New Music Friday: 4/4/25

Here are the rules: I listen to all 100 tracks of Spotify's New Music Friday playlist, except for anything that rhymes the n-word with itself more than three times, any screamo or screamo-adjacent stuff, any CCM that reveals its true intentions in time for me to hit the skip button, and any egregiously corny modern country music, typically performed by a dude with two first names. Having sifted through this week's playlist, here's what I actively enjoyed:

"End of the World," Miley Cyrus
As a pop artist, Miley Cyrus has long since proven that she can do whatever she wants and usually get away with it. This week, what she wants is to peel off a glittery little gem that Olivia Newton-John could have turned into Top 40 magic circa 1984 — and she's getting away with it, at least as far as I'm concerned. Listening to her still makes me feel like I'm in a one-sided conversation with a 60-year-old cocktail waitress, but no one's perfect.

"Potion," Djo
The last time I wrote about a Djo single, I was annoyed because it marked the second time I'd offered up column space to one of his cuts — and further chagrined because I keep liking music from the Stranger Things cast, which suggests a level of passionate fandom that I swear I have not achieved. Anyway, I was all set to ignore Djo in all future NMF columns, but then he went and recorded this extremely Buckinghamesque number, so here we are once more. Goddamn, this guy is talented.

"catch these fists," Wet Leg
A bunch of people in my feeds are all kinds of excited about this album, and it isn't hard to understand why. If you're ending the week feeling like it might not be such a bad idea to sock some fucker in the jaw — and at the end of this week, who isn't? — "catch these fists" serves as a pretty good soundtrack. Sounds like being strangled with the underwire from the bra of a scorned woman.

"Everybody's trying to figure me out," HAIM
Earlier this week, I caught a headline describing the upcoming HAIM album as being a banner-waver for "single girl summer," which suggests trashy noise pop. The reality is more refined: "Everybody's trying to figure me out" is just HAIM doing what HAIM does best, which remains smartly written, sensibly produced singer-songwriter fare. I dig, of course.

"Heavy Hearts," SYML
Speaking of singer-songwriter fare, here's a gently sweeping, falsetto-frosted lament that lives up to its title without being, y'know, too heavy about it. Based on this song, I'm saying SYML is cut from the same cloth as dudes like David Gray — poignant and affecting as long as it's part of a balanced musical diet, but quick to make you roll your eyes if you get too much of it.

"Rodeo," Momma
Do you miss Veruca Salt? So does Momma. "Rodeo" is no "Seether," but few songs are — just ask Veruca Salt's accountants — and as a ballpark facsimile, it's better than most, with all the quiet/loud dynamics and girlish vocals that make this stuff so much fun when it works this well.

"Loose," ENHYPHEN
Every time I recommend a K-pop song in this space, I feel like I've been tricked, as though grown-ups and thinking people aren't supposed to be susceptible to this music's poreless, lab-grown charms. Whatever. A great pop song is a great pop song, and "Loose" is a finger-snappin' good time.

"Last Girls at the Party," The Beaches
Looking at that song title probably makes you think you're in for a pogo-jumping, hand-waving, garage-rock banger about being the last girls at the party; if this is the case, then I am here to tell you that "Last Girls at the Party" does what it says on the tin. It's been at least 20 years since I wanted to be the last one at anyone's party, but this is still a lot of fun.

"PROLLY US," Lou Phelps
While freely admitting that this sounds like something Bruno Mars might have dreamed and then forgotten, I remain unable to come up with a strong argument against Lou Phelps' panty-dropping technique here. I'd still rather listen to classic soul records, but as these things go, "PROLLY US" is worth a few listens, irritatingly stylized all-caps title and all.

"Sweet Danger," Obongjayar
There's a Young Fathers vibe to this track, which is something I don't get to say often enough. Interesting production, with acoustic guitars shimmying against jungle grooves and sing-songy background vocals, all topped off with Obongjayar's ethereal, slightly menacing singing. Darkly alluring stuff.

"80 Days," Σtella
What was I just saying about irritatingly stylized names? This artist's name is apparently pronounced "Stella," which would be much easier to type. I have some forgiveness in my heart, however, after listening to "80 Days," which kinda sorta suggests what might happen if Suzanne Vega wrote something with Kate Bush's normie cousin. Pretty; ever so slightly haunting.

"State of Mind," Kaskade featuring Lipless
While I allow myself to skip corny country, screamo, and CCM, sometimes I think the most mind-numbing stuff on any given NMF falls into the Avicii/Zedd-indebted club bucket — all washy synths and OONTZ OONTZ beats that probably sound great when they're kicking you in the solar plexus and you're high on molly, but have very little to offer in most other settings. "State of Mind" rises above the fray thanks to a melody that actually goes places and a buzzing synth bed that behaves like a song instead of a blunt-force weapon.

"I Am Going through Hell (Bittersweet)," Dreamer Isioma
Same, Dreamer Isioma. Same.

"Midnight Flight," Little Feat
Last year, Little Feat ended a twelve-year drought between studio albums with Sam's Place, a disappointingly perfunctory set of covers that suggested the group's creative energy might be spent. Now they're back with Strike Up the Band, which is due out May 5; based on the couple of cuts they've released so far, the new tunes find them as sprightly as they've sounded since at least the late '80s. Looking forward to digging into this one.