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 Thursday, October 1, 2026.
Lil Nas X – ‘World’s Greatest’
Lil Nas X is back with a new single, ‘World’s Greatest’. “‘Walk by faith, not by sight’ was my mom’s favorite phrase to say,” Lil Nas X wrote on Instagram yesterady, announcing the motivational six-minute track. “As I move through life it resonates with me more & more.” The song comes paired with a music video directed by Phillip Youmans.
Radio Free Alice – ‘Big Ideas’ [feat. Rachel Brown]
Australian post-punk band Radio Free Alice’s latest single, ‘Big Ideas’, is a breezy collaboration with Water From Your Eyes vocalist Rachel Brown. “From early on we felt that a second vocal would work well with the song, a kind of call and response,” frontman Noah Learmonth commented. “We’ve loved Water From Your Eyes for years, and had gone to their show when they came to Melbourne. We felt like Rachel would be perfect, they have such an interesting, distinctive voice.”
A Country Western – ‘I Found’
A Country Western have previewed their forthcoming album Audition Tape with a new single, the moodily propulsive ‘I Found’. “I’m really into the idea of recognizing a good chord progression or riff and sticking to it for a whole song – understanding when you’ve got something that can last,” the band’s Garrett Miades explained. “The verse progression felt mellow and soothing when I listened to it for long periods of time on repeat. The programmed drums emphasize the repetition of the chords, and so do the matching lyrics Paris and I sing, like we’re vowing the same thing.”
Blackhaine – ‘Consumer’
Blackhaine has detailed his first full-length, Saints in the Wethouse, sharing the luxurious lead single ‘Consumer’. Rainy Miller, Croww, Space Afrika, Ship Sket, Vanessa Bedoret, and Gabe Evans contributed to the LP, which is out November 13 via XL.
Holly Humberstone – ‘Too Cute to Be Lonely’
Holly Humberstone has announced Cruel World…So It Ends, the deluxe edition of her sophomore album, and unveiled a video for ‘Too Cute to Be Lonely’. “To me the fairytale doesn’t end, it just turns a page to a new chapter,” she said. “Cruel World was a journey of self discovery and finding my confidence in my voice, the songs within So It Ends feel more confident and self assured.”
claire rousay – ‘holy sedative’
After unveiling a collaborative album with Martyna Basta last week, claire rousay is back with news of a new EP, on holding. Arriving October 9, it will serve as the inaugural release on rousay’s new label quality sounds ltd. The early single ‘holy sedative’ is a delicate piano piece in which rousay lovingly fills the space between each note. According to the record’s Bandcamp description, it was “largely captured during tours throughout Europe and the UK in 2026, field recordings while in-transit, hotel room Ableton explorations, piano recordings made between sound check and showtime using the provided pianos at each venue, interviews with people at the concerts, and live recordings of sets on tour.”
THICK – ‘Heavy Metal’
Brooklyn’s THICK have returned with a wry, anthemic new single, ‘Heavy Metal’. “This song started as a verse or two after the Berkeley study came out about heavy metals being found in tampons and snowballed into a larger indictment of the systemic violations that we carry around every day,” the band recalled. “The violence and neglect we experience is a predictable result of systems that don’t see us as people, but objects to be exploited. You see it in the imbalance of consequences: Survivors of rape are often shunned if they go public or carry the weight of assault alone, a woman carries the full burden of contraception, health risks and medical costs around conception, putting money into insurance companies’ pockets while bodily autonomy continues to be challenged and eliminated in some states. Teachers are responsible for protecting kids from school shooters, while pharma companies see an opportunity for profit in the degradation of our mental health.”
They added: “We’re sold the idea that we can subvert the system with consumer choices, as if the main fix for a broken system is trying harder inside it. The real issue is who benefits when people are too broke and too tired to push back.”
HMLTD – ‘Umami’
“‘Umami’ is the closest thing we’ve ever written to a club track,” HMLTD said of the latest single from their upcoming record, FANGS. “Inspired by bloghouse, eurotrash and recession-pop era EDM, it is at once a celebration of the club as a conceptual meta-space for dionysian excess and expenditure, and an indictment of the club in its modern form, where it could not be further from this ideal.”
Willi Carlisle – ‘Gas Station’
Willi Carlisle co-wrote ‘Gas Station’, the latest single from his upcoming double LP The Universal Bubba, with Tyler Childers and co-producer Kenny Miles. “Coming into the recording session, this song felt like a strong draft, like something left in the fridge to proof or set like a dough,” Carlisle explained. “I liked it though: my whole life summarized. All this work, hauling, beating up the highway, singing for hours, just to eat dinner at the gas station. It was late in our two weeks of recording before we got to this song, and I kept wondering if we would cut it. But Tyler came into the studio, wild-eyed, guitar in hand, no shoes, a little haggard. He had an idea, and took my kinda simple blues progression and changed the feel. It became a lot more direct, less tongue-in-cheek. More honest. We stood, started singing, changing words here and there, agreeing and disagreeing. We cut a take with the drummer. We sat in a circle with pen, paper, instruments. Tyler suggested, “goodle days” instead of “good old days.” Kenny kept nodding, fixing mistakes. We kept shaping verses, agreeing that my choruses were working. Suddenly I realized, this was a cowrite! But the red light was already on, the tape rolling. We were writing and recording at the same time. Wild as hell. In the long run, it felt like we should both be singing it, so we doubled up on the choruses.”
Porij – ‘Valley Kudu’
Porij have released ‘Valley Kudu’, their first new music in over a year. According to the band, it’s “the most indie leaning track we’ve ever written. We’d been away for a while and booked a studio in the middle of the Suffolk countryside with the aim of writing the next album. It started out as a voice note and ended up as close to indie guitar music that porij can get. Sonically it feels quite coming of age, think frolicking about with your pals and montage moments. Lyrically it deals with a really difficult time in my life where my partner was very unwell. Ultimately it’s about not losing hope as you shift through the seasons and trusting that time will heal. It was fun playing around with the darker and lighter textures both instrumentally and lyrically and trying to strike the right balance. The title is a bit tongue in cheek as it’s an homage to Mount Kimbie, a band we adore.”
Strawberry Guy – ‘Only Gets Better’
Strawberry Guy has dropped an ethereal new single, ‘Only Gets Better’, lifted from his sophomore album Give Me a Dream. “‘Only Gets Better’ is a song about anxiety, really,” he explained. “But in a way where I guess I’ve written it for myself and others when they experience it – it’s kind of like an ‘it’s gonna be ok’ kind of song. A warm hug almost. A reminder that it can only get better if you are at your worst. One lyric I was particularly happy with is the opening lyric, ‘I saw the future today, it only gets better’… just thought it was a good opening line, aha.’”
