Welcome to Sound Station, the place we’re highlighting the most effective new tracks that got here out this week. Head into the weekend with songs from Taylor Swift, the Used and extra.
Taylor Swift’s “Labyrinth” is a slow-burning standout on Midnights
After hours of Taylor Swift-concocted chaos, Midnights lastly arrived as an album spanning every part from darkish synth-pop to hushed lullabies. A tune that may be a standout not solely on the album however inside her profession is “Labyrinth,” a tender, throbbing ballad teeming with Swift’s pitched-down vocals and melancholia. “I will be getting over you my complete life,” the singer laments sweetly. The tune leans toggles between the indie-folk ethos of folklore and evermore and experimental synth work of Status. ––Ilana Kaplan
The Used channel youthful vitality on “Fuck You”
On their newest single “Fuck You,” The Used channel the youthful vitality that made them such an impactful and influential band within the first place. The most recent tune options an infectiously catchy refrain, the return of screamed vocals, and a battle between optimism and melodrama. “Fuck You” feels just like the 2022 model of the band’s basic tune “All That I’ve Bought,” and we couldn’t be extra right here for it. Whereas the tune title “Fuck You” could evoke detrimental connotations, the message and feeling the tune exudes couldn’t be extra uplifting and ideal for anybody who wants a hand after getting knocked down. ––Alessandro DeCaro
Pinkshift stun with piano ballad “In a Breath”
Ditching their guitar-heavy sound, Pinkshift shared “In a Breath” main as much as the discharge of their highly-anticipated debut album Love Me Ceaselessly on Oct. 21. The transferring piano ballad channels the emotional depth of Amy Lee’s vocals whereas detailing singer Ashrita Kumar’s expertise “feeling dissociated from my physique and combating to remain alive regardless of it.” It is a gripping quantity that’s rife with the authenticity that the indie band at all times brings to the desk. —Ilana Kaplan
Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Anxious” is a slinky, disco-pop dream
Together with her newest album The Loneliest Time, Carly Rae Jepsen finds herself within the midst of transition. It is no shock, she wrote and recorded the album within the midst of a pandemic the place isolation influenced all sides of her life. Whereas the pop star launched the album with a Stevie Nicks-esque sound on lead single “Western Wind,” she opted to veer into extra experimental territory for the remainder of it. “Anxious,” one of many bonus tracks on the document, is maybe the standout of the album — a slinky, disco-pop gem bursting with bass and the ecstasy of shedding your self on the dancefloor. —Ilana Kaplan
Dora Jar casts an otherworldly spell
Dora Jar is beloved by Billie Eilish, Remi Wolf and Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, and for good motive. Together with her new single “Spell,” the experimental pop singer continues to forge a legendary, otherworldly sound. The observe’s opening strums quickly give option to Jar’s delicate vocals as she ruminates on seasonal change and the ebb and move of nature. Via all of it, she stays remarkably tender and pensive, a stark distinction to her common oddity, however nonetheless dreamlike. The best fall hear. —Neville Hardman
CRAWLERS discover the depths of grief with “HANG ME LIKE JESUS”
It’s turn out to be a working joke amongst CRAWLERS’ rising fandom that they’re the “CEOs of unhappy songs” for his or her heart-wrenching ballads. Their newest observe, taken from their forthcoming mixtape Loud With out Noise (out Nov. 4), doesn’t disappoint. Songwriter Holly Minto bores their soul into the lyrics, exploring the grief of a relationship coming to finish. CRAWLERS’ tracks are a poetic magnificence, entrenched in unhappiness however with essentially the most astounding, climactic ballads. If this alludes to what their mixtape will sound like, we will’t wait. —Yasmine Summan
Bishop Briggs proves she’s a “superhuman”
Bishop Briggs stays unstoppable. Following her a number of different singles this 12 months, the singer-songwriter is again with one other stirring anthem, “superhuman.” Briggs says she wrote the observe when she was eight months pregnant, looking for “positivity and light-weight for my baby who was about to reach.” Its punchy hook is a robust testomony to her inside energy: “You’re superhuman/Bulletproof as will be/I do know the reality is you are able to do something.” —Neville Hardman
Knuckle Puck discover the cyclical nature of melancholy with “Groundhog Day”
Chicago pop-punk mainstays Knuckle Puck have at all times stood out inside their core style resulting from their mature and introspective lyrics, aggressive dual-vocal stylings, and creative tune constructions. With their newest single and first for his or her new label residence Pure Noise Information, Knuckle Puck have dialed their now signature sound to eleven with “Groundhog Day,” a chilling observe that balances the timeless angst they usually convey coupled with a recent sense of ambiance. Per common, the tune is structured across the evocative call-and-response vocals of Joe Taylor (Vocals) and Nick Cassasanto (Guitar, Vocals) paired with the locked-in musical dynamic of the group who efficiently pull off a formidable climax in direction of the tip of the observe which options tapping guitar solos and a minor key change. Lyrically, “Groundhog Day” conveys the lonely emotions of melancholy, rumination, and breaking out of a troubling cycle. ––Alessandro DeCaro
Hawthorne Heights stay constant as ever with “Dandelions”
For almost 20 years, post-hardcore veterans Hawthorne Heights have skilled excessive highs, crushing tragedies, lineup adjustments, and a sequence of resurgences in between. Nevertheless, one factor has at all times remained a relentless: their means to remain in line with their music and core sound it doesn’t matter what. On their newest single “Dandelions,” Hawthorne Heights sticks to what they know finest: razor-sharp choruses, partitions of guitars, wailing screams, and the occasional breakdown –– all whereas including a wholesome dose of recent components into the fold. “Dandelions” makes use of metaphorical imagery to sort out topics akin to division inside society and the degradation of the planet whereas nonetheless looking for optimism and hope in a world that usually tries to suppress it. ––Alessandro DeCaro
