The must-hear pop songs of the week, with a tidy playlist for your listening pleasure.
Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
These 10 tracks from artists like Betty Who, Tink, Clinton Kane and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
Betty Who, “She Can Dance”
Betty Who’s songwriting has returned to the magnetic intimacy that made her 2014 debut Take Me When You Go so special: “She Can Dance” packs in lines about personal hardship and disappointment before returning to a hook that lets her dance her woes away. Who has enjoyed a winding career with plenty of pop gems, and “She Can Dance” is one of her brightest yet. – Jason Lipshutz
NEVE, “Modern Romance”
Irish newcomer NEVE’s “Modern Romance” will draw quick comparisons to Dua Lipa based on the vocal tone and gestures toward nu-disco, but the track swerves into its own lane on the chorus, when the mix unexpectedly turns guitar-heavy and harmonies lift up NEVE’s declarative statements. In the end, “Modern Romance” shakes its listener awake to a singular new talent. – J. Lipshutz
Spacemoth, “Round in Loops”
No Past No Future, the new album from Bay Area artist Maryam Qudus’ Spacemoth project, contains multiple truly revelatory moments; one of them comes 70 seconds into “Round in Loops,” when the feedback and percussion fall away and Qudus locks into a sucker-punch guitar groove. Fans of Stereolab will especially love Spacemoth’s synth tones, but indie-pop listeners of all kinds should get on board, too. – J. Lipshutz
Jake Scott, “She’s Not You”
On “She’s Not You,” Jake Scott sprinkles details of a romance — dancing on tabletops at a dive bar, gazing into each other’s eyes under Paris lights — across his verses, then uses those moments to explain why they can never live up to a love lost (“Too good to be true / But she’s not you,” he laments) on the hook. Scott sells the concept with the help of a driving beat, pushing him forward and he tries to understand how the past affects his present. – J. Lipshutz
Reneé Rapp, “In the Kitchen”
The second single from Reneé Rapp plants the new artist firmly in the garden of lush, piano-led ballads: “Falling in love ain’t for the weak,” she sings, with the perspective of someone who is still clearly healing from a recent wound. Yet no matter what Rapp declares, it’s delivered with such vigor that her heartbroken lyrics never crave pity; rather, the message she leaves is that, with each break, she comes back even stronger. – Lyndsey Havens
Clinton Kane, “Keep It To Yourself”
Rising singer-songwriter Clinton Kane released his debut album, Maybe Someday It’ll All Be Ok, last week, which included the thunderous standout “Keep It To Yourself.” On the song, he works through the grief of a relationship lost in which the other party is moving on faster — and more publicly. To cope, he introduces the clever set-up of detailing the ways in which his ex is proving to be over him, each time noting, “You should probably keep it to yourself.” – L. Havens
NewJeans, “Attention”
With the arrival of NewJeans’ first single, “Attention,” the K-pop girl group seemingly disrupted their respective industry overnight. Instead of dragging out the formal introduction to its five members — Danielle, Hyein, Minji, Hanni, Haerin — by teasing songs and falling squarely into a girl group concept, the teens already feel highly relatable and laid-back on introductory single “Attention.” The five-piece sing over a 2000s R&B-inspired beat, harmonizing effortlessly on the chorus as they talk of trying to win the affections of their crushes — a refreshing call to some of the most memorable experiences of one’s youth. – Starr Bowenbank
No Buses, “I’m With You”
No Buses’ previous single, “Rubbish,” saw the five-piece Japanese group tapping into their aggressive side, with gritty — and somewhat chaotic — guitar work. Meanwhile, new track “I’m With You” sees the group trading in the anger for something a lot softer (on the surface, at least): vocalist Taisei Kondo languidly delivers the lyrics, which hold a dark secret — he has a war raging inside of his mind that makes him miserable (“I was going to get rid of the aliens/ But not anymore/ I want them to sink so deep”). – S. Bowenbank
St. Panther & Pierce.blue, “Not the Way”
A cool retro-soul groover about a fractured romance, “Not the Way” is the latest from singer/multi-instrumentalist St. Panther, whose pleasantly worn vocals seem familiar yet fresh at the same time. Toss in an appearance from Pierce.blue, whose 2021 track “Womann” also felt like a 21st century vocal laid over a forgotten backing track salvaged from the ’70s, and you have an addictive gem. – Joe Lynch
Tink, “Goofy”
Tink is in a sultry, reflective mood on “Goofy,” which finds the rapper-singer feeling “goofy, halfway past stupid” as she longs for an absent lover who’s good enough in the bedroom to put her independence at risk. Garsh! We can only hope the guy in “Goofy” isn’t a dog. – J. Lynch
