Photos by Sigrid; Rachel Fleminger Hudson (Wolf Alice); Rochelle Jordan
Each week, The FADER staff rounds up the songs we can’t get enough of. Here they are, in no particular order. Listen on our Spotify and Apple Music playlists, or hear them all below.
Justin Bieber, “Yukon”
I first wrote off “Yukon” during my initial listen-throughs of Bieber’s SWAG but now I’m clinically obsessed (thank you TikTok covers). The record’s most R&Bieber cut channels SZA in the best way: the pitched-up vocals, restrained horniness, and goofy lyrics that compare him to Jimmy Neutron and Hailey Bieber as “Slide City.” Add those falsettos for a glorious ear-meal. —Steffanee Wang
Sigrid, “Jellyfish”
Norwegian electropop singer-songwriter Sigrid returns with “Jellyfish,” a playful, exuberant single about embracing authenticity. “Go on, move like a jellyfish / I’m into it even if it ain’t deliberate,” she sings, spinning an iridescent melody that floats above fast-churning drums. It’s hard to sound so effortless in a world of pop that tries too hard, but Sigrid succeeds at her goal of sounding “a bit nonchalant” and easy like a Scandinavian summer. —Nora Wang
Rochelle Jordan, “TTW”
Rochelle Jordan returns with “TTW,” a self-worth mantra encased in a luxury wrapper and the first single from her upcoming album, Through The Wall. Over gentle house, Jordan sings about maintaining focus and belief when times are tough or, as she puts it, “busting through the wall.” Those obstacles feel easier to circumvent with her sleek vocals in the air. Jordan has long been one of the more under-appreciated club vocalists. This new album might be the one to take her overground. —David Renshaw
Wolf Alice, “The Sofa”
Wolf Alice’s “The Sofa” is the strip of sunlight that leaks through the curtains and splays across the carpet on a day in. Ellie Rowsell’s vocals filter between piano chords on the contemplative ballad that’s infused with a comforting laziness and the slow sink of couch cushions. The song is the second single from the group’s upcoming album, The Clearing, set to release on August 22. —NW
TAGABOW, “Trainers”
Philly shoegazers They Are Gutting A Body Of Water’s new project LOTTO (due October 17) seeks to find humanity beneath the algorithm. “trainers” juxtaposes the comfort blanket of the everyday with the dream of some ambiguous form of escape with frontman Doug Dulgarian slowly yielding to a bigger force. His vocals start out clear and melodic, riding the tidal wave of guitars behind him, but eventually wind up in a digitized mesh, part human part machine. Resistance, it suggests, is harder than just hoping for the best. —DR
Powerplant, “Leaving the Dream”
London synth-punk outfit Powerplant’s Heat EP is a refreshingly melodramatic project that hits its theatrical peak on centerpiece, “Leaving the Dream.” The song explodes into an openhearted anthem fueled by frontman Theo Zhykharyev’s emotive vocals that remind me of Iceage frontman Elias Rønnenfelt. Indeed, it shares the soul-baring sleaze of Iceage’s later work while still maintaining its focus, foregoing fanciful arrangements for clear songcraft. —Raphael Helfand
Agriculture, “Bodhidharma”
The first single from ecstatic metal band Agriculture’s sophomore LP The Spiritual Sound, out October 5 on The Flenser, is named after the founder of Zen Buddhism. Bodhidarma was an Indian monk who stared at a cave wall for nine years, cutting off his eyelids so he couldn’t fall asleep. “Bodhidharma” tells that story with the extremity it deserves. The six-and-a-half-minute track switches between hard-rocking guitar jams and hair-raising passages in which co-vocalists Dan Meyer and Leah Levinson alternate between violent screaming (Meyer) and whispery cooing (Levinson). The radically different vocal styles convey roughly the same message: one of serenity through suffering. —RH
Wet Leg, “catch these fists”
Built around a guitar riff that’s one of the most memorable earworms on Wet Leg’s new album moisturizer, “catch these fists” is equal parts snark and sass. The song’s buzzing, gritty choruses contrast verses where Teasdale’s monotone, almost-bored delivery oozes resentment. What woman can’t relate to Teasdale when she sings, “I just threw up in my mouth / When he just tried to ask me out?” —NW
Deftones, “My Mind Is A Mountain”
The arrival of new Deftones music is a rare and welcome addition to any year. Chino Moreno’s band has picked up a whole new generation of fans since their last album Ohms dropped five years ago. “My Mind Is A Mountain” arrives ahead of next month’s Private Music and finds the band in muscular shape. The riffs are lurching but purposeful, while Moreno’s vocals, always the most seductive weapon in the Deftones arsenal, remains as potent as ever. —DR
Wombo, “Spyhopping”
Wombo have a gift for short, eerie songs that stick in the mind long after they fade to black. “Spyhopping” takes less than two-and-a-half minutes to burrow into the brain stem. “Got a whale’s eye on the side / Told me it was not a lie,” Sydney Chadwick sings over her own wiry bass line, Joel Taylor’s slickly stuttering drums, and ultra-simple licks from guitarist Cameron Lowe. It’s lopsided, repetitive, uneasy, and, for reasons that escape me, incredibly catchy. —RH
