The floodgates really opened this week when it came to great new music releases. Atlanta singer/songwriter released another new single to follow her comforting 2019 LP Atlanta Millionaires Club, Brighton quartet Porridge Radio shared their second new track since their acclaimed 2020 album Every Bad and Told Slant announced their first new album in four years and released two new songs. Dig into those new tracks and more of our favorite songs from the past week below.
Dig Nitty: “Small Curd”
Brooklyn’s Dig Nitty released their debut album Reverse of Mastery today via Exploding in Sound Records. The opening track, “Small Curd,” is ruled by the charming, overlapping pop vocals of guitarist Erin McGrath and drummer Reggie Bender—their breezy interplay has such an effortless calm and sweetness. Once the fuzzy guitar outro takes the wheel, listener hypnosis is inevitable. —Lizzie Manno
Faye Webster: “Better Distractions”
Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Faye Webster shared a new single called “Better Distractions” along with a music video. Webster also announced a livestream titled “Live From Chase Park Transduction” on Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. ET via NoonChorus. —Paris Rosenthal
Jordana: “Divine”
Jordana announced a new EP titled …To You. The six-track release completes her two-part EP series, which began with her July EP Something To Say (Paste named it one of the best EPs of the year so far). The two EPs will be released together as an LP under the title Something To Say To You, on Dec. 4 via Grand Jury Music. It follows her 2019 debut full-length Classical Notions of Happiness. “Divine” finds Jordana seeking a place of emotional calm, finally free of past traumas that continue to resurface, but still stuck in a rut. “It’ll take some time to put this aside before it drives me crazy / Hope that I decide I can find some ways to make life more easy,” Jordana sings before launching into the silky, textured chorus. —Lizzie Manno
Kipp Stone: “Sprague Street”
Cleveland rapper and producer Kipp Stone announced a new mixtape titled HOMMÈ, out on Oct. 20 via Closed Sessions. Stone shared the first single “Sprague Street,” which features Mick Jenkins. Named after Stone’s new home address, the song reflects on his gritty childhood growing up in Ohio. “Going numb don’t make you tough at all / It’s really saying ‘I’ve been hurt so much, I’d rather never feel anything,’” Stone raps, and it’s one of many poignant lines in the song. HOMMÈ also includes features from Nuke Franklin and Torre Lott. Earlier this year, Paste named Stone as one of 15 Cleveland Artists You Need to Know. —Lexi Lane
Porridge Radio: “7 Seconds”
U.K. quartet Porridge Radio are back with a new song “7 Seconds.” The new single follows their album Every Bad from earlier this year. “7 Seconds” is a compelling synth track, elevated by Dana Margolin’s emotional vocal performance. “I can’t tell you that I’m wasted on you,” Margolin sings with passion before breaking down into a quieter, thoughtful ending. —Lexi Lane
Told Slant: “Family Still”
Told Slant, the solo project of Brooklyn songwriter Felix Walworth, announced a new album Point the Flashlight and Walk, out on Nov. 13 via Double Double Whammy. It’s the follow-up to 2016’s Going By. Told Slant also unveiled two singles from the new album— “Family Still” and “No Backpack”—which come with lyric videos shot by Emily Sprague (Florist). “Family Still” is a poetic exploration of interpersonal dynamics. “Power isn’t taking / It’s making you give in freely / And I hope you don’t come home / and think it’s enough to be near me,” Walworth sings in a gentle tone. This layered acoustic track excels in its dissection of the complicated shades of intimacy: “What can be said of desire / when every longing instilled in my heart was instilled in such a violent world?”
Tomberlin: “Hours”
Tomberlin shared a new single “Hours,” taken from her forthcoming EP Projections, co-produced by Alex G and out on Oct. 16 via Saddle Creek. It’s the follow-up to her 2018 debut album At Weddings. “Hours” features a light guitar and percussion backing and Tomberlin’s quiet-but-powerful voice. The song details both the hope and tragedy that comes with love, as she sings lines like “If the flower cries or fire dies / Would you stay? / For an hour.” —Lexi Lane
Ziemba: “Power of Love”
Ziemba, the project of René Kladzyk, dropped a new single “Power of Love,” along with a passionate music video. The song follows the release of “Harbor Me,” “True Romantic” and “If I’m Being Honest” from her forthcoming album True Romantic, out on Sept. 25 via Sister Polygon. Listening to “Power of Love” is anything but a passive experience. The song starts off modestly before the heartfelt chorus hits: “I wanna love you ‘til the end of time / I wanna be the real thing / Whether you like it or not, I know better / I wanna hear your voice / I wanna bear witness through the power of my love for you,” she sings. Her life experiences that influenced this song shine through in all the right ways. —Paris Rosenthal