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 best new music segment.
This week’s list includes the lead single from Anjimile’s new album, ’The King’, which is at once graceful, imposing, and dramatic; Squid’s latest, ‘The Blades’, which builds with the sprawling intensity the band normally excels at but then deflates into a finale that’s more emotionally crushing than cathartic; Loraine James’ ‘2003’, a pensive, hypnotic track that takes its name from the year her father passed away; Speakers Corner Quartet’s ‘Soapbox Soliloquy’, which features striking vocals from LEILAH as the London collective’s smooth instrumental contorts into weird shapes; ‘Time Ain’t Accidental’, another lovely, moving single from Jess Williamson’s new album; and ‘Devotion’, an explosive, Deftones-inspired highlight from Arlo Parks’ sophomore LP.
Best New Songs: May 29, 2023
Anjimile, ‘The King’
Song of the Week: Squid, ‘The Blades’
Loraine James, ‘2003’
Speakers Corner Quartet feat. LEILAH, ‘Soapbox Soliloquy’
Jess Williamson, ‘Time Ain’t Accidental’
Arlo Parks, ‘Devotion’