Riding Around in the Dark”
Florist remains one of my favorite active bands, and my review of their last album corroborates as much. Em Sprague’s Brooklyn four-piece continues to release compelling folk music that rummages its way into the parts of your heart that needs it most. With Jane Schoenbrun’s new A24 film I Saw the TV Glow hitting theaters next month, much hype has started to swell surrounding its soundtrack—which features Sloppy Jane, Bartees Strange, Caroline Polachek and many others. Earlier this year we got yeule’s cover of Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl,” and now we have Florist’s “Riding Around in the Dark.” Sprague’s voice sits atop a bedding of acoustic guitar, while faint keys and strings and glitches of horns surround her. “It’s the end of the world and we’re driving around,” she sings, and you don’t have to know the plot of I Saw the TV Glow to feel every single emotion in the tidal wave of Sprague’s delivery. The best soundtrack songs are the ones that can stand the test of time beyond the source material it’s written in service of, and “Riding Around in the Dark” will do just that. —MM
Kara Jackson: “Right, Wrong or Ready”
Chicago singer-songwriter Kara Jackson has always excelled at storytelling within her own music. On her latest single, a masterful cover of Karen Dalton’s 1969 folk song “Right, Wrong Or Ready,” Jackson gives us a studio rendition of the tune she regularly opens her live sets with. The subtle power of her voice is striking in the track, and her low, smoky alto meanders in the drawn-out vocal phrases—tenderly filling the space alongside a solo acoustic guitar. Jackson warmly adapts the track into her own, creating a fresh feeling of closeness and intimacy derived from the origina—breathing new life into the classic song and crafting a full-bodied interpretation with a newfound weight to it. —Grace Ann Natanawan
Lightning Bug: “Lullaby for Love”
“Lullaby for Love” is the final single from Lightning Bug’s upcoming album, No Paradise, and it leans into the cheesy side of love—as it was initially written as part of a mixtape for an ex-partner of frontwoman Audrey Kang. Beginning with a looping beat, “Lullaby for Love” swings between a soaring romantic ballad and a smokey groovy interlude. Though love can sometimes feel silly—emphasized by the fact that this song was originally written as a joke between partners—those massive feelings are beautiful no matter how gooey and sappy they can be. In turn, “Lullaby for Love” arrives as a stunning display of Kang’s vocal prowess, combined with the resplendent sounds of a grand, timeless love story. —OA
Marina Allen: “Swinging Doors”
Marina Allen’s latest single from her upcoming album, Eight Pointed Star, celebrates starting over. “Swinging Doors” is delightfully sunkissed and jangly, driven by lightly textured guitars and ringing harmonies that are brightened by Allen’s sharp vocals and candid lyricism. She opens the track singing, “Time doesn’t wait for you / Truth is there’s nothin’ to lose / Truth is all I have to choose,” and the rest of it is saturated with a palpable excitement that Allen describes as “like the butterflies you get in line at Six Flags.” “Swinging Doors” relishes in the thrill of new beginnings, savoring each moment with off-beat joy and eagerness. —GN
Mr. Sam and the People People: “Go Baby Go (Part One)”
The lead single from Sam Gelband’s—aka Mr. Sam and the People People—upcoming solo album, Again! Again!, is a real gem. The New Orleans musician is ever the prolific player, joining in on releases from Chris Acker and the Growing Boys, the Sons of Ranier, Sam Doores and others, but here, Gelband is taking the mic for himself. “Go Baby Go (Part One)” is a tack-sharp Americana tune featuring a blistering lead guitar from Video Age’s Ross Farbe and backing vocals from Doores and Gina Leslie. It’s a communal track and sounds just like the Puget Sound oasis it was recorded in, with Gelband’s rough-around-the-edges-yet-soulful baritone guiding the arrangement’s current like a shepherd. “I glow in the light of my dashboard and I watch the parade,” he sings. “Grow in my rearview mirror, and I think of a place I’d rather be—just a good friend and me—so I slip away.” Do yourself a favor: Open your heart as wide as it can and let “Go Baby Go (Part One)” take up some space there. —MM
mui zyu: “the rules of what an earthling can be”
London-via-Hong Kong musician Eva Liu—aka myu ziu—has been fleshing out her new album, nothing or something to die for, in truly beautiful ways this spring. Early tracks like “everything to die for” and “sparky” were especially entrancing, but new single “the rules of what an earthling can be” might just be my favorite offering from the record yet. As Liu puts it, “an alien sprouts in a library and shows us two doors. They assure us one of the doors leads to a better universe. However, the other door will drag us back to reality under the never-ending curse of the harmful rulebooks Earthlings force upon each other. In this cruel world people’s bodies are policed and their dreams are crushed. Thankfully the alien will help us choose the right door.” With that extraterrestrial optimism, the song’s synthesizers plop and sparkle like a xylophone and thin rushes of guitar, cello and violin cut between the teardrops. The song aches, trembles and then, marvelously, soars. —MM
Porter Robinson: “Knock Yourself Out XD”
DJ and producer Porter Robinson continues his tonal shift into poppy sincerity on “Knock Yourself Out XD,” the second single off his upcoming third album SMILE! 😀. While writing the record, Robinson aimed to create a non-stop party packed full of energetic dance tracks, but it morphed into him confessing his innermost feelings through high-energy compositions. He opens the track singing, “I threw my phone into the sea, simple human being, wouldn’t know how to brush my teeth without asking my team,” a blunt depiction of his ridiculous world as a star whose every move is calculated and approved. With the vocoded energy of Owl City and the electronic flair of your favorite 8-bit game soundtrack, Robinson has perfectly captured pop’s whimsical, bright splendor on “Knock Yourself Out XD.” —OA
Shannon Lay: “Mirrors”
Los Angeles singer-songwriter Shannon Lay returns with a new single that embodies the rich and blissful sounds of ‘70s folk. Lay’s vocals are imbued with rhythmic Joni Mitchelll-esque inflections that carefully narrate her story while centered around the velvety instrumentation. Softened piano chords and fluttering flute weave together to create an intricate tapestry of sound. She describes the track as an expression of “radical vulnerability,” as she details the journey to self-realization and growth. She sings the final lines, “I am dreaming / Am I dreaming? / Is it me up there? / Hello?” Lay’s “Mirrors” affectionately channels the sights and sounds of generational folk music, blooming into a stunning ballad of ageless self-love. —GN
St. Vincent: “Big Time Nothing”
The third and final single from St. Vincent’s forthcoming album, All Born Screaming, is a sea-change tempest catalyzed by a thick, propulsive and alien bassline. As Annie Clark told us in her recent cover story, it’s like “the actual harnessing of electricity, your circuitry molded by your own hands like you’re the God of lightning, that starts with real fire. It starts with chaos and you’re harnessing chaos and that is exciting.” On “Big Time Nothing,” Clark creates a new language for herself and remains in service to what the song demands of her—and, in this case, that means a distorted opening guitar riff not unlike her Strange Mercy era, but done in a way that mimics the industrial, doomtrodden, gnarly dance music of All Born Screaming. “I look inside,” Clark sings. “Nothing!” “Big Time Nothing” is fully engrossed in its own groove, and it’s one of the best St. Vincent songs since Masseduction. —MM
Other Notable Songs: Another Michael: “Seafood”; Corridor: “Jump Cut”; Candy ft. MIRSY & mmph: “Love Like Snow”; Crumb: “The Bug”; DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ: “Come Find Out”; ellis: “home”; GEL: “Mirage”; Girl and Girl: “Oh Boy!”; mui zyu: “the rules of what an earthling can be”; softcult: “One of the Pack”; Thurston Moore: “Rewilding”
Check out a playlist of these great songs below.