Best New Tracks
5) Bowling Shoes – “Factory Pop” (2025)
This band is the result of Jeremiah Bermel’s neverending commitment to make music that makes people want to bop their heads. Joined by Ben Walker, Sam Nazaretian, and Sean Thomas, the band formed in college at MassArt. The band gets its name from a high school friend of Bermel’s who took film photos of themselves wearing bowling shoes. Bermel realized it sounded like a cool name and liked that nobody else had used the name yet.
The highlighted track “Me N My Truck” is hard hitting and upbeat with the guitar rhythms.
4) Youth Lagoon – “Rarely Do I Dream” (2025)
Youth Lagoon is the psychedelic pop music project of Trevor Powers. This project comes as the fifth album Power’s has released under this moniker. He has stated that this project is heavily inspired by old home movies which he sampled to give the album a “musical cinematography” feeling. He also said that he wanted to make music that feels “like life itself” which is reflected through the album’s contemplative lyrics about death, rebirth, boyhood, and spirituality.
This week’s highlighted track “Lucy Takes a Picture” has a calming and peaceful quality.
3) Velvet Sun – “Empire” (2025)
Velvet Sun is the musical project of Scott Weinkle. He seeks to create celestial atmospheres and sonic distortions while taking inspiration from Brian Eno and Phil Manzanara’s project, Quiet Sun. Velvet Sun’s latest EP retains influence from psychedelia, British pop, and New York noise music.
This week the highlighted track is called “Wait” is subdued in the vocals but hard hitting in the drums and electric guitar.
2) Willie Nelson – “All Time Greatest Hits” (1988)
Hailing from Texas, Willie Nelson has been making music since he was a child and has become one of the most prolific country artists of all time. Nelson began working as a radio announcer and released his first record in 1956. The record was not met with a lot of success so he didn;t release again for another 5 years after the birth of his son. From there the rest is history and people resonated with the earnest nature of his tunes.
The highlighted track “Healing Hands of Time” is a sweet acoustic song about love and enamorment.
1) Black Country, New Road – “Forever Howlong” (2025)
This Cambridge band started gaining traction in 2019 with their experimental rock sound. The group received lots of acclaim for their 2022 album “Ants From Up There”, which was released after founding member Isaac Wood announced his departure from the group. This new album marks the band’s first album of new original songs without Wood in the lineup as the lead vocalist. The album has a more accessible and cheerful sound than previous work which critics and fans alike have noticed and appreciated.
This week’s highlighted track “For the Cold Country” builds from somber vocals to an energetic folk influenced rock ballad.
Top Tracks of the Week
5) Japanese Breakfast – “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)” (2025)
This Philadelphia band formed in 2013 and consists of Michelle Zauner, Craig Hendrix, Peter Bradley, and Deven Craige. The band’s frontwoman is Zauner who got the idea for the band name after seeing a GIF of a literal Japanese breakfast, she thought the name would spark intrigue in American listeners who would want to know what’s in the breakfast. The band’s fourth album follows their most successful album to date, “Jubilee”, and builds off of their simultaneously upbeat and lamenting sound.
The highlighted track, “Picture Window”
4) Childish Gambino – “Atavista” (2024)
Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, got his musical career started in 2011 with his album “Camp”. Before he was known widely as a comedian, who got his start as a writer for “30 Rock” before becoming an actor. Both of us on the music team were big fans of his work in the show “Community” as Troy Barnes. His comedy background and musical inclination explain the silly nature of his earlier work. When Gambino shifted into a more serious tone while maintaining his whimsy, is when he really began to shine as a musician. A good example from this album is the track “Psilocybae”, a quirky chronicle of his first time trying magic mushrooms.
The highlighted track “Final Church” is energetic with just the right amount of aggression for an album closer.
3) Paramore – “Paramore” (2013)
Paramore is a band that needs no introduction. Led by Hayley Williams the group has dominated the pop-punk scene since the mid 2000s. The band has received acclaim and awards for some of their most well known singles including “Misery Business”, “Still Into You”, and “That’s What You Get”. To this day the group has won 3 Grammy awards for single “Ain’t It Fun” and album “This Is Why”.
Our Highlighted track “Ain’t It Fun” is a classic pop punk track with an unforgettable bridge.
2) Lucy Dacus – “Forever Is A Feeling” (2025)
Widely known as a member of Boygenius, this isn’t Dacus’ first brush with solo work. The singer/songwriter grew up in a creative household with a piano playing mother and graphic designing father. She began playing guitar in middle school with an Ibanez from Craigslist. After leaving college, Dacus worked as a photo editor and wrote songs that eventually became the tracklist of her debut album, “No Burden”. This latest album was announced earlier this year with a single entitled “Ankles”.
Our highlighted track this week, “Modigliani” gets its title from the Italian painter of the same name, and has worldly imagery.
1) FKA Twigs – “EUSEXUA” (2025)
Eusexua is the latest project from English singer FKA twigs. This album comes after the release of her “Caprisongs” mixtape in 2022 and expands on musical themes including danceability, sensuality, and rhythm. The singles leading up to this song included the title track, “Perfect Stranger”, and “Drums of Death”. All of these were released with music videos that highlight twigs’ visual creativity and dance skills.
This week’s highlighted track, “Girl Feels Good” is dripping in sass and sensuality.