Every week, we bring you SOUNDCHECK — your destination for the best new music that just hit the web. Because you should always be prepared when someone passes you that AUX cord. This week's roundup features 10 of our favorite emerging and established artists.
“Red Bottoms” by Adéla
Now that we’re less than 10 days out from the official start of summer, the girls are finally putting their best song-of-summer-foot forward. Sure, the mid-tempo beat and less-than-cheery subject matter deviates from the usual criteria we look for in a SOTS — weddings, funerals, graduations, etc. — but it does feel very early-Lana Del Rey (think: “Dark Paradise” or “Summertime Sadness”), which is of course the highest compliment one could receive.
“Stupid Song” by Olivia Rodrigo
This slot could’ve gone to just about any of the British new wave-tinged songs on Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, but we had to give it up to “Stupid Song.” A head fake for the ages, you expect the track to be another entry in the Rodrigo-ballad canon, but instead it surprises and delights at every turn, from the chugging bass line to silent-to-explosive dichotomy of the bridge.
“When I Get Drunk (I Want You Boy)” by Suki Waterhouse
Teeming with temptation and desire, Suki Waterhouse reminds us all she’s more than her Fleetwood Mac-inspired Americana. It’s R&B meets shoegaze, and it’s sexy as hell.
“Club To Your Arms” by Rose Gray
Euphoric. Buoyant. Transcendent. Rose Gray definitely understood the song of the summer assignment. The sticky chorus will be playing on a loop in my head all season long, but you’ll never hear me complaining about it.
“I Wanna Feel It All” by INJI
One day Kylie Jenner is wearing custom blue and orange Chrome Hearts courtside at the Knicks game, the next day the brand is catching a stray from INJI. Add it to the playlist of SOTS contenders.
“Gafas De Sol” by Bb trickz
“Gafas de sol” translates to “sunglasses” in English, so it stands to reason that this song was meant to be enjoyed during a certain warm-weather season. Who am I not to oblige?
“Iconic By Mistake” by Le Sserafim, Illit, and Katseye
No need to keep repeating the same point, so I’ll just say: “24/7, more like 25/8” is a barrrr.
“Still The Kid” by Diva Smith
Maybe it’s because I’m entering the last year of my 20s in a few weeks, but this love letter to childlike wonder did, in fact, hit me like a boulder.
“Best Dressed” by Harmony Tividad
A powerful dismantling of every It girl’s biggest opp: aging.
“BRR” by Meg Stalter
Packed with some of the best why-didn’t-I-think-of-that quotables you’ll hear all year, it’s almost infuriating how good Meg Stalter is at this pop star shtick.
