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.
Steve Lacy — “Mercury”
“Mercury” is a total trip — a five-minute odyssey of bossa nova, psych-rock, R&B and electropop tied together into one gloriously Frankenstein’d pop song. Listening to this song feels a little like tumbling down a never-ending rabbit hole, in the best way possible.
Drake — “Falling Back”
One of a few highlights from the surprise new Drake album, “Falling Life” encompasses Honestly, Nevermind’s More Life 2 vibes; vibrant but mournful, it’s another glorious tears-in-the-club (or in the day party) banger.
FKA Twigs — “Killer”
FKA Twigs’ new one is about feeling a love so strong it hurts — about wanting to deny yourself any pleasure just in order to rid your memory of an ex. It’s a typically ingratiating track that fuses the experimentalism of Magdalene with the pop structures of Caprisongs.
Marlon Williams — “Thinking of Nina”
Marlon Williams’ old-soul crooner vibes are well and truly gone on “Thinking of Nina,” a lithe '80s-style rock ballad that’s an exciting indicator of where his new album My Boy might go.
Flo Milli — “Conceited”
Flo Milli is well and truly at the top of her game on “Conceited,” a hard-as-nails rap song about how Flo Milli is better than you. She’s not wrong!
Tei Shi — “Grip”
Tei Shi reclaims her agency on “Grip.” Her first track as a fully independent artist, it’s a typically sleek R&B song that finds her reflecting on the strife she had with a former label and stepping boldly and defiantly into independence.
WONHO — “Close”
WONHO’s “Close”, a highlight from his new EP, is a lush and lovelorn R&B song that expands the rising star’s universe greatly, the song’s sleek production befitting its deft lyricism.
Lana Del Rey & Father John Misty — “Buddy’s Rendezvous”
Lana was born to record this kind of song; a cover of a track from the latest Father John Misty album, it’s a bittersweet vision of lost love, an ambling last-drinks song that’s resigned and airy.
Perfume Genius — “Hellbent”
“Hellbent” is a twisted highlight from Perfume Genius’ new album Ugly Season, a freaky free-jazz experiment that manages to capture shades of minimal techno and righteous exclamation.
Chlöe — “Surprise”
The bright, electro-tinted “Surprise” is yet another show of Chlöe’s versatility, an upbeat display of love and devotion that’s embodied and totally fresh.
Photo via Getty/ Scott Dudelson