We’ve been spoiled with new music this week, which is an extra good thing considering what a hellish seven days it’s been for many people in the U.S. Philly rock upstarts Corey Flood dropped a promising new tune, Ela Minus shared a starry new dance song and Samia released the final single before her new album arrived today. Find all these songs and more below, then go check out our list of essential albums to buy and/or stream today.
Clipping: “Say the Name”
The experimental hip-hop group Clipping announced a new album, Visions of Bodies Being Burned, which will arrive Oct. 23 via Sub Pop. The band also shared the album’s first single, “Say the Name.” The forthcoming album serves as the follow-up to their horrorcore-inspired 2019 release There Existed an Addiction to Blood, which we featured in our best albums of the week roundup. Clipping consists of rapper Daveed Diggs (who you know from Hamilton), and producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson. —Paris Rosenthal
Corey Flood: “Down The Hill”
“The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the Seven Wonders of the World,” Corey Flood guitarist and vocalist Em Boltz said of their new single “Down The Hill.” “I have a good friend who’s a life-long pen pal. I have a specific memory of one summer when we swam in the lake by their house. I wanted to encapsulate that moment I had and when I was sitting on their bed. The room had beautiful windows and the way the sunlight was shining through felt totally ethereal.” Corey Flood draws inspiration for their own music from Throwing Muses, Helium, The Fall and Liz Phair, to name a few. “Down The Hill” is a mellow, dreamy song with Boltz’s vocals as its focal point. —Paris Rosenthal
Ela Minus: “el cielo es de nadie”
Ela Minus has dabbled in various scenes, with influences ranging from hardcore to an education in jazz. On “el cielo es de nadie,” she opts instead for a hypnotic electro sound. Layered on top of a flashing club beat are light, calming vocals from Minus, adding to the song’s capability to entrance each listener. “’el cielo no es de nadie’ is about all the love I see in small, everyday acts,” Minus says. “It’s an invitation to appreciate unheroic, but constant and meaningful actions. The song’s title, ‘el cielo no es de nadie,’ refers to the phrase ‘I’ll give you the sky,’ a common expression used in Spanish when in love. In the song, I defy it: ‘you can’t give me the sky’ / it isn’t yours to give.” —Lexi Lane
Fenne Lily: “Solipsism”
This week, Fenne Lily released a new single “Solipsism” from her forthcoming album BREACH, out Sept. 18 via Dead Oceans. The new track follows the release of previous singles “Berlin” and “Alapathy” and standalone tracks “To Be a Woman Pt. 2” and “Hypochondriac.” “A lot of situations make me uncomfortable — some parties, most dates, every time I’m stoned in the supermarket,” Lily says. “‘Solipsism’ is a song about being comfortable with being uncomfortable and the freedom that comes with that. If you feel weird for long enough it becomes normal, and feeling anything is better than feeling nothing. I wanted this video to be a reflection of the scary thought that I’ll have to live with myself forever. It’s surreal to realise you’ll never live apart from someone you sometimes hate. Dad, if you’re reading this you killed it as shopper number 2.” —Paris Rosenthal
Hypoluxo: “Ridden”
Brooklyn indie four-piece Hypoluxo have unveiled their latest single “Ridden” after signing with Terrible Records. The song opens with a somewhat surf-punk guitar riff before lead singer Samuel Cogen kicks off the first verse. Especially on “Ridden,” he has vocals that sound reminiscent of The Strokes, particularly their earlier albums. “Ridden” also contains intriguing backing instrumentation on the chorus, where it seems to mirror the vocals, notably on lines like “I feel I’m stronger than that.” A song only under three minutes, it seems to take on a particular powerful energy that makes it feel longer (and better) with each listen. —Lexi Lane
Samia: “Triptych”
Samia this week shared “Triptych,” the fourth and final single ahead of her debut album out now. The new song spins a story of conflicting emotions mixed with a layer of historical inspiration through indie-esque vocals resembling the likes of Clairo and Soccer Mommy. “I wrote ‘Triptych’ sobbing in a green room in Denver,” Samia said. “I’d just read the story of Francis Bacon and his lover/muse, George Dyer, whose chaotic lifestyle served as Bacon’s artistic inspiration. George Dyer overdosed in the bathroom of a hotel room paid for by Bacon, who famously painted a triptych of his lover’s final moments. I had just been through a pretty tough breakup and felt I might be purposefully getting myself into dicey situations to justify my big feelings and write about them. ‘Triptych’ was a pretty blatant cry for help and an opportunity to confess my fear of being misunderstood.” —Lexi Lane
Yung: “New Fast Song”
Danish quartet Yung have shared a new track “New Fast Song,” taken from their forthcoming seven-inch single titled Progress, out on Sept. 11 via PNKSLM Recordings. It’s their first release since their 2016 debut LP A Youthful Dream, released on Fat Possum. “New Fast Song,” the b-side to the seven-inch title track, is a return to the melodic indie of their debut LP, but there’s less distortion and more warmth this time around. “We keep falling / but I really never see it that way,” they sing with passion over the closing guitar throttle. There’s a sense of poignant restlessness, but a satisfying vigor underpins it all. —Lizzie Manno
