Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this segment.
Last week, two of the biggest forces in indie music, Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten, joined forces for a grand, emotional single called ‘Like I Used To’, and it’s everything one might have expected from the collaboration and more. We also have a couple of songs on this week’s list that sound seasonally appropriate as summer is approaching: Vundabar’s ‘Aphasia’, buoyed by a catchy, intimate chorus, captures a beautiful sense of nostalgia; Lucy Dacus taps into a similar feeling on ‘VBS’, which builds on her unique knack for personal storytelling and subtle instrumentation. CHAI’s ‘IN PINK’, meanwhile, taken from their new album WINK and featuring producer Mndsgn, exudes a more mellow summery vibe that’s pretty irresistible. A little-known artist named Olivia Rodrigo also released an album on Friday, and ‘brutal’ is a startlingly raw opener and an undeniable standout from her debut. Japanese Breakfast delivered another upbeat, sparkling track from her upcoming album, ‘Savage Good Boy’, alongside a Michael Imperioli-starring video; black midi previewed their upcoming LP with the tense, dizzyingly fierce ‘Chondromalacia Patella’; and Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers announced a new album with the anthemic ‘Stop Making This Hurt’.
Best New Songs: May 24, 2021
Japanese Breakfast, ‘Savage Good Boy’
Song of the Week: Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen, ‘Like I Used To’
Lucy Dacus, ‘VBS’
Olivia Rodrigo, ‘brutal’
CHAI feat. Mndsgn, ‘IN PINK’
Vundabar, ‘Aphasia’
black midi, ‘Chondromalacia Patella’
Bleachers, ‘Stop Making This Hurt’