Sound Off: 10 Songs You Need to Hear Now

Sound Off: 10 Songs You Need to Hear Now

By Shaad D'Souza
Sep 27, 2024

It's impossible to be across all the new music out each Friday. Luckily, PAPER is here to help you out: each week, we round up 10 of our favorite new songs from artists — emerging and established — to soundtrack your life. From the surreal to the sublime, these songs cover every corner of the music world. The only criteria: they all have to absolutely rip.

Subscribe to our Sound Off Spotify playlist here and check out this week's tracks, below.

Alan Sparhawk - "I Made This Beat"

A kind of quotidian mantra, “I Made This Beat” might be the most straightforward song on Alan Sparhawk’s surprising new record White Roses, My God, recalling harsh industrial rap and cold wave music.

The Weeknd, Playboi Carti - "Timeless"

The follow-up to their megahit Madonna collaboration “Popular," a mellow, trance-inflected new single.

Michaela Jaé - "Wasting My Time"

The opening song of Michaela Jaé’s long-awaited debut album 33 is sublime and sleek, touching on '80s R&B and subtle afrobeats.

Lady Gaga - "Happy Mistake"

This original song from Lady Gaga’s new Joker-themed album Harlequin recalls her underrated country pivot Joanne, haunting and pretty in equal measure.

Tommy Richman - "TEMPTATIONS"

Tommy Richman refuses to be pinned down on his new album Coyote; “Temptations” is a delightful '80s funk track that highlights his dynamic vocals.

ROSALÍA, Ralphie Choo - "Omega"

Released to celebrate her 32nd birthday, “Omega” sees Rosalía going into sweeping ballad mode, her diaphanous voice stretched to its limits in the song’s final moments.

JADE - "Midnight Cowboy"

“Midnight Cowboy” is sensuous and fun, elevated by JADE's playful vocals and well-timed, cheeky samples.

SOPHIE, Cecile Believe - "My Forever"

The best song on SOPHIE’s final posthumous album, “My Forever” is radiant and thrilling, a perfect pop song that’s skeletal and huge at the same time.

Efterklang, Mabe Fratti - "Balancing Stones"

Experimental cellist Mabe Fratti links up with Danish trio Efterklang on this soaring, sumptuous indie pop track.

Kylie Minogue - "Lights Camera Action"

Old-school EDM from Tension II, Kylie’s sequel to last year’s underrated Tension, “Lights Camera Action” is a big, bombastic floor-filler.

Photography: The Weeknd/ Republic Records