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.)
Ari Lennox - "Twin Flame"
Ari Lennox has made many good songs about being disappointed in men, whether the root cause is their apparent incompetence, their audacity, or simply their inability to match her freak. But on "Twin Flame," the latest single from Lennox's upcoming "lover-girl era" album Vacancy, there's something particularly harmonious about this new relationship: "You got me out here acting different/ Got me cleanin', cookin' in the kitchen," she sings over an ultra-sleek pop-trap instrumental. Shamelessly sentimental and seemingly effortless, "Twin Flame" captures the euphoria of feeling innately understood by a partner without sacrificing yourself in the process. —Abby
Cashier - "Like I Do"
Describing the lead single from your debut album as "a piece of generic rock," as Cashier's Kylie Gaspard described the bashed-out guitar-and-drums assault "Like I Do," does not seem like the most effective way to get people to listen. But signing to Julia's War? Now there's an effective promo tactic. Cashier are among the latest signees to the TAGABOW-founded Philly label, and with this lo-fi rocket blast, they've emphatically seized our attention. —Chris
Kim Gordon - "Not Today"
In 2024, Kim Gordon sardonically mumble-rapped over a trap beat that was originally made for Playboi Carti and the indie rock world exploded with laud and disdain. Now, the former Sonic Youth co-leader is causing commotion with a lead single again. “Not Today” has a restless rhythm, meandering feedback, and Gordon singing of a hole in her heart, her mess of a dress, and running away. It’s urgent and bright, like a refreshing morning that makes you want to start your life over. —Danielle
Robber Robber - "The Sound It Made"
Enough with the shoegaze revival. Let's bring back the motherfucking breakbeat revival instead. Let's bring back car commercials set to jungle bangers. Let's bring back electroclash irony and riffs that hit like the eyeball montage from Requiem For A Dream. Let's bring back blown-out, splintered guitar chords with staticky deadpan vocals and berserker drum 'n' bass skittter-splats. "The Sound It Made" is some of the most recklessly alive-sounding indie rock I've heard in a minute. Let's get some more songs like this one. Let's have fun. —Tom
deathcrash - "Somersaults"
When did you last attempt a somersault? I don’t remember the last time I let my body roll like that along the ground. It’s the kind of swift movement one outgrows but never forgets — the kind of thing you’re doing all the time as a kid until one day you never do it again. deathcrash’s latest single encapsulates that feeling of looking back on something that used to be so important, whimsical. It’s a slow build in which wonder and longing increase with each precious plucked guitar string. Eventually drums usher us forward with a familial piano melody and lite-brite synths.
"Somersaults" is a gut-punch of a song, easing us into rich emotions entwined in the past. "There’s so much that I think/ But I wouldn’t ever say," goes one potent line buried amongst the swell of emotion. Then there’s the song's chorus: "This is shy town all the way/ We’re coming home." But I enjoy actively hearing it wrong. As someone from the Chicagoland area of course I register it as "Chi-town," which makes me want to weep and call my dad (in a good way). —Margaret
