Rina Sawayama, Dora Jar and Lolo Zouaï are our tracks of the week
Welcome to Sound Station, where we’re highlighting the best new tracks that came out this week. Head into the weekend with songs from Rina Sawayama, Dora Jar and more.
Rina Sawayama soars on “Hurricanes”
Rina Sawayama is taking us all the way back to 2002 with her new album Hold The Girl, best described as the movie soundtrack to every coming-of-age teen movie. Exuberant tracks like “Hurricanes” make you feel as if you’re riding off into the sunset together as the credits role (though “Phantom” is that climactic discovery breakthrough moment for our main protagonist). Add this to your main character playlist ASAP. —Yasmine Summan
Dora Jar welcomes you into her weird world with “Bump”
With “Bump,” Dora Jar conjures oddity, hallucinogenic auras and the feeling of falling upward (not all that surprising for someone who compares musicianship to wizardry). One listen and it’s as if you’re stuck between lucidity and a mushroom comedown — and that’s the beauty of it. Fans of FKA twigs, Rina Sawayama and Billie Eilish will find much to love in Jar’s music. —Neville Hardman
Lolo Zouaï will send you a kiss if you log onto http://www.pl4yg1rl.com
Lolo Zouaï creates potent pop music that’s both devilish and playful. Now with her new album, PLAYGIRL (out Oct. 14), she’s promising everything from internet seduction to Y2K bangers. With “pl4yg1rl,” the pop jet-setter lures listeners into her digital world with unabashed hedonism, killer harmonies and a gripping concept: playgirls can indeed have it all. —Neville Hardman
Slush Puppy goes hard with the party anthem “Internetgf”
Slush Puppy has brought the heat with his new single “Internetgf,” a track that harks back to the playfulness and energy of early Beastie Boys but for the modern age. The track features Slush Puppy’s hazy vocals that drip with braggadocio and debaucherous glory. With booming 808s and earworm hooks, “Internetgf” could easily become a go-to party anthem of the fall. Accompanying the new track is a nonstop, action-packed, and at times NSFW, video that brings the song’s intense energy to life. Essentially, “Internetgf” will make you want to roll around the city with your best friends on a Friday night while getting into a healthy amount of mischief. —Alessandro DeCaro
Sleeping With Sirens’ “Complete Collapse” is a futuristic dose of nü-metal gold
On Sleeping With Sirens’ latest single “Complete Chaos,” the post-hardcore veterans have found the perfect balance between aggression and pop sensibility. Vocalist Kellin Quinn’s performance beams with personality and memorable cadences that blend nicely with his signature falsetto tone. In the second verse, Quinn spews venom with a series of fry screams over downtuned guitars that could easily fit on the Doom video game soundtrack. With the inclusion of industrial elements and theatrical sounds, there’s palpable, dystopian energy throughout that feels timely in every sense. —Alessandro DeCaro
The tear-jerking power of Skullcrusher’s “It’s Like a Secret”
Skullcrusher‘s (Helen Ballentine) “It’s Like A Secret” is certainly a track you won’t want to keep quiet about. Ballentine’s talents know no bounds, and this somber acoustic offering shows that you don’t need all the bells and whistles to have a triumphantly emotional song. A real tear-jerker. —Yasmine Summan
EKKSTACY would rather you look away on “i just want to hide my face”
EKKSTACY continues to flourish with every release. “i just want to hide my face” kicks his new album, misery, into forward motion as EKKSTACY contemplates his insecurity with fame, death and the mundane. Despite its two-minute runtime, his latest offering continues to meld the best of emo and post-punk, colored by the confusion and frustration that accompany both growing up and being cast in the spotlight as a teenager. —Neville Hardman
Lostboycrow dissects bad dreams on the playful “Indie Rock”
Lostboycrow’s latest single “Indie Rock” finds the LA-based singer-songwriter confronting the darkest corners of his mind and the anxieties of being a musician on the rise. Remarkably, he’s able to tackle these serious topics with playful sarcasm while offering a subtle dig at the term “indie rock” being used as a lazy blanket term to describe music. With evocative vocals, Beach Boys-esque harmonies, string sections and ’90s-inspired bedroom pop, Lostboycrow covers an incredible amount of sonic ground. The latest single also comes with the announcement of Lostboycrow’s new album Indie Pop, out Dec. 9 via Nettwerk. —Alessandro DeCaro
JAWNY goes for a breakneck cruise on “adios”
JAWNY is back with a breakup anthem on “adios,” with its accompanying video serving up a woozy, high-speed cruise down a barren suburb. JAWNY kicks it passenger side in a real-life Hot Wheel as his driver darts between lanes overtop a breezy instrumental that belies the track’s darker meaning. —Neville Hardman
