The 10 Best New Songs

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 below.

Alex G: “Cross the Sea“

Alex G (Alex Giannascoli) has shared another single, “Cross the Sea,” from his forthcoming ninth album God Save the Animals, out Sept. 23. Continuing to throw curveballs, the artist’s distorted new track is a complete change-up from the gauzy riffs and nonchalant vocals of “Runner,” yet both shine with unrelenting devotion. Falling somewhere between unsettling and sort of sweet, Giannascoli is an eager martyr for the subject of this song. His manipulated vocals slither over a buzzing synth as he promises, “You can leave it to me, oh yeah / I cross the field for my baby / You can believe in me, yeah.” Giannascoli previously mentioned how “God” figures into the album not in a concrete sense, but as more of a general sense of faith. On the off-kilter single, you can’t help but imagine him as a vaguely Christ-like figure, walking on water just to see his baby smile, willing to get on the cross, go to the altar, fall to his knees—all in the name of sacrificing for someone he loves. —Samantha Sullivan

Charli XCX: “Hot Girl (Bodies Bodies Bodies)”

Charli XCX’s “Hot Girl (Bodies Bodies Bodies)” might be the official theme song of the new A24 film Bodies Bodies Bodies, but it’s also pretty much guaranteed to become your summer anthem as well. The track, produced by George Daniel of The 1975, is an uber cool instant club classic that makes you feel like “that bitch.” Dancing in stilettos on the table tops and sitting front row at Paris fashion week, Charli constructs a vision of venomous glamor in which money, along with pretty privilege, is literally everything. In a line that feels lifted from Mean Girls, Ms. XCX proclaims, “I’m a bitch girl, fast girl, catch me if you can, girl / You a swerve, girl, who the fuck are you, girl?” The sweltering beat and hyper-pop-esque embellishments exude a certain untouchable aura that will have you feeling like the hottest in the building. —Samantha Sullivan

Hudson Mohawke: “Dance Forever”

Hudson Mohawke, known as one-half of innovative electronic duo TNGHT and as a mesmerizing solo act, formally announced his first album in seven years, Cry Sugar (Aug. 12, Warp). Described as a “shift away from the cloying negativity of 2022,” Mohawke uses the repetitive vocal sample that asserts “I want to dance forever, ever, ever, ever” over a disorienting groove that steps in and out of tunefulness. Engine-like synths and trap-inspired percussion melt into Mohawke’s signature maximalist flair that will make even the most hesitant of people inclined to move. —Jade Gomez

Kolb: “Jean-Luc”

Daydreaming is a necessary part of life, allowing one to escape into the endless possibilities of their mind. Brooklyn-based musician Michael Kolb sinks deep into the fantasy of embodying a French movie star, with the title as a nod to Jean-Luc Godard,. Kolb utilizes his opera background to channel a quaint, wobbly falsetto. He wrestles with the pain of growing old with retaining the childlike wonder of imagination as each toy-like piano sound reveals another step forward in a playful, fantastical world whose boundaries are nonexistent. —Jade Gomez

Megan Thee Stallion feat. Future: “Pressurelicious”

In a long-awaited collab, two of the biggest freaks in the rap game have combined for one of the raunchiest songs of the summer. Southern rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion teamed up with the king of toxicity Future. What does “Pressurelicious” mean? Megan lays it out with a series of adjectives, noting that she’s “hot.” She lays out every way to pleasure her while Future’s deep voice locks into a fast flow as he lets everything take over. “I’ma put my demon in her veins,” Future croaks, much to the delight of Megan who matches his energy perfectly. It’s a horned-out, cocky sex anthem that can go from the club to the bedroom. Do you have what it takes to join Megan and Future? —Jade Gomez

Mo Troper: “I Fall Into Her Arms“

Mo Troper wants his MTV—or at least that’s what the Portland, Oregon, singer/songwriter decided to title his forthcoming fifth solo album, due out Sept. 2 on Lame-o Records. Written during and after a lengthy tour, MTV (i.e., “Mo Troper Five”) packs 15 songs into just over a half an hour, setting chaotic freakouts against watery ballads—and sometimes combining them—when Troper’s not inhabiting his pithy power-pop sweet spot. “I Fall Into Her Arms” is the arguable centerpiece and ideal first preview of MTV, a jangle-pop gem about the tangle of fear and joy that is loving someone. The 94-second track opens on Troper spiraling out (“Everything I thought was wrong / It hit me like a cannon ball”) over acoustic strums, electric riffage and the occasional harmonica wheeze, with only Sam Mendoza and Asher McKenzie’s low end to steady him until his crush returns. Vocal harmonies from guitarist Brenden Ramirez buoy Troper’s relief at finding respite in the song’s eponymous embrace.—Scott Russell

Palm: “Feathers“

Citing Japanese pop music, dub and footwork as influences on the album, Palm’s first new track in four years meshes their more recent sources of inspiration with that of artists such as Glenn Branca, Captain Beefheart and Sonic Youth, who initially contributed to the band’s formation over a decade ago. The single slowly unravels around desolate electronic elements and Eve Alpert’s serpentine vocals, giving it a simultaneously plumy, yet harsh feel. A steady collapse, “Feathers” seems to vaporize until just a few industrial-sounding notes and the glitchy repetition of “make it up” are all that’s left. The barren conclusion feels even more haunting when it seems like the rest of the band have simply vanished into thin air, a sudden disappearance that matches their elusive lyrics and transient demeanor. ‘Feathers’ went through a few drafts—I was initially playing a plodding line on the bass guitar but something about the arrangement wasn’t working,” recalls bassist Gerasimos Livitsanos. “It was only once I switched to bass synth that there was a strong enough center for the atonal guitar and synth pads to make sense. The first one we tracked in the studio, ‘Feathers’ became an undanceable dance song at the last minute.” —Samantha Sullivan

U.S. Girls: “So Typically Now“

Meg Remy’s experimental-pop project U.S. Girls is back with their first proper new release since Polaris Prize-shortlisted 2020’s Heavy Light. Standalone track “So Typically Now” is out now alongside a self-directed video. A synth-pop stomper built on staccato keys and a hammering four-on-the-floor beat, “So Typically Now” has the 2020s’ topsy-turvy housing market on its mind. The Illinois-born, Toronto-based Remy takes New York City as the song’s setting, declaring, “Brooklyn’s dead / And Kingston’s booming / Ripping out my roots / What the hell am I doing?” Remy’s rapid vocal cadence reinforces that disorienting urban churn, but she doesn’t lose sight of who’s profiting from all the upheaval: “Traitors with loans, they run this show / So you sold off your condo.” Backing vocalist Kyle Kidd underscores the choruses and steps into the spotlight during the track’s breakdown, carrying it through its invigorating crescendo. —Scott Russell

Why Bonnie: “Nowhere, LA”

While Why Bonnie might be New Yorkers now, there’s no denying the bands’ Texas roots on their new single, “Nowhere, LA.” The latest release from their forthcoming debut album, 90 in November, out Aug. 19 via Kneeled Scales, it possesses the same melancholic air of a Townes Van Zandt track. Inspired by the true story of Blair Howerton breaking down in the middle of nowhere Louisiana with an ex, the song looks at a relationship “in a review mirror.” The single seems to linger like the second wave of grief that hindsight ushers in, allowing you to look back and pinpoint where things started to fall apart. Attempting to regain her footing yet wondering why “it’s so hard to let you go,” the desolate guitars and downcast percussion seem to trail behind Howertown as she spirals through nostalgia. —Samantha Sullivan

Wild Pink: “ILYSM“

New York trio Wild Pink have announced their fourth full-length, ILYSM, coming Oct. 14 on Royal Mountain Records. The follow-up to 2021’s acclaimed A Billion Little Lights reckons with vocalist/guitarist John Ross’ recent struggles with cancer (he is currently “in the surveillance phase of recovery,” per a press release). ILYSM’s title track exists somewhere between The War on Drugs and LCD Soundsystem, with thrumming synth and Dan Keegan’s steadying drums driving an instrumental entwined in atmospheric piano and guitar. Ross’ gentle vocals hang in the air like clouds as he recounts a dreamlike encounter with the love of his life, backed by Steiner. Later, an oceanic guitar solo divides the song in two—in its second life, “ILYSM” is even dreamier and more danceable, with Ross conjuring gorgeous, pastoral images (“You disappeared under a Catalpa tree / And you moved just like smoke from wet wood / With dandelion seeds falling all around you just like summer snow”). —Scott Russell