The Big Indie Playlist: The best new music of the week
An average of 100,000 new songs are added to Spotify every day. That means by the time you get to the end of the week, there are 700,000 new tracks waiting patiently to be heard. Some of them will be as the biggest artists have hoards of fans ready. But for others, so much greatness will slip through the cracks. That’s where we come in.
Each week, we traipse through the lands of rock, indie, pop, folk, and beyond, finding the biggest and best new songs by artists of all shapes, sounds, and sizes. From huge names like Charli XCX and Prince through to up-and-comers like Sunday (1994) and World News, we’ve put all the greatest new stuff in one easy place, so all you have to do is hit play.
Don’t let the name fool you – all genres are considered here, not just indie. This week, especially, the pop stars were out to play. New queer pop wonder kid Chappell Roan is on a rocket ship to the very top as she followed up her standout debut album with an equally incredible new single this week. Baby Queen also returned with a mature new hit that’s deserving of your time.
If you’re on the hunt for your new favourite album, head to our weekly Alternative Album Chart for the best of the long plays. But right here, we’re delivering a quick fix of the best new singles and hits. Clearing away the noise and the rubbish of new music on Friday, these are the songs we think you need to hear this week.
The best new indie, rock, pop and beyond:
Track of the week
Chappell Roan – ‘Good Luck Babe!’: If Chappell Roan isn’t selling out arenas soon, something is very, very wrong with the world. Following her stellar debut, The Rise and Fall Of A Midwest Princess, last year, ‘Good Luck Babe!’ is the first reveal of what’s coming next, and I think we can safely say it’s going to be big.
Just as she did on her record, ‘Good Luck Babe!’ balances a huge, theatrical feel with an interest in hyperspecific moments and emotions. Grappling with queer love in the closest, Roan’s powerful vocals give the topic the soaring ballad it deserves. The polish is there, too, as it’s finished off with 1980s-inspired maximalist production that makes the track fun but never too much. All in all, it’s a three-minute-thirty package of pop perfection that shows every other artist how it’s done. Chappell Roan is single-handedly making the genre great again, and we’re not ashamed to admit we’re into it. [5/5]
Instant Classics – The biggest tracks of the week
Charli XCX – ‘Club Classics’: For her upcoming album, Brat, Charli XCX has stepped fully into her club era. As she shouts out her friends, with a special nod to the late SOPHIE, this fun track is weekend-ready as Charli wants to head out and dance to her own songs. [4/5]
Prince – ‘United States Of Division’: Do you think there would ever be a newly unveiled Prince track, and we wouldn’t have it on repeat? His estate has been drip-feeding us vault tracks for years now, but this one is a great one that is actually worthy of a spin. [4/5]
Baby Queen – ‘Ride Or Die’: Baby Queen seemed to drop her debut album last year and then disappeared. Now re-emerging, her sound feels mature and fresher. Dropping the over-excited pop star nature of her last releases, ‘Ride Or Die’ masters seduction and tension, learning the worth of holding back a little. [3.5/5]
The Libertines – ‘Songs They Never Play On The Radio’: The type of song you want to hear with your arm around your best friend and a drink in hand as the sun goes down over a festival stage. This record, closer to The Libertines’ new one, is a lovely cut. [3.5/5]
On The Rise – The best new music of the week
Sunday (1994) – ‘Stained Glass’: Following their incredibly strong debut, ‘Tired Boy’, Sunday (1994) continue expanding their musical world with the beautiful ‘Stained Glass’, a feeling-full indie track about forbidden love. With first tracks this solid, we’re excited to hear more. [4/5]
Total Tommy – ‘Losing Out’: The verses of this song feel like an internal monologue in the best way, truly capturing youthful angst and spiralling thoughts. As the chorus bursts open into anthemic glory, it’s one to gather the cobwebs up and then blow them away. [3.5/5]
BNNY – ‘Sweet’: “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done? Now ask me ’cause I need to tell someone.” BNNY beautifully captures those early days of dating and the mission to get to know someone and be known yourself. With a Mazzy Star instrumental to match, it’s dreamy. [4.5/5]
Cosmo Pyke – ‘Over & Over’: Jazz infused with elements of King Krule dreariness, Cosmo Pyke builds a whole vibe on ‘Over & Over’. Play this one on Sunday evening, with the weekend washing off and a new week looming. [3/5]
Medium Build – ‘Stick Around’: The entirety of Medium Build’s beautiful new album, Country, deserves to make the playlist, but we’ll opt for this track as a taster. Richly storytelling and sung with visceral emotion in his voice, ‘Stick Around’ is a real standout on an album full of them. [4/5]
World News – ‘Back To Hong Kong’: I caught World News live a few months back and have been hooked since. Delivering indie in the biggest and best ways, it’s exactly the kind of music you want to hear played loud in your local venue. This new recorded track goes some way to capturing that. [3.5/5]
LA Priest – ‘City Warm Heart’: When we say ‘maximalist’, this is what we mean. LA Priest has layered just about everything on this song, nestling his unique vocals with a busy tapestry. But you know what, it works. [3.5/5]
Big Special – ‘BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE’: Big Special prove they can hold it back just as powerfully as they can hand it out. Usually playing loud and outright, this new cut is tense, rolling and masterfully quiet. [4/5]
Lip Critic – ‘In The WaWa (Convinced I Am God)’: This is the kind of song you’d hear live and think to yourself, ‘I really need to start wearing ear protection’. Huge, loud and booming, it sits on their new EP like a sharp secret weapon. [3.5/5]
Lizzy McAlpine – ‘Drunk, Running’: No one writes lyrics like Lizzy McAlpine. Saying so much even when she says so little, her new record, Older, is such a tender beast of incredible confessional works. ‘Drunk, Running’ is a stunning standout. [4.5/5]
Pop Vulture – ‘Comforting Lie’: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: there must be something in the water over in Leeds. With so many amazing new artists coming out of the city, Pop Vulture are among them with this genre-less, hooking composition. [4/5]
Teah Lewis – ‘Underweather’: Singing out of Sheffield, Teah Lewis makes the most beautiful folk music with such a gentle, lyrical pen and grand musicality. On her new EP, this tack is elevated to soaring levels with strings and horns. Truly a song to soothe the soul. [4/5]
Drahla – ‘Venus’: Drahla delivered one of our favourite albums of the week, with ‘Venus’ being a real high point. A tiny track that devolves from unexpectedly gorgeous keys into ghostly layered vocals, it shows the best of the band. [4/5]
First Spin – Debut single of the week
Daydreamers – ‘Call Me Up’: The strangest thing about TikTok virality is the way it can blow an artist up before they even have a song out. That happened to London’s Daydreamers as the chorus of this track became the app’s new favourite anthem. Finally dropping the whole song, it lives up to the hype as a true earworm indie track that I bet you’ll be singing to yourself all day. [4/5]
Off The Beaten Track – Left-field cuts and global sounds
Juniore – ‘Le Silence’: The French trio are back with their unique blend of 1960s nostalgia, electro elements and raging rock beats. ‘Le Silence’ is exactly what is expected from the band, but it is still great all the same. [3/5]
Peter Bibby – ‘Fun Guy’: This is a strange beast of a song. In places, it feels like what would have happened if John Cooper Clarke came up in the new south London post-punk scene. In other places, it’s outright Iggy Pop-fuelled carnage. Either way, it’s epic. [4/5]
