The New Music You Need to Hear This Week
Last week's New Music Friday brought us the eagerly anticipated returns of One Direction's Harry Styles and City Girls member JT—give us that duet ASAP, honestly—as well as big lifts from Camila Cabello, French Montana, Caribou, Hayley Kiyoko, and more. But there can only be so much new music worth consuming at once, and below, we've done our best to curate the best of the best for your listening pleasure.
Julien Baker, "Tokyo"
Last Friday, Julien Baker quietly released two new songs. Our favorite is “Tokyo,” a shimmering, signature tune. There are plenty of Baker hallmarks at play here—a powerful guitar, some cathartic howling, lyrics that the seem to loom on the edge of collapse. But in the spirit of her last record, it continues to flesh out her sound into something richer, with the occasional studio flourish. It’s a ladder out of whatever pit you’ve been stuck in this week. Take the climb.—Colin Groundwater, assistant to the editor in chief
JoJo, "Joanna"
A song about the inner demons inside all of us ("You should date somebody famous / That'll probably put you on the A-list / That'll probably get you on them playlists!")? A song that takes the jabs and pointed barbs the critics and the Twitter trolls lob JoJo's way ("It must be something that you did / Did you go and have somebody's kid? / Your shit don't even go that hard / Why can't you just play your part? / Speaking of which, where did your acting career go?") and repurposes them for art? This is beautiful, touching fan-service done right. JoJo's mind! The power that has!—Brennan Carley, associate editor
Sam Hunt, "Kinfolks"
Sam Hunt is back, which is an incredible development for the hopelessly romantic country-pop fans out there who've been awaiting the star's comeback. His music tends to focus on love stories—good, bad, or doomed—and "Kinfolks" is no different. On his latest, he’s met a new girl and is instantly ready to bring her around to meet the parents and childhood friends. Conveniently, Hunt dropped this banger just in time for the normals amongst us to listen on repeat for the next month while they work up the confidence to try to finally secure a +1 for Thanksgiving back home. Sam... thank you.—Ashlee Bobb, communications manager
Rex Orange County, "Pluto Projector"
It's not easy for a 21-year-old to sing about "spending the years together / growing older every day" without sounding completely out of their element, given that, again, they're 21. But Rex Orange County has always been able to deliver lyrics about love and relationships in ways that are eminently relatable to the Youngs and the Olds. "Pluto Projector," a single off his soon-to-be-released album Pony, is a perfect example of striking that balance, with multiple transitions that are equal-parts lovely and wild. The last minute or so will have you floating.—Alex Shultz, editorial assistant
And our .5 of the week
Pusha-T, "Puppets (Succession Remix)"
I'm Kendall listening to this on repeat.—Ben Pardee, lead web producer
Originally Appeared on GQ
