Sound Off: 10 Songs You Need to Hear Now

Song of the Week: Addison Rae - "High Fashion"

With "High Fashion," Addison Rae goes three for three. Unlike "Diet Pepsi" and "Aquamarine," there is no immediately clear reference point for this track – to me, it sounds a little like Cold Spring Fault Less Youth era Mount Kimbie (those icy-but-warm synth glitches!) but there's so much more you could point to as well. The only important thing is that, at this point, Rae is 2025's most viable candidate for genuine pop breakout – "High Fashion" is hypnotic and euphoric and hugely weird, three things in short supply of late.

Helena Deland - "Bigger Pieces"

Helena Leland returns to the spectral folk of her debut album on this shimmery, open b-side, which builds into a meditative, disconcerting groove.

Horsegirl - "Frontrunner"

Horsegirl’s new album is filled with excellent, piquant, Raincoatsesque punk-pop songs, but “Frontrunner” takes a different tack – it’s a world-weary, mostly instrumental country-folk track that shows a more inward-looking side of the group.

Sabrina Carpenter - "Busy Woman"

An interesting mutant hybrid of yacht rock, '80s pop and ABBA-esque schmaltz, this Short N Sweet deluxe cut isn’t A-tier Sabrina, but her B-tier is still stronger than nearly anyone else on the charts.

PUNCHBAG - "Fuck It"

This London sibling duo sound like they’ve mainlined all permutations of British synth and dance-pop from the past 30-odd years, and – surprisingly – it works.

Flowerovlove - "I've Seen Ur Ex"

This would be a killer karaoke song – it contains peaks and valleys, changes in cadence, shouty bits and enough attitude that you could pointedly sing it at someone and make real impact.

Alok and Kylie Minogue - "last night i dreamt i fell in love"

I can’t tell you much about Alok – his Spotify bio says he’s a “bonafide dance music artist,” which, sure – but I can tell you Kylie has been on a tear lately, and this kind of sultry dancefloor heater is when she’s most in the pocket.

John Glacier - "Home"

John Glacier makes wintry music that sounds like it’s in a constant state of decay – “Home” is intense but brittle at the same time, a thrilling environment to inhabit for three minutes and change.

SZA - "Take You Down"

This Lana outtake is as funny and heartrending as we’ve come to expect from SZA – threadbare and rich at the same time.

Jake Wesley Rogers - "God Bless"

Jake Wesley Rogers’ latest is a country-gospel ballad that celebrates light and progress.

Photography: Bella Newman