Welcome to the 25th Songs of the Week of 2024. This week’s list covers the last week. This week Andy Von Pip, Caleb Campbell, Marina Mallin, Matt the Raven, Scotty Dransfield, and Stephen Humphires helped me decide what should make the list. We considered over 30 songs and narrowed it down to a Top 12.
Recently we announced our new print issue, The ’90s Issue, featuring The Cardigans and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth on the covers. Buy it from us directly here.
To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last week, we have picked the 12 best the last seven days had to offer, followed by some honorable mentions. Check out the full list below.
1. Magdalena Bay: “Tunnel Vision”
Los Angeles-based electro-pop duo Magdalena Bay (aka Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin) are releasing a new album, Imaginal Disk, on August 23 via Mom + Pop. This week they shared its third single, “Tunnel Vision.” It’s a slow-burner that builds to an epic conclusion.
The band collectively had this to say about the song in a press release: “Artificial intelligence won’t approximate humanity until it learns how to hate itself.”
Imaginal Disk is the band’s sophomore full-length album and follows 2023’s mini mix vol. 3, a surprise-released a seven-song EP and an accompanying short film that featured videos for every song. The EP’s “Wandering Eyes” made our Songs of the Week list.
In 2021, Magdalena Bay released their debut album, Mercurial World, which was one of our Top 100 Albums of 2021 and several songs from the album were featured on our Top 130 Songs of 2021 list. Then in 2022 they released a deluxe edition of the album that included several bonus tracks and remixes incorporated into the main tracklist of the original album, presenting a completely different listening experience.
Read our interview with Magdalena Bay on Mercurial World here. By Mark Redfern
2. Soccer Mommy: “M”
This week, Soccer Mommy (aka Sophie Allison) announced her new album, Evergreen, and shared its new single “M,” which follows the previously-released album opener “Lost.”Evergreen is due out October 25 on Loma Vista. “M” arrives with a music video directed by Anna Pollack. Find the tracklist and cover art for Evergreen, along with Soccer Mommy’s upcoming tour dates here.
Allison’s music has always been a candid and vulnerable reflection on her life. Her sound came out of the bedroom-to-Bandcamp arc where as a teenager, Allison would post her plaintive songs as demos. Overtime, she would experiment with her sound and production. Her most recent album Sometimes, Forever (2022), grappled with profound loss. The songwriting was raw and relatable. Forthcoming Evergreen is an 11-track exploration of life’s moments without attaching personal opinions to them, allowing lyrics and emotions to speak for themselves.
Allison recorded the album at Atlanta’s Maze Studios with producer Ben H. Allen III (Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Youth Lagoon, Belle and Sebastian).
This week, London’s High Vis announced their new album, Guided Tour, which will be released on October 18 on Dais. In celebration of the announcement, High Vis shared the album’s lead single, “Mind’s a Lie,” which arrives in a video directed by Martina Pastory and stars movement artist Sem Osian. Find High Vis’ tour dates and the tracklist and cover art for Guided Tourhere.
Of the single, High Vis’ vocalist Graham Sayle said this in a press release: “I wanted to look at how quickly negative habits can take control when you lack a positive or constructive outlet for your energy. While the language of mental health provision has found fertile ground in the churn of social media, access to essential services has been decimated by the indifference of successive Tory governments. Further division has been stoked through governmental rhetoric and media scapegoating. Without adequate support in times of crisis, life can quickly spiral into an angry and isolated existence.”
The album includes the previously released single, “Mob DLA.” By Marina Malin
4. Father John Misty: “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All”
Greatish Hits: I Followed My Dreams and My Dreams Said to Crawl is a collection of songs taken from his five albums: Fear Fun (2012), I Love You, Honeybear (2015), the Grammy-nominated Pure Comedy (2017), God’s Favorite Customer (2018), and Chloë and The Next 20th Century (2022). By Marina Malin
Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There For Me is a project that processes burnout, the music industry, and heartbreak through the poetry of band leader Dana Margolin. She had this to say in a press release: “Almost all the songs started out as poems.” She had learned that a songwriter can hide behind the tricks of the music: “in a poem though, you can’t hide.”
Margolin reflects on the record being a creative breakthrough: “It feels like the first time we’ve made something. It captured something about our friendship as a band and the way that we have learnt to play together. It’s taught me so much. Following your gut to the nth point, trusting your friends and their loyalty, trusting yourself to be able to fight with people properly and still come back together. How I want to live is how I want to make records, because making records is my life because my work is my play is my job is my life. It all ties together in this thing, and there are ways to do this that might not kill me.”
Of the record, Margolin adds: “A lot of this album is about a more frenetic and desperate kind of love. It is about completely losing my sense of self in one relationship, and the deep residue of insecurity and pain that lingered and clouded a new relationship.”
Of today’s single, Margolin said this: “‘Sick of the Blues’ is about being heartbroken and taking back some joy, remembering that you’re the source of your own happiness, not someone else, even when you’re hurt and left with a hole in your heart. After being messed around enough, you just want to take back control. I just wanted to let it go, stop letting it consume me. I wanted simplicity, to have fun and remember everything good that could possibly happen. To love wholly, to not take anything too seriously. To have fun with my friends, to remove the tunnel vision and fall in love with my life again.”
This week, London-based dreampop duo deary shared a new single “Selene,” which was produced alongside Iggy B (of Spiritualized) and features Simon Scott (of Slowdive) on drums. “Selene” arrives with a video directed by Liam Beazley (aka Limb). Find deary’s tour dates here.
The new track is deary’s second release since their debut EP; the first was last month’s “The Moth” which became one of our Songs of the Week.
In a press release, singer Dottie said this of the single: “‘Selene’ is associated with the moon and re-birth. Our new material is all about transition and metamorphosis. I have a desire to return to a part of myself that I’ve lost or to discover the one buried deep under anxiety and shame. I look to ‘Selene’ to guide the way.”
Other half of deary, Ben Easton added: “We drafted Simon in on drumming duties and he provided a solid foundation which allowed the song to play out above him. Sonically, we allowed ourselves more space to build the instrumentation of the track, not to throw in vocals where they weren’t needed and let the song transcend on its own. I think it’s one of the best things we’ve written together.”
Of the video, Easton said: “The video for ‘Selene’ was always intended to follow on from ‘The Moth.’ We wanted to place the title character in a different setting to the woods but still trapped by her surroundings. It’s been fun to explore different aesthetic influences with Liam, like Twin Peaks and The Lighthouse, continuing a natural gravitation towards a more gothic horror style.” By Marina Malin
7. Foxing: “Greyhound”
Of Foxing’s 13-year career, this week they announced their self-titled fifth album Foxing, due out September 13 on the band’s own label, Grand Paradise. They also shared the triumphant eight-minute long lead single “Greyhound,” which arrives with an amusing video. Find the album details and Foxing’s tour dates here.
The quartet is made up of Conor Murphy (vocals), Eric Hudson (guitar), Jon Hellwig (drums), and Brett Torence (bass). This past weekend they supposedly held a press conference in their hometown St Louis to announce their new album. The video was shot at the conference. Although in reality, no such press conference probably happened, but it makes for a funny video, as the band sits bored staring at a room filled with empty chairs and no journalists while their epic and emotive new single blares. By Marina Malin and Mark Redfern
8. MJ Lenderman: “Joker Lips”
This week, North Carolina singer/songwriter and musician, MJ Lenderman released another song from his forthcoming album, Manning Fireworks, which is due for release on September 6 via ANTI-. This week’s new track is called “Joker Lips,” which follows the release of “She’s Leaving You” and “Rudolph.” Find MJ Lenderman tour dates here.
Manning Fireworks follows his 2023 live album, And the Wind (Live and Loose!), 2022’s Boat Songs, 2021’s Ghost of Your Guitar Solo, and 2019’s MJ Lenderman. The album was recorded at Asheville’s Drop of Sun Studios during any offtime Lenderman had from touring (he’s also a member of the band Wednesday). Co-produced with Alex Farrar, the instrumentation is almost entirely performed by Lenderman. The album will be his fourth full-length album, but his studio debut for ANTI-.By Marina Malin
9. Haley Heynderickx: “Seed of a Seed”
Earlier this week, Portland, Oregon’s Hayley Heynderickx released her first new song since the release of her debut record, I Need to Start a Garden (2018).“Seed of a Seed” is out on her hometown label Mama Bird Recording Co. This new single arrives with a music video directed by Evan Benally Atwood and features Jared Dancler, Katherin Rose, Evan Benallly Atwood, and Heynderickx. Find Heyderickx’s tour dates here.
Of the single, Heynderickx said this in a press release: “I first sent a demo of ‘Seed of a Seed’ to my friend Tré Burt and he loved it. For three years he kept asking me if I’d finished the ‘better better’ song. It felt like a throwaway song to me, at first. It’s so simple, but I didn’t realize how much angst I’d woven into it: a desire for simplicity, and how far away that felt. It seems I accidentally pressed my story—the last four years of my life—into a tiny little tune and I love it now, too.” By Marina Malin
10. Goat: “Ouroboros”
Sweden’s experimental psych-rock band, Goat, announced their third album earlier this week. It’s simply titled Goat and it will be released on October 11 via Rocket Recordings. In honor of the announcement, Goat has shared the lead single “Ouroboros” with a video. Find the cover art and tracklist for Goat, alongside Goat’s tour dates here.
Of the single, Goat explains “Ouroboros” as “The cycle of rebirth means the refinement of the soul. An evolution in which we slowly find our direction. Our own rhythm.”
Goat follows behind their 2023 Medicine, 2022 Oh Death, 2016 Requiem, 2014 Commune, and 2012 World Music. By Marina Malin
11. Lael Neale: “Electricity”
Lael Neale shared a brand new song, “Electricity,” this week via a self-directed music video. Find her upcoming tour dates here.
Neale wrote and composed “Electricity,” which was produced and arranged by longtime creative collaborator Guy Blakeslee. The video features cinematography by Chance Gray, with choreography by Sandi Denton and a performance by the Rated Z Dancers.
Neale had this to say about the song in a press release: “I wrote the song during an ice storm a couple of winters ago that caused a five-day power outage while I was living on my family’s farm in Virginia. I experienced intense withdrawal from all these things we’ve come to depend on so heavily in our modern life—like lighting, heat, refrigeration, and entertainment. I felt a range of sensations from utter emptiness to complete liberation. I realized we’re essentially electrified beings now, but through unplugging entirely we have a chance to gain a new perspective and reset ourselves.”
This week, Pom Pom Squad (the project led by Mia Berrin) announced their new album, Mirror Stars Moving Without Me, which will be released on October 25 via City Slang. Ahead of the release, they share their new song “Spinning,” with a video directed by Berrin, and Benjamin Lieber. Find details of Mirror Stars Moving Without Me here.
In a press release, Berrin had said this on the single: “The song represents a moment when I was learning to cope with painful memories of the past and how they’ve shaped my future. In accepting them, I’ve been able to find more freedom and forgiveness within myself.”
Of the video, she adds: “A lot of the lyrics on the album have to do with watching/analyzing yourself, so I knew I wanted to create a surveillance room setup for something. It turned out to be a really fun home-base for the ‘Spinning’ video.”
Of the inspiration behind the record, Berrin says: “I took a lot of inspiration from my younger self on this album. I wanted to get back in touch with my creative roots. After hitting a particularly rough bout of writer’s block, I challenged myself to make a playlist of my all-time favorite songs from childhood to adulthood. It was healing in a way I didn’t expect! Before we went into the studio I made my bandmates and Cody do the same, then we all listened to each other’s and had a long conversation about them. Through the sessions for Mirror we were all pulling references from our collective playlists more than anything else.”
Prior to today’s album announcement, just last month Pom Pom Squad released the album opener “Downhill,” which was also one of our Songs of the Week. By Marina Malin.
Honorable Mentions:
These songs almost made the Top 12.
Kate Bollinger: “What’s This About (La La La La)”
Caribou: “Volume”
Crows: “Vision of Me”
The Hard Quartet: “Earth Hater”
illuminati hotties: “The L”
Jade Hairpins: “My Feet On Your Ground”
Jamie xx: “All You Children” (Feat. The Avalanches)
Nap Eyes: “Passageway”
Oceanator: “Drift Away”
OK Cowgirl: “Our Love”
Public Service Broadcasting: “The South Atlantic” (Feat. This Is the Kit)
Thala: “1st of the year”
Wishy: “Just Like Sunday”
Here’s a handy Spotify playlist featuring the Top 12 in order, followed by all the honorable mentions:
