10 Cool New Pop Songs to Get You Through The Week: Sasha Alex Sloan, Syd & Kehlani, Banks and More
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 Sasha Alex Sloan, Syd and Kehlani, Banks and Lauv 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.
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Sasha Alex Sloan, “I Blame The World”
“I’m a glass-half-empty kind of girl,” Sasha Alex Sloan admits on the galloping title track to her forthcoming sophomore album, cloaking her defeatist energy in an exciting bit of synthesizer pageantry. “I Blame The World” may be nihilist-pop, but Sloan’s trajectory as a songwriter is worth caring about ahead of her next LP. – Jason Lipshutz
Lauv, “All 4 Nothing (I’m So In Love)”
After previewing his next era with the yearning, introspective “26,” Lauv has given fans something more accessible but no less personal: “All 4 Nothing (I’m So In Love)” is a traditional love song that gains its momentum from the singer’s majestic warble, as he prods at his desire with a vocal breathlessness that conveys true passion. – J. Lipshutz
Empress Of, “Save Me”
Since her 2015 debut Me, Lorely Rodriguez has prioritized her musical adventurousness above all in her Empress Of project — and coming off last year’s top-notch team-up with MNDR on “Love In Reverse,” Rodriguez uses new single “Save Me” to dive deeper into her ambitions. Live strings, chopped-up vocal samples, piano and a sexual urgency combine one of the best Empress Of tracks to date. – J. Lipshutz
Rose Gray, “Last Song”
“Last Song” wants to be just that on any given dance floor, the final moment of euphoric movement before things shut down and the escape hatch closes; London pop artist Rose Gray is here to guide you through those waning moments of bliss, armed with a throbbing techno arrangements and some cooing harmonies. Even if you’re just popping it onto a playlist, “Last Song” demands consideration as a save-the-best-for-last option. – J. Lipshutz
ROLE MODEL, “who hurt you”
ROLE MODEL, also known as 24-year-old alt-pop artist Tucker Pillsbury, released his debut full-length, RX, on Friday, an album he’s said is all about the power of the woman. While any song can be pointed to as proof, “who hurt you” — with its thumping, reverb-heavy beat — shows just how well ROLE MODEL can paint a picture thanks to his no-detail-too-small observations. – Lyndsey Havens
Lucius, “Tears In Reverse”
The latest album from indie-pop act Lucius is full of lush production that’s complemented by the chilling harmonies of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. “Tears In Reverse” builds upon that foundation with an atmospheric sprinkling of synth and echoed vocals, all of which build into an epic — and cathartic — release at the 3-minute mark. – L. Havens
Banks, “Anything 4 U”
Banks co-produced much of her new album Serpentia, and it’s arguably her best yet. Filled with some of her most engaging song structures and emotionally revealing songwriting, “Anything 4 U” stands out for the way in which its twisting production seems to contrast Banks’ vocals, resulting in a perfectly perplexing pop jam. – L. Havens
Yung Lean feat. FKA Twigs, “Bliss”
Though Yung Lean was explicitly tied to the rise of the cloud rap on Tumblr and Soundcloud in the early 2010s, the Swedish rapper’s sound has evolved greatly in the years since. With the arrival of new mixtape Stardust, Lean taps FKA Twigs for “Bliss,” the second single from the project. Elements of Eastern European post punk and dark wave – which manifests itself in a sample from Moscow synth pop group Alliance and their 1987 track, “Na zare” — inform the instrumentals, while Lean raps of his vices and Twigs boldly throws caution to the wind for a few moments of ecstasy. – Starr Bowenbank
Allison Ponthier, “Autopilot”
Texas-born, Brooklyn-based artist Allison Ponthier branches out from her acoustic singer-songwriter comfort zone on “Autopilot,” which uses her real-life fear of driving as a metaphor for anxieties about life to come. It starts out vibey and strummy (and with a nice reference to John Carpenter’s sinister car horror flick Christine) before the chorus explodes with woozy synths and hammering guitars. – Joe Lynch
Syd and Kehlani, “Out Loud”
As you can tell from the title of Syd’s latest, Broken Hearts Club, the L.A. singer-songwriter isn’t exactly frolicking in the dewy fields of love this spring… but it’s all the better for those of us who cherish introspective meditations on the many things that can (and do) go wrong in relationships. With indie-soul strummer “Out Loud,” Kehlani joins Syd in confronting lovers who act smitten behind closed doors and aloof in front of their friends: “Usually you’re runnin’ your mouth / Don’t know what you’re runnin’ from now.” – J. Lynch