There’s so much music coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. On those days when the influx of new tracks is particularly overwhelming, we sift through the noise to bring you a curated list of the most interesting new releases (the best of which will be added to our Best New Songs playlist). Below, check out our track roundup for Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
Stereolab – ‘Melodie Is a Wound’
Stereolab have previewed their first album in 15 years with another single, ‘Melodie Is a Wound’, which is a little more understated, yet also more sprawling, than lead cut ‘Aerial Troubles’. It’s also accompanied not by a music video but a cryptic crossword puzzle compiled by Alan Connor, the crossword editor for The Guardian, which is fun.
Jenny Hval – ‘Lay Down’
“I was hoping I was a child but perhaps I am a guide/ Writing to set you free, a guardian of the in-between,” Jenny Hval sings on ‘Lay Down’, the tenderly alluring opener of her new album Iris Silver Mist, which is out Friday. “We enter the album through lying down in our own grave, under the earth, just like the root, which is the part of the iris that has a scent,” Hval explained. “It would be the very best time and place to listen to music, wouldn’t it? The fetus can smell and taste their mother’s food as well as hear voices outside the mother’s body in the final months of a pregnancy. Can a ghost in the coffin still hear the birds singing above?”
These New Puritans – ‘A Season in Hell’
These New Puritans, who recently got a shout-out from Charli XCX at Coachella, have a buzzing new single out called ‘A Season in Hell’. They got Alexander Skarsgård for the music video, which is directed by Harley Weir. “The song features two pipe organs, two sopranos, and two hundred drums,” the band’s Jack Barnett shared. “When I was writing it, images of vast, inhuman machinery kept coming into my head – enormous chains, pulleys, grinding gears, molten iron. Huge machines driving into the centre of the earth. And every now and then, a little human amongst it all, barely visible. Then I saw Piranesi’s etchings of “imaginary prisons” from the 1700s, and that’s exactly what had been in my head. If we could resurrect him, maybe we could have persuaded him to do the album artwork.”
Car Seat Headrest – ‘The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)’
What if Car Seat Headrest sounded a bit more like Bleachers? ‘The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)’ has the answer, and it’s a fun one. It serves as the final preview from CSH’s new album The Scholars, which arrives Friday.
MSPAINT – ‘Angel’
Synth-punk outfit MSPAINT has never shied away from its pop influences, but ‘Angel’, the first preview of their new EP No Separation, still feels like quite a shift. “It’s definitely different from the way I would usually write for the band,” singer Deedee said. “It’s something you can sing along to, but it’s also something that maybe you’re saying to yourself that feels good — some positive thinking. I felt like we succeeded at bringing poppier elements into our space and making them our own instead of trying to bring what we do into a pop space.”
PUP – ‘Olive Garden’
Ahead of the release of their new album Who Will Look After The Dogs? this Friday, PUP have dropped one more single, ‘Olive Garden’ which is noisy and a little goofy. “This is a very stupid, but also wonderful song,” Stefan Babcock said in a statement. “The band get all the credit for turning it into something really special. Zack (who plays drums) heard my cute little acoustic guitar demo and decided we should try and make it as heavy as possible, which is objectively a very annoying thing to suggest. But you know what, I’m glad I kept my stupid mouth shut, because it works. There’s a real magic in the way these sweet vocal melodies are bludgeoned by a wall of disgusting, grinding, detuned guitars. The whole song is kinda upsetting and uncomfortable but also catchy and fun. And I don’t care what anyone says, ‘Olive Garden’ rhymes with ‘Grandma in a coffin’ — listen to this crap and tell me I’m wrong.”
Chris Farren – ‘Cause of Death’
Chris Farren is back with a new single, which features Lexi McCoy-Caso and G Leonardo of Suzie True on backing vocals. “‘Cause Of Death’ is about that morbid curiosity we all have (..right??) anytime there’s news of a death but the cause is left ambiguous,” Farren explained. “It’s a weird, kind of gross, voyeuristic tendency that I’m embarrassed about, but can’t seem to shake. Writing this song was an attempt to work through those thoughts and ideas. And it worked and I’m cured.”
Sea Lemon – ‘Give In’
Sea Lemon has released another hauntingly dreamy song from her debut LP, Diving for a Prize. “Growing up, I never knew the term of ‘intrusive thoughts’ but often had them, and as I got older, my particularly remaining intrusive thought is around wanting to go inside of abandoned houses even if I know it’s a horrible idea,” Natalie Lew explained. “‘Give In’ is about giving into the intrusive thoughts, and the relief and the consequences that happen after. The song was written in an afternoon in my producer’s studio, and was probably the fastest song from initially writing to execution.”
Opal Mag – ‘I Don’t Like You, But I Love You’
Opal Mag has released a new single, ‘I Don’t Like You, But I Love You’, which brims with uncertainty. “This slow-burning track explores the emotional tug-of-war between love and frustration,” the British singer-songwriter explained. “It’s about the internal struggle of being in love with someone, yet disliking their actions and self-sabotaging. ‘I Don’t Like You, But I Love You’ is about the push and pull of wanting to stay in a relationship but losing yourself in the process.”
Lido Pimienta – ‘Aún Te Quiero’
Lido Pimienta has shared ‘Aún Te Quiero’, the latest single from her fully orchestral new album La Belleza. The particularly imposing new song was co-produced by Pimienta and composer Owen Pallett. “Aún Te Quiero’ translates to ‘I Still Love You’,” Pimienta explained. “I sing to the Lido of the past—to the people I once thought would be in my life forever. Friends, lovers, family. But falling-outs happen. We hurt each other. And yet, I’m a softie at heart—I still love all of them, even my enemies. There is so much I deal with as a mother and as a wife, there is so much about myself that I don’t recognize or connect with anymore, it happens to most of us caregivers, when we carry the weight of the home. We can’t always be there for everyone, and sometimes they can’t be there for us either, but the message remains, I still love us, beyond our expiry date.”
Maxo – ‘Human ?’
Southern California rapper Maxo has announced his fourth studio album, Mars Is Electric, arriving on June 20, with the woozy, sleek ‘Human ?’. “This is the first time that I really didn’t care, I didn’t approach things so seriously,” he said of the vision behind the LP.
Lael Neale – ‘Wild Waters’
On Friday, Lael Neale is releasing her new album Altogether Stranger, and today, she’s sharing one more single, the inviting ‘Wild Waters’, whose music video offers a glimpse into the 34-minute film accompanying the LP. “The video for ‘Wild Waters’ was a collaboration with choreographer & dancer Sandi (Denton),” Neale shared. “I had this vision of dancers playing the part of interdimensional beings performing a dance that would open a portal, calling my character through. In perfect synchronicity, when I approached Sandi with the idea, she had already been building a two-person dance that fit seamlessly. I love working with Sandi for this reason.”
Westside Cowboy – ‘Shells’
Manchester quartet Westside Cowboy have unleashed ‘Shells’, a stirring new single produced by Lewis Whiting of English Teacher. “‘Shells’ is broadly about acceptance,” the band commented. “Whether it is the acknowledgment of what you have, or the acknowledgment that change is inevitable. The song is loosely based on a film, in which the character masters this. We have yet to reach this point though.” They added, “I suppose it’s a little more earnest, and it starts slow, but it kicks in soon enough.”
BADBADNOTGOOD & V.C.R. – ‘Found a Light (Beale Street)’
BADBADNOTGOOD have teamed up with Veronica Camille Ratliff, the Memphis musician who records as V.C.R., for a luscious seven-minute track called ‘Found a Light (Beale Street)’. “This is more than a song to me,” she remarked. “It’s a milestone. I’ve been cooking this kind of sound for years — from late nights writing at my desk in South Memphis to composing orchestral works at USC. This collaboration with BADBADNOTGOOD is a dream come true — and a thank-you letter to my hometown, my people, and the communities that raised me. ‘Found A Light (Beale Street)’ isn’t just a single. It’s a love letter to the sounds of the South and the sacred art of collective resilience. It calls back to a time when Black communities turned Beale Street into a sanctuary — a place to find freedom, purpose, and light amidst the harshest of shadows. This song is a taste of everything I’ve been marinating over the past few years — academically, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s a reflection of where I come from and what I’ve been building. And it’s only the beginning.”
Water Machine – ‘River’
Water Machine have announced their debut full-length, God Park – out June 29 – and shared ‘River’, its wonky, instantly catchy lead single. “‘River’ is about your neighbor, hypothetically, stealing your boat,” the band said. “We wrote the bassline, and the rest came quickly. The harmonies were so fun to record, and we got Hando’s partner to sing the high notes as Hando and Flore are altos.”
Humour – ‘Plagiarist’
Humour have announced their debut album, Learning Greek, arriving August 8. They’ve also shared its lead single ‘Plagiarist’, which is jagged yet cathartic. Vocalist Andreas Christoloudis said: “‘Plagiarist’ is about being a lyricist and having run out of ideas and inspiration. In the song, the character is under pressure to put words to music written by the band, and realises that he can’t even steal lines from his favourite books because he has already used them all. He fears being discovered as a fraud and being punished for it with death.”
beaming – ‘colors’ [feat. Kississippi]
beaming have shared a new single from their self-titled debut EP, out June 13 on Rose Garden. The dancey, appropriately vibrant ‘colors’ features backing vocals from Kississippi’s Zoe Reynolds. “It’s about making a change in your life, stepping back, and finding what really makes you happy,” Derek Ted explained. “‘Colors’ started when Braden recorded a keyboard sample at a Goodwill while visiting his family on the East Coast. We pitched it up, dropped in a beat, and the song started writing itself. It’s about making a change in your life, stepping back, and finding what really makes you happy. We wanted it to feel intense and driving—kind of shouty—but still have emotional depth under the surface.”
