This week’s best new songs feature the return of Kendrick Lamar (if only for a feature on a Busta Rhymes track, but we’ll take it), The Paranoyds’ spooky, festive rock tune, Told Slant’s meditative acoustic track and a glimpse of the fifth and final Dirty Projectors EP of 2020. Dive into our favorite songs from the past week below.
Black Country, New Road: “Science Fair”
U.K. outfit Black Country, New Road announced their debut album For the first time, out on Feb. 5 via Ninja Tune. It follows their previous singles “Athens, France” and “Sunglasses.” Earlier this year, Paste named the band one of 15 British Acts to Know in 2020. They’ve also shared a new single “Science Fair,” with an accompanying video directed by Bart Price and inspired by small town America. Like many BC,NR songs, the seven-piece band spends this entirety of this track building up freakish momentum via Isaac Wood’s high-strung vocals and a sea of menacing guitars, horns and strings. It’s creepy, beautiful and madly unpredictable. —Lizzie Manno
Busta Rhymes: “Look Over Your Shoulder” (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Busta Rhymes dropped a new track “Look Over Your Shoulder” featuring Kendrick Lamar in its first verse— his 2020 debut. The song, which samples Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There,” is taken from Busta Rhymes’ 10th studio album Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God, out today (Oct. 30). Extinction Level Event 2 serves as a sequel to his 1988 album E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front. —Paris Rosenthal
Dirty Projectors: “Searching Spirit”
Dirty Projectors shared “Searching Spirit,” the first single from their forthcoming fifth (and final) EP of this year Ring Road. All their 2020 EPs will be released as a 20-song anthology titled 5EPs, out on Nov. 20 via Domino Records. “Searching Spirit” brings all the intriguing parts of Dirty Projectors back together. The song builds momentum from the subtle harmonies before its abrupt ending. —Lexi Lane
Jordana: “I Guess This is Life”
Jordana announced a new album titled Something to Say to You, out digitally on Dec. 4 and physically on Jan. 22 via Grand Jury Music. The album combines her Something to Say EP (which Paste named one of the best of the year so far) with the recently announced …To You EP for one full-length LP. Jordana also shared a new single “I Guess This Is Life,” alongside an accompanying video. “‘I Guess This Is Life’ is a song about the motions of everyday life and how experiences, no matter big or small, make up the person that you are and how you both perceive and are perceived by the world,” Jordana says of the new single. —Lizzie Manno
The Paranoyds: “Pet Cemetery”
L.A. garage rockers The Paranoyds shared a new song “Pet Cemetery” from their upcoming EP of the same name, out on Nov. 27 via Suicide Squeeze Records. The Pet Cemetery EP includes b-side “Hotel Celebrity” and will be released on limited-edition, coke bottle clear vinyl. With drawn-out rock vocals singing lines like “Let’s get buried” and an incredibly entrancing guitar line, “Pet Cemetery” is perfect for Halloween or any night you’re feeling sinister. —Lexi Lane
Rose Hotel: “Drive Alone”
Rose Hotel shared a new cassingle “Drive Alone” b/w “Constant,” out today via Cold Lunch Recordings. It’s the Atlanta band’s first new music since their 2019 debut album I Will Only Come When It’s a Yes. “Drive Alone” is full of rootsy, unhurried dream pop for a longing summer night, while “Constant” has a more brooding stare with its chunky guitars and gauzy vocals. —Lizzie Manno
Told Slant: “Whirlpool”
Told Slant, the solo project of Brooklyn songwriter Felix Walworth, is releasing a new album Point the Flashlight and Walk, out on Nov. 13 via Double Double Whammy. Following previous singles “Family Still,” “No Backpack” and “Run Around the School,” Walworth shared “Whirlpool” this week. It’s a bare track centered on acoustic guitar rhythms and the precious, yet often tragic, idea of what it is to really know a person. —Lizzie Manno
TV Priest: “Decoration”
TV Priest signed to Sub Pop to release their debut album Uppers on Feb. 5. The album was originally set to be released through Hand In Hive this fall, but will now be released through their new label next year. This week, the band has shared the album’s lead single “Decoration” alongside its music video. The new single follows the release of “This Island,” which is on the album as well as standalone singles “House of York” and “Runner Up.” —Paris Rosenthal
