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.
On this week’s list, we have Joanna Sternberg’s ‘Neighbors’, a charming, relatable song about social anxiety; Cory Hanson’s soaring, fantastic ‘Western Cum’, the “absent title track” from the musician’s 2023 album; Empty Country’s latest single, a vividly expansive six-minute epic called ‘Dustine’; SLIFT’s ‘Ilion’, the sprawling 11-minute title track that opens the French psychedelic rock band’s forthcoming LP; Torres’ furious, defiant new single ‘Collect’, which leads Mackenzie Scott’s new album; Babehoven’s radiant, beautiful new single ‘Chariot’; and Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Shit Talk’, a soul-crushing eight-minute journey through the end of a relationship that seeks resolution in the repeated echo of “I will always love you.”
Best New Songs: October 9, 2023
Joanna Sternberg, ‘Neighbors’
Cory Hanson, ‘Western Cum’
Empty Country, ‘Dustine’
SLIFT, ‘Ilion’
Torres, ‘Collect’
Babehoven, ‘Chariot’
Song of the Week: Sufjan Stevens, ‘Shit Talk’
