It’s impossible to be across all the new music out each Friday. Luckily, PAPER is here to help you out: each week, we round up 10 of our favorite new songs from artists — emerging and established — to soundtrack your life. From the surreal to the sublime, these songs cover every corner of the music world. The only criteria: they all have to absolutely rip.
Subscribe to our Sound Off Spotify playlist here and check out this week’s tracks, below.
Song of the Week: Mark Williams Lewis – “Tomorrow Is Perfect”
“Tomorrow Is Perfect” is a song you wanna live in forever – on some Chris Isaak shit or something. With his voice stripped of its usual reverb, Mark William Lewis sounds like a long-lost crooner, Jamie Neville’s understated production letting his lyrics and intense baritone speak for themselves. Although little changes over the song’s near-seven minutes, it’s a gorgeous world to luxuriate in.
Renee Rapp – “Leave Me Alone”
A spiky, nonchalant throwback to 2000s radio pop-rock done with the perfect amount of affected boredom.
Smerz – “Big City Life”
The opening track from Smerz’s fantastic new album is sexy and ominous and frenetic with all the promise of the city at night.
A.K. Paul – “Watchin’ U”
Sublime, seductive R&B-funk from the other Paul brother, who shows off a canny sense of tension and relief.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again – “Top Tingz”
The prolific Baton Rouge rapper returns with a reggae-inflected heater.
Cola Boyy – “Blame the Beret”
Puckish, clever synth-pop from the fabulous final album by Oxnard, CA’s Cola Boyy, aka Matthew Urango.
Hotline TNT – “Break Right”
I love this song! It rocks in a kind of subliminal way — it feels like a barnstormer even though it moves at a fairly even keel.
Double Virgo – “bemused”
Does this kinda sound like The Wombats? Perhaps, but it’s also appealingly ramshackle and rambunctious.
Burn Boy, Travis Scott – “TaTaTa”
Crunchy baile funk from two titans of pop and rap music.
Kokoroko – “Closer To Me”
London funk band Kokoroko are deep in the pocket on this sublime, low-key new cut.
Photography: Zora Sicher