Every week the Stereogum staff chooses the five best new songs of the week. The eligibility period begins and ends Thursdays right before midnight. You can hear this week’s picks below and on Stereogum’s Favorite New Music Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly. (An expanded playlist of our new music picks is available to members on Spotify and Apple Music, updated throughout the week.)
Horse Jumper Of Love - "Mansion"
You don't necessarily look toward Horse Jumper Of Love for riffs — you look to the Boston band for gauzy atmospheres or poetic lyrics. "Mansion," though, is anchored by a brash guitar part that propels the song forward addictively. Leader Dimitri Giannopoulos says he was listening to Swans at the time, which explains why it feels starker than normal. The lines he delivers are laden with cryptic meaning: "My body feels ancient/ I can’t stand it." Once again, HJOL don't miss. —Danielle
Parts Work - "Trenton"
It's so great to hear that voice again. Frances Quinlan has not exactly been a ghost since Hop Along's final(?) album Bark Your Head Off, Dog dropped in 2018, but a new EP from a new band suggests one of the most powerful vocalists in indie rock is about to unleash their powers in public more often going forward. "Trenton" is our first taste of Parts Work, Quinlan's project with Kyle Pulley from Thin Lips. It's got electronic chamber-pop elements that set it apart from explosive rockers like "Waitress," but even in gentler moments, Quinlan's voice is a force of nature. We're all lucky to hear it once again deployed within the context of such dynamic songcraft. —Chris
Witch Post - "Changeling"
Witch Post picked a hell of a track to announce their new deal with Partisan Records. There's nothing revolutionary about "Changeling," but it has that special sauce that makes a pop-rock song sparkle and surge. The central riff is mesmerizing. The drums slap. It's all produced immaculately, crystalline but with just the right amount of fuzz. Dylan Fraser and Alaska Reid's vocals interact with those sounds in gorgeous ways, singing about an alleged encounter with a supernatural being. "We were never the same," goes the refrain, and judging by the sound of this song, it's possible the change was for the better. —Chris
Chanel Beads - "The Coward Forgets His Nightmare"
The best Chanel Beads songs are the ones that feel a little unsettling. Their mystique comes in numerous forms: Sometimes it's as simple as an anonymous voice suddenly uttering the words "police scanner" to remind you that somebody's always watching, and sometimes it's as complex as wishing a late loved one was buried in a cemetery so you could go visit them. "I think I accidentally cursed myself at some point and I don’t know if I should ignore it or confront it,” vocalist Shane Lavers says in a press release for Chanel Beads' latest single, on which he does both. Like an all-too-real night terror, "The Coward Forgets His Nightmare" blurs reality and myth. "I can see the four horses spitting wine into your glass/ And the beauty of your shining picking up outside the back/ Don't think anyone could ever feel this bad," Lavers sings in one of Chanel Beads' most pop-forward melodies yet, pondering whether or not pursuing music has actually saved his soul. Maybe it's too soon to tell, but at least he can say he tried. —Abby
Split System - "No Cops In Heaven"
Sometimes, you might decide that you love a song before you even hear it, just based on the title alone. That might be the case with "No Cops In Heaven," the latest from Melbourne garage-punk stompers Split System. We here at Stereogum are professional music critics, so we don't get to decide our allegiances quite so blindly. But it brings us great pleasure to report that "No Cops In Heaven" lives up to its name. In fact, it's exactly what you want to hear when you learn that a band called Split System has a song called "No Cops In Heaven" -- a ragged, commanding, surprisingly catchy fist-up hooligan singalong about how cops don't belong in heaven or anywhere else, for that matter. Let the hate flow through you. —Tom
