It’s impossible to be across all the new music out each Friday. Luckily, PAPER is here to help you out: each week, we round up 10 of our favorite new songs from artists — emerging and established — to soundtrack your life. From the surreal to the sublime, these songs cover every corner of the music world. The only criteria: they all have to absolutely rip.
Subscribe to our Sound Off Spotify playlist here and check out this week’s tracks, below.
Song of the Week: Fiona Apple – “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)”
Fiona Apple’s first original song in five years is a powerful, intensely focused track inspired by her time volunteering for CourtWatch, an abolitionist group that observes court proceedings with the aim of pushing back on the racism Black women experience in the judicial system. The song directly references the harm that the cash bail system has on Black mothers, and it’s a beautiful, devastating listen.
PinkPantheress – “Illegal”
“My name is Pink, and it’s really nice to meet you” is a fantastic way to start a mixtape – especially when it’s your best full-length body of work to date.
Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas – “Blessings”
The Calvin Harris house banger the summer wanted and needed.
Kali Uchis – “All I Can Say”
Kali Uchis was born to sing this kind of diaphanous soul song, which captures all the resonant beauty of the old-school lounge music that Uchis has always gestured at.
Tyla – “Bliss”
Shades of 2000s trance bangers undergird this gorgeous new Tyla track, which transposes Afrobeats onto cheesy big-room pop.
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti and Doechii – “Timeless Remix”
Doechii gives this Weeknd/Carti track a much-needed shot in the arm, her rapid-fire flow contrasting nicely with the Weeknd’s smooth vocals.
Moses Sumney and Hayley Williams – “I Like It I like It”
Gorgeous, slow-burning funk from unlikely, but well-matched, collaborators.
Erika de Casier – “Delusional”
Sublime, Dido-core R&B from the surprise-released new EDC album, which fine-tunes her production and polishes her subtle, ingratiating hooks.
LSDXOXO and Shygirl – “Satisfy”
Not safe for work! Club-pop’s patron saints of filth link again for another diabolically horny heater.
Hikaru Utada – “Mine or Yours”
Utada is back doing what they do best – singing over soft, sweet production with a tiny bit of venom.
Photography: Zach Apo-Tsang