Sound Off: 10 Songs You Need to Hear Now

Song of the Week: Smerz - You got time and I got money"

A sublime, sensual, unbelievably cool slow jam from the Norwegian greats Smerz, which kind of sounds like someone singing their own love song over a misremembered version of "Bittersweet Symphony." Smerz have a lot of different modes – neoclassical noodling, music for fake pop stars, sinister dance music – and this is a new one for them and one that totally works. You just want to live inside this song – it's so lush, so welcoming, so irrepressibly gorgeous.

YHWH Nailgun - "Iron Feet"

I love this band because all their interviews are as crazy as their music, which is a disgusting, decrepit maelstrom of barked vocals and insane drumming. Fantastic band.

Selena Gomez, benny blanco - "Bluest Flame"

Co-written by Charli XCX and Dylan Brady, “Bluest Flame” feels like a yassified version of “pink diamond,” from 2020’s how I’m feeling now — it’s sweeter and smoother, the kind of purely romantic music I want to dance to after my lobotomy. (That’s a compliment!)

Jack Harlow, Doja Cat - "Just Us"

Have two pop-rap stars ever been better suited to Miami bass than Jack Harlow and Doja Cat? “Just Us” lets the two perpetual firebrands skate and skip over a slick, lively beat that feels like it’s powered by their boundless charisma.

Noah Cyrus, Fleet Foxes - "Don't Put It All On Me"

Robin Pecknold and Noah Cyrus’s voices go perfectly together, and while this lush folk track is a little more conventional than what Fleet Foxes have been doing of late, it’s still a delight.

Japanese Breakfast - "Picture Window"

This highlight from Japanese Breakfast’s new album For Melancholy Brunettes & sad women is this rich, chugging country track, the kind of Blake Mills specialty that pairs perfectly with Michelle Zauner’s delicate voice.

JT - "Ran Out"

“Ran Out” is brassy and confident, the kind of song that feels like it should play over the end credits of a 2000s action blockbuster.

YUNGBLUD - "Hello Heaven, Hello"

Yungblud finds himself somewhere between The Fray and Britpop on his new single “Hello Heaven, Hello,” a marked shift from his usual hijinks.

caroline - "Total euphoria"

“Total Euphoria” lives up to its name: It’s an intense, loud folk cacophony that feels uniquely and strangely uplifting.

Jonas Brothers - "Love Me To Heaven"

Post-reunion Jonas Brothers making yet another hit? It’s more likely thank you think. This is no “Waffle House,” but “Love Me To Heaven” has enough of an appealing, Killers-ish churn that you want to listen more than once

Photography: Benjamin Barron, Bror August