This Week’s Best New Songs

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This Week’s 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, in alphabetical order. (You can check out an ongoing playlist of our favorite songs of 2024 here.)


Chanel Beads: “Embarrassed Dog”

The second single from his forthcoming record. “Embarrassed Dog” arrives with a dynamic sophisti-pop energy with a dreamy twist. The otherworldly ambiance comes from the New York artist’s experimentation with synthetic and real instrumentation to create sounds that neither could do alone. In a hushed tone, Shane Lavers sings, “Want to see myself / Unafraid / Funny got a problem with me / I don’t feel the same,” delivering an earnest line through the layers of digitization. The far-away feeling running throughout the song echoes an idea of feeling detached from yourself while clinging to the tangibility of those around you. You aren’t solid enough to stand on your own, so you need someone to keep you on a leash. Between the fuzzy distortion of previous single “Idea June” and the electro-jazz of “Embarrassed Dog,” Chanel Beads’ debut is primed to be a showcase of Lavers’s originality and boundless imagination. —Olivia Abercrombie

Cola: “Bitter Melon”

The first Cola song of 2024 is a rich, six-minute trip that also exists as a flexi-disc included with a zine that’s being sold at independent record stores across the globe. It’s the band’s (Ought’s Ben Stidworthy and Tim Darcy, US Girls’ Evan Cartwright) latest release from Fire Talk Records—following the 2023 single “Keys Down If You Stay”—and a massively hypnotizing vocal performance from Darcy. “On the short side, written out in long hand, the fruit and it’s cover,” he sings. “I circle it over, over and over.” According to Darcy, the track stems from a work of fiction he came up with (that is fully realized in the zine), and it’s his take on fruit rinds, brooding atmosphere and a person “up in the middle of the night studying ‘the gloss’—the additional comments written in the margins of a book.” “Bitter Melon” ruminates and zags, and it’s Cola at their best. —Matt Mitchell

Gustaf: “Close”

The latest from Brooklyn’s Gustaf, “Close” is the kind of hard-nosed post-punk track that’ll worm its way into your head and never let up. Vocalist Lydia Gammill’s firecracker snarl brushes up nicely with Vram Kherlopian’s guitar-playing, which—along with Tine Hill’s smoking bass line—never gets off the ground, and that’s a good thing. The song is so well-paced that you can get lost in its instrumental sauce. “Close” is fun yet composed, reflective and full of grit that I can only describe as honest and radiating with sublime measures of ferocity. “I gave everything to live in your close,” Gammill lets out, “anything to watch you smile. I gave you everything to parade your pose, fill in your light.” The song never hits a full climax, it—as Gammill says—lingers inside. —MM

Horse Jumper Of Love: “Gates of Heaven”

Boston-born, New York-based rock band Horse Jumper Of Love’s “Gates of Heaven” is a grief-stricken single that moves with emotional precision and acuity. The track is layered with a concentrated melancholy. Heady, droning vocals cut deeply into the mournful root of the track over percussion; punches of dissonant, warbling guitar cathartically ring out through the track. Vocalist Dimitri Giannopoulous reflects upon the endless task of dealing with intense grief in the face of everyday life as they sparsely sing “I am late to work again / I’m always missing something when I walked out the door.” “Gates of Heaven” emanates a bare and distinct sadness that is sure to resonate with listeners in this compelling single. —Grace Ann Natanawan

Jlin: “Summon”

Indiana musician and recent Pulitzer finalist Jlin (Jerrilynn Patton) released her latest single from her upcoming album Akoma earlier this week. When listening to “Summon,” the sheer force of Patton’s musical vision will knock you off your feet. The instrumental track is built upon a jolting chasm of noise that moves in short estimated sprints. The abstract and throbbing sounds live in a cavern of inky darkness, swirling and lurching through the track. The sharp, rhythmic instrumental is decorated with syncopated ringing percussion. “Summon” saws through its space with masterful and ferocious precision. —GN

Lauren Mayberry: “Change Shapes”

Chvrches vocalist Lauren Mayberry evokes the bright bouncy pop sound of the 2010s on her newest single “Change Shapes.” The track is centered around a singular, pulsing beat that ricochets off of the fluorescent pop vocals and instrumental. Mayberry’s shiny vocals playfully bend and angle the lyrics as she reflects on having to contort her image to present a version of herself built for an audience, singing “I change shapes ‘til I get what I need from you / We’re all snakes, but what else is a girl supposed to do? / I change shapes, but you never do.” “Change Shapes” is a white-hot pop single that demands to be blasted in your car at the highest volume. —GN

The Black Keys: “This Is Nowhere”

The opening song from the Black Keys’ forthcoming album Ohio Players, “This Is Nowhere,” was co-written with Beck—and you can hear that influence from the jump. The way Dan Auerbach switches up his singing on the track, taking an almost poppier, quick-from-the-hip approach, is pure Beckian. “This Is Nowhere” is the type of moment that proves succinctly that the Black Keys can completely transform their own sound just by reveling in small flourishes and putting trust into a co-conspirator. The mid-tempo instrumental is packed with groovy noise and sugar-sweet melodies that radiate—not to mention some absolutely trippy, soulful harmonies in the outro. It’s refreshing to see long-time rock heroes like the Black Keys embrace a pivot and land on their feet. “This Is Nowhere” is one of their best tracks since Auerbach and Pat Carney returned with Let’s Rock five years ago. —MM

TOLEDO: “In Yr Head (1818)”

Massachusetts money-makers TOLEDO—Daniel Alvarez and Jordan Dunn-Pilz—couldn’t miss on a track if they tried. Following the terrific previous singles “Lindo Lindo” and “Jesus Bathroom” “In Yr Head (1818)” is a stripped-back, synthesizer ballad that takes dream-pop to a whole new place. The song restrains its own up-tempo build, instead settling closer to the ground against the murmur of a damp drum machine. “But I hope someday you get there and come find me in a place where you can let them see the real you,” TOLEDO push, and it’s a real saccharine melody that gets you in its clutches and refuses to let go. —MM

Waxahatchee: “365”

Katie Crutchfield’s latest Waxahatchee single “365” (from her highly anticipated upcoming album Tigers Blood) is steeped in bright, twangy vocals layered into cutting harmonies. A warm, sparse guitar weaves in a dramatic and contemplative undertone, as Crutchfield reflects upon a faltering relationship—singing “It’s a long way to fall back down / You always go about this the wrong way / And I’m too weak to just let you down.” Crutchfield has always had a gift for crafting razor-sharp yet thoughtful ballads, and “365” poignantly showcases her timeless blend of country and folk. —GN

yeule: “Anthems For a Seventeen Year-Old Girl”

When the full I Saw The TV Glow Soundtrack drops, I will never shut up about it—and we have the combined talents of Jane Schoenbrun and Alex G to thank. The trailer for the highly anticipated A24 film featured yeule’s contribution to the heavy hitter soundtrack, a cover of Broken Social Scene’s Anthems For a Seventeen Year-Old Girl. An absolutely crazy pull from the 2002 vault to match the nostalgic setting of the VHS generation, the Singaporean artist breathed a new life into the track—bringing their glitchy aesthetic to a gliding string section transporting you to the world of the film’s fictional Pink Opaque television program filled with misshapen monsters dripping in vibrant colors.

Other Notable Songs: Flo: “Walk Like This”; From Indian Lakes: “The Flow”; Hana Vu: “Hammer”’; Hour: “Ease the Work”; Mary Lattimore & Walt McClements: “Nest of Earrings”; Matt Champion & Jennie: “Slow Motion”; Mount Kimbie ft. King Krule: “Empty and Silent”; Stuck: “Deep Tunnel”; The Lemon Twigs: “A Dream Is All I Know”


Check out a playlist of these great songs below.

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