Dear listeners,
Since I took October off to work on my book, I’m still catching up on all the new releases I missed — and with particular urgency, since year-end list season is nearly upon us. Thankfully, Jon Pareles kept his ear to the ground during that time and filled the Friday Playlist with fresh tunes each week.
Today I’m spotlighting seven recent songs I discovered in Jon’s roundups. I’m not sure I would have checked out the brambly folk of Haley Heynderickx without his recommendation, but I’m so glad I did — her “Gemini” is a new favorite of mine. He also pointed me toward tracks from the hip-hop provocateur Tyler, the Creator, the shape-shifting group Darkside and one up-and-coming star (remember the name: Lola Young). And for the grand finale, a certain smooth-operating soft-rock icon returns with her first new release in six years.
Will any of these tracks make my or any of the other critics’ year-end lists? Stay tuned next month to find out.
And I am her just out of context,
Lindsay
Listen along while you read.
1. Ethel Cain: “Punish”
“Punish,” the latest offering from the Southern Gothic alt-pop star Ethel Cain, is a smoldering slow burn, a sparse piano ballad that stretches for nearly seven minutes and gradually corrodes. “Whatever’s wrong with me, I will take to bed,” Cain begins in a slow, vaporous falsetto. The track is alive with phantom creaks and a chilling atmosphere; it sounds like it was recorded in the attic of a haunted house.
2. Haley Heynderickx: “Gemini”
A new album I’ve been enjoying quite a bit lately is “Seed of a Seed,” the sharply written sophomore effort from the Portland folk singer Haley Heynderickx. The opening track, “Gemini,” is a vivid but fretful tale of modern malaise and a doppelgänger who gives Heynderickx refreshing perspective. Even at its most brooding, “Gemini” is enlivened by amusing wordplay and Heynderickx’s wry delivery. As she sings of her foil, in my favorite line of the song, “She peels me back like I’m her cabbage.”
3. Tyler, the Creator: “Noid”
As in “paranoid,” a state of mind that Tyler, the Creator effectively evokes on this track from his richly imaginative new album, “Chromakopia.” That edginess and anxiety keeps him perpetually on his toes, and “Noid” pivots restlessly between a series of stylistic shifts: angelic harmonies that give way to blown-out funk and spitfire rap verses that recall the bratty fury of Tyler’s early records.
4. Darkside: “Graucha Max”
In 2022, the thrillingly unpredictable group Darkside — formed in 2011 by the electronic producer Nicolás Jaar and the multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington — added a drummer, Tlacael Esparza, to its lineup. His muscular contributions are all over the freewheeling “Graucha Max,” which sounds like Tom Waits fronting a krautrock band. If this is the direction that the band is headed in for its next album, then I’ll see you on the dark side of the … nevermind.
5. Lola Young featuring Lil Yachty: “Charlie”
One of the many guests to pop up on Tyler, the Creator’s aforementioned “Chromakopia” is the 23-year-old British singer Lola Young, who adds soulful backing vocals to the wrenching “Like Him.” Young’s ample pipes and charisma are on full display on her latest single, “Charlie,” a funky ballad about a toxic romance. “You’ve got so many red flags,” she sings, “but, boy, they just turn me on.” In his guest verse, Lil Yachty offers the other side of the story: “Is it too hard for you to hear me out at least once?”
6. Soccer Mommy: “Abigail”
I know, I know: I’m always putting Soccer Mommy songs on these playlists. But I just can’t help myself — and this dreamy, lilting, rose-colored ode to a crush is probably my favorite song on Sophie Allison’s latest album, “Evergreen.” Plus the music video is an impressively designed tribute to the role-playing video game Stardew Valley. Cute!
7. Sade Adu: “Young Lion”
Finally, the first new song in six years by Sade Adu — the inimitable lead vocalist of the legendary group Sade — is a candid, extraordinarily moving ballad dedicated to her son, Izaak. Adu recorded “Young Lion” for the upcoming, star-studded compilation “Transa,” a collection of 46 songs that showcase transgender artists and their allies. Adu adapted “Young Lion” from a letter she wrote to Izaak on his 21st birthday, not long after he transitioned, and it is both an acknowledgment of his pain and a celebration of his resilience. “With such a heavy burden you had to carry all on your own,” she sings. “Forgive me, son, I should have known.” It’s a gift to hear her voice again, in such fine form and for such an excellent cause.
The Amplifier Playlist
“7 New Songs You Should Hear Now” track list
Track 1: Ethel Cain, “Punish”
Track 2: Haley Heynderickx, “Gemini”
Track 3: Tyler, the Creator, “Noid”
Track 4: Darkside, “Graucha Max”
Track 5: Lola Young featuring Lil Yachty, “Charlie”
Track 6: Soccer Mommy, “Abigail”
Track 7: Sade Adu, “Young Lion”
Bonus Tracks
Caryn Ganz just published a lovely, career-spanning profile of the great Kim Deal, who will release her first full-length solo album next week. It features a bounty of wonderful quotes and photos of Deal in an incredible T-shirt that has the Las Vegas Raiders logo with the late Steve Albini’s face on it. One of my favorite details was learning that Deal writes all her lyrics by hand on a “hierarchy of paper.” She starts on plain lined sheets, then she transposes the keepers to “scalloped paper plates.” Finally, in the studio, she moves to folders “because you can hear paper plates moving and stuff, and they won’t stay on music stands.” Do yourself a favor and read the whole thing.
Also, to repay Jon Pareles for all his tireless playlisting, I wrote the bulk of our Friday rundown this week. It features new tracks from Shaboozey, Julia Holter, Squid and more. Listen here.
The post 7 New Songs You Should Hear Now appeared first on New York Times.
