Every week Vulture highlights the best new music. If the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the year’s best music.
St. Vincent, “Los Agelessâ€
If you have a sick romance with Los Angeles like I do, “Los Ageless†is the dark, sexy, pleading anthem you’ve been waiting for. It sounds like desperation and danger taking the physical form of Candice Swanepoel and beckoning you to the sandy shores. It sounds like that party that went into after-hours and took a bad turn but you still didn’t leave. Listening to “Los Ageless†is like standing on a rooftop on Sunset Boulevard and watching the city catch fire below and knowing that you’ll stay for the ashes. And the chorus sounds like someone crawling up your body and looking straight in your eyes as they sing, “How can anybody have you? Have can anybody have you and lose you? How can anybody have you and lose you and not lose their minds, too?†It’s even better if you imagine she’s singing about Cara Delevingne. —Jordan Crucchiola (@jorcru)
Tove Lo, “Disco Titsâ€
Tove Lo might be at her best when singing about her self-destructive behavior. Like much of her previous work, “Disco Tits†extols the the virtues of sex, getting fucked up, and dancing with sweaty strangers: “I’m sweatin’ from head to toe / I’m wet through all my clothes / I’m fully charged, nipples are hard,†she sings without affect in the chorus. But lest the name deceive you, “Disco Tits†is about much more than that. What Lana Del Rey is to unrequited love and white Mustangs, Tove Lo is to pleasure. Female pleasure, specifically. As John Mayer recently put it, “If the point of a song is to communicate an emotional vibe through music, this track is a perfect 10.â€
In pop culture, female anguish is often depicted as sexiness. While audiences love the idea of “confessional†female angst, women are rarely allowed to be the agents of their own pain or pleasure. Tove Lo understands this phenomenon and subverts it. “Disco Tits†celebrates the no-consequences freedom that comes with going to the absolute limit. It’s reckless and hedonistic and a little bit silly, sure. But it’s a type of freedom and control that is so rarely afforded to women, making it all the more powerful in the form of a infectious dance track. “I know how to dial it back,†she assures her listener. Just not this time. —Olivia Becker (OliviaLBecker)
Gallant and Dua Lipa, “Tears Dry on Their Own†(Amy Winehouse cover)
Today, were she still alive, Amy Winehouse would’ve turned 34. The industry has yet to fill the crater she left behind, and I don’t think it’ll find another like her for several generations. But current generation isn’t a write-off: Two of its best singers, Gallant and Dua Lipa, have teamed up for his duets series to cover her classic “Tears Dry on Their Own.†From the opening note, you should feel a chill. Yes, that is Dua Lipa turning in a Winehouse impression for the ages. The cadences, the vocal depth, the richness, and effortless control — it’s the full package. Rarely does Gallant’s falsetto sound perfectly matched, but in Dua, he’s found a worthy equal. Simply put, this is an exquisite tribute from two singers with raw talent beyond their years. Remind you of anyone? —Dee Lockett (@Dee_Lockett)
Phoebe Bridgers, “Funeralâ€
Phoebe Bridgers is having some very telling nightmares about drowning that she’s ready to share with you, but please, don’t psychoanalyze her, because she doesn’t “believe in that stuff anymore.†On “Funeral,†the 22-year-old sings matter-of-factly about preparing to perform at someone’s funeral, before she follows her stream of consciousness to contemplate everything from her strange dreams to her resignation with feeling “so blue all the time,†all before pulling it back to recognize she shouldn’t feel so sorry for herself “when someone’s kid is dead.†It all sounds incredibly bleak, but Bridgers delivers these facts and observations with enough poise over some gentle rootsy string embellishments that the song somehow doesn’t wallow in its subject matter. To quote Bridgers, it’s just how she feels. —Samantha Rollins (@SamanthaRollins)
Sam Smith, “Too Good at Goodbyesâ€
Were you expecting Sam Smith to fix what’s broken? That goes for both his overreliance on writing breakup ballads and his heart. “Too Good at Goodbyes,†his first new song since his Oscar-winning Bond theme, is the natural next step for an artist who’s already established himself as a career tear-baiter: more of the same. This song drips with schmaltz and has the stench of cheese (of course there’s finger-snapping), but, whatever, it’s beautiful. The devastating pre-chorus should especially hit a nerve in anyone who’s ever had love turn them cold, but still melted in the presence of the person who spit the ice first. It’s not as grand a predestined hit as “Stay With Me,†but it’ll resonate with the legions of fans who hang on Smith’s every tormented lyric and high note. (Guilty as charged.) –DL
Bermuda Triangle, “Roseyâ€
Basically all you have to do is say “Brittany Howard†and I will immediately get pumped for whatever you’re about to play me. Bermuda Triangle is the latest venture from the Alabama Shakes front woman, and if “Rosey†tips off what their future output will sound like then give me the ten-disc box set right now. It’s Howard teamed up with Nashville musicians Becca Mancari and Jesse Lafser, and it’s giving me serious Trio vibes. This track is a new version of the song first released by Lafser on her album Raised on the Plains from 2015, and it’s like channeling Linda Ronstadt with Dolly and Emmylou on distant mics in the background. Bless this new trio. —JC
Giraffage ft. Japanese Breakfast, “Maybesâ€
This is a classic two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together situation. Speaking of chocolate and peanut butter, this song is smoooooooth. Between my sophomore and junior year of colleges, I worked at the Ann Taylor in Cedarhurst, Long Island. I am not sure why they hired me, other than I asked nicely. I was bad at all aspects of the job: I wasn’t a competent salesperson, as no Ann Taylor customer wants a 19-year-old boy’s advice on how to dress, and I was so freaking bad at folding. So, all I did was reach things off the taller racks and gab my butt off. The women who worked there liked to have me try on lady blazers and tell me if I switch what sides the buttons were on, I could totally pull it off because of my “feminine shoulders.†And there was a 30-song playlist made by some corporation that included Michael Bublé and Coldplay and the sort of chill electronic music that wouldn’t scare anyone, but still gave the store a cosmopolitan vibe. This song reminds me of that summer. Not of just those songs, but the whole summer. You? –Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)
Jamie xx, “On Hold (remix)â€
The xx’s “On Hold†was a jam in its own right, but allow Jamie xx’s magic touch to transform it into a total rave earworm that takes its listener down a mesmerizing journey of sound I wish didn’t have an end. Free tip: Play it on loop so it never has to. —DL