Best New Songs Of The Past 3 Weeks (Sorry)
Okay so I'm getting a late start to the year at least on the blog. I woke up one day this week and realized I had somehow just kind of forgotten the weekly segment I've done on here for years. So there's been three weeks of the new year so far and quite a few high-profile songs released, these are the 10 best.
10. Right Back To It - Waxahatchee (feat. MJ Lenderman)
Fresh off a breakthrough year for Wednesday, MJ Lenderman teams up for a supporting contribution to Waxahatchee's new song, and boy does it go over well. The pair aren't exactly charting new ground stylistically but Katie's vocals are somehow even more infectious than ever before and the woozy folk instrumental palette is still a near perfect fit.
9. J Christ - Lil Nas X
Much like Doja Cat did last year with Paint The Town Red, Lil Nas X is leaning into his most controversial instincts. I think he ended up with a pretty catchy song which keeps up the line of his short and incredibly infectious high-energy bangers started by Industry Baby. This song may not be worth all the buzz being made around it by the haters, but that doesn't make it any less fun or infectious to listen to.
8. Nothing To Declare - MGMT
Following up their absolutely incredible first two singles from this era was always going to be tricky for MGMT. S while I may not like this song quite as much as what preceded it there's still an extremely high level of quality here in the lyricism and simple but elegantly satisfying presentation. The band still seems on track to release one of the best albums of the year.
7. Wake To Flowers - Torres
It's getting pretty unsurprising how Torres manages to spin entirely new dynamic and ultra-specific emotional moments into her music. On the fantastic ne Wake To Flowers she returns a chilling distorted grit that's been present on her newest singles but for the first time it seems to reach a more optimistic conclusion. The song features a ripping chorus that combines great subtle songwriting with great refrains to probably serve as the best hook on this list.
6. Now In Motion - William Doyle
I'm actually glad I waited two weeks to do this segment because it gave me time to fall in love with this song. I wasn't exactly head over heels for the track when I first heard it but it just sounds better and better with every single listen. From the irresistible refrains to the wild sonic layering an adventurous instrumental indulgences it's just so bright and lively and impossible to predict from start to finish.
5. Everything Turns Blue - Chelsea Wolfe
Another single and yet another hit for this incredibly impressive new era of Chelsea's career. This may be the most purely bombastic of her songs yet with chilling synths that reverb into space and high-reaching walls of distortion that blow out the hook. Once again she delivers a mysterious and anguished performance that feels exactly as weighty as the dark instrumental deserves.
4. BYE BYE - Kim Gordon
Even though I enjoyed Kim Gordan's solo outing in 2019 it felt incomplete. Now it feels like she's starting a new era where I could fully envision her achieving that completion. The new song is as experimental as you'd expect with a thumping trap beat backed by splashes of distortion that I love. Kim methodically moves through lists of things she's deemed she no longer needs and the monotone nature of her delivery makes those goodbyes feel fittingly cutthroat.
3. yes, and? - Ariana Grande
It continues to be Ariana Grande's world and were continuing to live in it. Ahead of this track likely debuting at number one on the Hot 100 next week I'll put my thoughts out right now, this shit is a mega-bop. I love the vibrant luscious dancy instrumental which Ariana meets with an irresistible girlish swagger. Her performance is perfectly immediate and the song even manages to serve each one of its distinct phases perfectly.
2. Friend Of A Friend - The Smile
The March towards one of my most highly-anticipated release of the year continues. Every single song we've heard from Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood's The Smile feels like an improvement upon the ambitions of their debut. This song runs the full gambit from the group at their gentlest and most raw early on the song to their rambunctious and dizzying sonic heights at the conclusion. Sporting beautiful singing and memorable refrains it's yet another smash.
1. Spinning - Julia Holter
The leading early favorite for album of the year continues to lap the field. Julia Holter's long-awaited first studio album in 6 years arrives in March and now has yet another spectacular single under its belt. Spinning is a longer and more compositionally dynamic outing than her first single and she sinks into just as majestic and blissful of a space as she so often did on Aviary. Arguably with the even brighter presentation and higher-reaching vocals the beauty in every single stroke of the track is even more apparent.
