SPIN’s 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: The Julie Ruin, William Tyler, and More

Welcome to our weekly roundup of the SPIN staff’s favorite new songs. Below, sample the best from pessimistic shoegaze groups, smooth-talking disco dandies, and more.

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broncho-150

BRONCHO, “Se?ora Borealis” (Dine Alone)
Norman, Oklahoma’s BRONCHO are too clever for their own good. They called their previous album Just Enough Hip to Be Woman, and their femme-fatale obsession is still killing it on the equally cheeky Double Vanity (out May 27) and its chugging new single, “Se?ora Borealis.” It’s new-wave punk blues, music for freeway speeding, Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde. “Spillin’ the blood / Spillin’ the beans,” teases lead singer Ryan Lindsey, nodding to the plot of a pulpy Western thriller you’ll have to imagine for yourself. — ANNA GACA

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cher-lloyd-150


Cher Lloyd, “Popular” (Self-Released)
“There’s a really old demo floating around,” former X Factor U.K. contestant Cher Lloyd wrote on Twitter this week. “I can promise it’s not on #CL3. Working to get you new music ASAP!” The song in question is a sugary jiggler called “Popular,” and it showcases the best of Lloyd’s now-trademark aesthetic: a brash, British wit and her just-nasal-enough vocals. With its plucky, DJ Mustard-y beats and a strong feminist chorus (“Go ahead and shake that ass / ‘Cause you know they like it / Go ahead and do your dance / ‘Cause you know they’ll buy it / When you’re losing followers / I’ll still think you’re popular”), Lloyd’s afterthought is better than most pop stars’ A-game efforts. — BRENNAN CARLEY

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clique-1000

CLIQUE, “Boundaries” (Topshelf Records)
A wistfully minor guitar melody halfway between Weezer and Elliott Smith, a mournful refrain of “Motherf**ker ran me off the road,” and a self-questioning minute-and-a-half run time. In other words, “Bad Habit” for ’90s kids too introverted to really lean on the car horn. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER

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jodie-abacus-150

Jodie Abacus, “She’s in Love With the Weekend”
While he prepares his yet-to-be-announced debut album, South London’s Jodie Abacus has unleashed another disco-funkathon with “She’s in Love With the Weekend,” an ode to a woman who likes to party a little too hard. “She thinks it’s okay for her mind to blow a fuse,” he observes against silky ’70s synths and a bubbly beat. It’s not that he’s judging — it’s just that “her weekend never ends,” leading Abacus to (rightly) believe that his friend’s habits are more about emotional escapism than genuine thrill-seeking. — RACHEL BRODSKY

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The Julie Ruin, “I Decide” (Hardly Art)
“I belong to the wolves who drug me in their mouth just like a baby,” sings national treasure Kathleen Hanna, who was recently awarded her own holiday in Boston. Thank God she’s not the “victory lap” sort; there’s always still work to be done. In this case, a pro-choice, pro-whatever-you-got women’s anthem holds the front lines firm amid the dark ages of an impending Trumpocalypse. The one-note pound could be a pickaxe in a mine shaft, almost a joke about punk primitivism while Hanna tries out all kinds of descending new throat textures. But nothing else about “I Decide” is a joke. — DAN WEISS

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nothing-150

Nothing, “ACD (Abscessive Compulsive Disorder)” (Relapse Records)
Your stomach might churn in response to a title about multiplying pus pockets (just my interpretation). But thankfully Nothing’s “ACD (Abscessive Compulsive Disorder)” isn’t so much about physical discomfort — more likely that the Philadelphia shoegazers are urging you to ignore your gut, moaning nihilistic phrases like “I always knew I’d eventually hurt you” and “And I will leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.” Love the song, don’t envy the girl(s). — R.B.

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williamtyler_angelinacastillo2-150

William Tyler, “Gone Clear” (Merge)
In William Tyler’s eyes, America is well past its peak: The roads are pockmarked, the middle class is strangled, and the presidency has become a prize that’s auctioned off as part of a carnival sideshow. But within William Tyler’s songs, there’s still hope. “Gone Clear” — the first single from the Nashville guitarist’s forthcoming Impossible Truth follow-up, Modern Country, out June 3 — feels imbued with pride, not cynicism; with its contemplative pace and chiming midsection, the six-minute instrumental focuses on the bits of promise that have yet to be snuffed out. Crumbling empire or not, there’s plenty of beauty to be found among the decay. — KYLE MCGOVERN