Every week, members of the Vulture staff will highlight their favorite new songs. They might be loud, quiet, long, short, dance-y, rawkin’, hip, square, rap, punk, jazz, some sort of jazz-punk-rap fusion — whatever works for the given person in that given week. Read our picks below and please tell us yours in the comments. (Also, read music critic Lindsay Zoladz’s review of Jessie Ware’s Tough Love.)
Bully, “Milkmanâ€
Imagine a world where Renée Zellweger’s character from Empire Records listened to Sleater-Kinney. Not a bad world, right? In that world, this is the song she sings on top of the store’s awning. And you don’t even have to wait through Coyote Shivers’s verses! —Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)Â
Chance the Rapper & the Social Experiment, “No Better Bluesâ€
Chance the Rapper has some songs, like “Good Ass Intro†(which was my favorite song of 2013), where he jumps on a beat as shot out of a cannon. Other times, he gets a bit emo. “No Better Blues†is the latter: “I hate charities and parodies and tragedies / I hate carrots, peas, asparagus / Virtually all vegetables / Circuses, all festivals / Texts that are oversexual / Circuses, all festivals / Texts that are oversexual / Emotion because it’s perpetual.†The point is, if you see Chance, maybe give him a hug.  —JDF
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib featuring Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, Ransom, “Knicks†(Remix)
The truth is, I have pretty lame taste in rap music. Not lame as in bad — that sort of thing is subjective — but lame as in light. This sound is chill as heck. When I listen to it, I like to imagine them all sitting in deck chairs. —JDF
Girlpool, “White Flagâ€
Over the weekend I saw this L.A. duo called Girlpool play at Silent Barn and fell instantly, totally, head-over-heels in luv. Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad (which are the coolest names I’ve ever even heard!) sing clever, biting, and occasionally breathtakingly poignant lyrics in off-kilter harmonies; they sort of remind me of if Abby and Ilana from Broad City were in a band together, because they just seem like two cool weirdo best friends who find total joy in being around each other, and that joy is contagious when you see them live. “White Flag†is actually a cover originally done by their pals in fellow L.A. girl-punk duo Slutever, but Girlpool have an EP of original material coming out November 18. They’re playing a bunch of shows in New York this week for CMJ; do yourself a favor and go to one (or two or three). —Lindsay Zoladz (@LindsayZoladz)
Parkay Quarts, “Uncast Shadow of a Southern Mythâ€
Apparently, releasing one of the best indie-rock records of the year wasn’t enough for the Parquet Courts. In November, they are releasing another full record under the name Parkay Quarts. “Uncast Shadow of a Southern Myth†is the first single. It sounds like the Parquet Courts, if instead of a playing at a Ridgewood, Queens, warehouse to an audience of people so hip they moved out of Bushwick, they were playing shows in some sleepy old west ghost town to an audience of tumbleweeds.  —JDF
PARTYNEXTDOOR, “Sex on the Beachâ€
The reign of “Latch†lives on — this time as a sample in this song by Drake protégé PARTYNEXTDOOR. Sucks that this didn’t come out when it was warmer, but it shall be my bright reminder of summer during this cold front. —Marcus Jones (@MJinMD)
Sleater-Kinney, “Bury Our Friendsâ€
Sleater-Kinney are back! It’s always a little scary when an indisputably Great Band returns from a long hiatus; the expectations are often impossibly high. But “Bury Our Friends,†the Olympia punk pioneers’ first new song in almost a decade, is a relief — it sounds every bit as buzzing and ferocious as their masterful 2005 album The Woods. And even better news: This is only the beginning. A new album, No Cities to Love, will be out on January 20. —LZ
Snoh featuring Common, “Bad Thingsâ€
This song is incredibly hard not to bob and sway to, and is further enhanced by Chicago boys Common and No I.D. (who produced the track). —MJ
Subplots, “Future Tenseâ€
This song, like so many Radiohead-y songs, is very pretty.  —JDF
Young Thug and Lil’ Wayne, “Take Kareâ€
Off the recent Rich Gang mixtape, the best thing about this track is how hard it is to tell where Lil’ Wayne’s part starts and Young Thug’s ends; they fit so well together as lean-fueled, sonic aliens. Though this song, about defending their significant others, is actually very sweet. —MJ