new songs september 15
[Photos via Pale Waves//Brian Griffin, Jetty Bones, Persona]

12 new songs you need to hear this week

You’re welcome: We’ve made finding new songs by rising bands easy. Each week, we’re gathering the best from the underground and offering it to you in one, concise list. Scroll below and check out our Spotify Discover playlist, featuring these tracks and more!

In return, we want to hear your favorite. Let us know what track you’ll be spinning for the rest of the weekend in the comments!

Read more: Eight years in and twenty one pilots are still worried

Jam these songs on the Alternative Press Spotify Discover playlist right now!

1. Candy Ambulance “Spray”


Candy Ambulance’s “Spray” pays tribute to ’90s grunge bands who came before them. The music video details a viewer consuming different sexualized programs on their TV, with scenes flashing in time to the music. “Spray” features layered guitars and an infectious rhythm to get you headbanging through your weekend. Listen to the title track and more on Spray, out now.

2. Persona – “Ready To Leave” feat. AJ Perdomo


“Ready To Leave” uses pop-punk melodies to tell the story of a fresh breakup. The music video features the band jamming on the beach as they inevitably run into a band member’s exes as he’s trying to get over them. The overexaggerated video will give you a laugh as you sing (or cry) along to this all-too-relatable song. Complete with a feature from the Dangerous Summer’s AJ Perdomo, this song is everything we need right now.

3. Recent Rumors – “Almost Home”


Soft, melodic and filled with energy, “Almost Home” is the perfect groove to get you through the weekend. The song starts soft, but it builds up anticipation for something more as you listen to lyrics about wanting to go home (with a special someone).

4. Jack The Envious – “Walk In The Dark”


You can hear the influences of pop-punk greats such as Sum 41 in this song by Jack The Envious. “Walk In The Dark” is filled with energy and descriptive lyrics that will transport you to a different place. The song features just enough classic elements to make you feel right at home while enjoying the fresh vocals and lyrics on this brand-new song. “Walk In The Dark” is from the band’s forthcoming third EP, Bleeding Honesty.

5. We Were Giants – “Challenger”

Mixing influences from Crown The Empire and Yellowcard, the most noticeable thing on this new song from We Were Giants is the violin. Sounding like it’s right out of a Lindsey Stirling track, the violin cascades between heavy drums, guitars and screaming vocals to give the song a soft edge to fall back on. This inventive song will pick you up from whatever rut you’ve been in this week and leave you feeling energized.

6. C.S.T.L.E. – “Beaches”


C.S.T.L.E. merges multiple genres into this latest release, “Beaches.” Mixing reggae influences with pop, C.S.T.L.E.—also known as Jordan Barker from Aspire—creates a tropical sound perfect for the end of summer. You’ll be invisioning a beach party in your mind as your foot taps along to the beat.

7. Seasonal – “Strangers”

“Strangers” details how frontman Matt Truseler never knew his paternal grandparents and the effect that left on him. Truseler sings, “Lately I’ve been thinking/That you’re the part of me I’m missing” with guitar-driven melodies in the background. With its brutally honest lyrics and emotional video, this is definitely the song you needed to help you work through those feels.

8. Pale Waves – “One More Time”


Pale Waves will take you down memory lane with their latest. Pulling from artists such as Madonna, “One More Time” is a nostalgic, bubbly pop song that anyone can relate to. Even as the song spills details from a relationship on the cusp of ending, you will still find yourself dancing and humming along.

9. Small Million – “Sirens”


Featuring imaginative lyrics and supernatural sounding synths, Small Million will really make you believe they’re Sirens trying to lure lovers out to sea as the mythological tale describes. Composed of Ryan Linder and Malachi Graham, this Portland duo push and pull each other in their songs, and you can feel the chemistry between them as you drift away with this song. “Sirens” is off Small Million’s upcoming EP, Young Fools, out Oct. 12.

10. Gabe Gill – “The Perseids”

“The Perseids” is reflective, somber and beautiful. While this song probably won’t make your party playlist, it features harmonizing vocals and a tranquil music video worth watching. Simple and sweet, Gill seems to be singing to a melody in the water-side music video. The vocals are layered in such a way that the memories are almost talking back to him, but the message is open to interpretation.

11. Jetty Bones – “Bringing It Up”

Ahead of their tour with the Dangerous Summer, Jetty Bones dropped “Bringing It Up” to pump people up. The song is reminiscent of ’60s pop if it was merged with punk. The melodic, time-warpy vocals are paired with energized guitars and drums to give the track an edge. The lyrics describe the all-too-real feeling of having anxiety in relationships, making it the perfect song to blast from your room after a fight with someone.

12. Modern Chemistry – “Take A Second”


Modern Chemistry deliver thought-provoking lyrics you can’t help but relate to over a mellow tune that will have you bopping along in no time. As the first track since their 2017 LP Everything In Gold, “Take A Second” is certainly the start of a new era as the band filmed, directed and edited the video. They will be celebrating their return Oct. 12 at The Saint in Asbury Park, New Jersey.