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.
One might have expected the final week before we welcome the new year to have been somewhat quieter in terms of new releases, but there are still a few tracks worth shouting out. For one thing, Playboi Carti decided to drop his much-anticipated Whole Lotta Red on Christmas day, and while there’s a whole lot to unpack there, the Kid Cudi-featuring ‘M3tamorphosis’ stands out as one of the album’s most atmospheric and hard-hitting cuts (never mind the hilarious “talking hieroglyphics” line). SZA graced us with a beautifully intricate and introspective new single titled ‘Good Days’, while Caroline Polachek and Lauren Auder joined forces for an evocative rendition of Virginia Astley’s ‘Some Small Hope’. We also got an unsurprisingly striking collaborative effort from Kelsey Lu, Yves Tumor, Kelly Moran, and Moses Boyd, while Darkside’s Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington returned with their first new song in seven years, the slow-burning ‘Liberty Bell’.
Best New Songs: December 28th, 2020
Kelsey Lu and Yves Tumor feat. Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd, ‘let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out’
Song of the Week: SZA, ‘Good Days’
Playboi Carti feat. Kid Cudi, ‘M3tamorphosis’
Darkside, ‘Liberty Bell’
Caroline Polachek and Lauren Auder, ‘Some Small Hope’ (Virginia Astley Cover)
