Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

5 songs you need to stream this week: The Strokes and more

best songs to stream august 11 2016 cass mccombs
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Every week there are hundreds of thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves. It’s too much for just your two ears to handle. With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks worthy of a thumbs down click. But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most hyped and interesting songs each week, and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.

Here are our top 5 songs to stream this week — and remember to subscribe to our Spotify playlist for all of our weekly picks.

The Strokes — Oblivius

A groovy jam which enthralls fans with The Strokes’ traditional distorted vocals, Oblivius was the first new single to come from the band since their last full length album in 2013. The lead track on the indie rock gods’ Future Present Past EP is heavily driven by guitar licks, reminiscent of the bands early-2000s classics in many ways. It’s a quality return-to-form for the band of mostly New Yorkers, who have retained popularity, but have yet to eclipse the perfection that came with genre-defining record Is This It over a decade ago.

Download on iTunes

Cass McCombs — Opposite House (Feat. Angel Olsen)

“This is slicker than oil on a Pelican,” writes a SoundCloud commenter about halfway through Opposite House, a new single from songwriter Cass McCombs — and they’re not wrong either. A groovy bit of running music which features the sultry voice of indie goddess emeritus Angel Olsen, the new track is cold as ice, a breezy bit of music which will appear on McCombs’ upcoming August release Mangy Love.

Download on iTunes

BRONCHO — I Know You Listen

Reverb and unintelligible vocals are the hallmark of much of today’s modern indie acts, but nobody does it quite as well as Broncho. On the Oklahoma band’s latest single I Know You, British inflection and stadium-sized grooves keep the legato words in check, providing a most enjoyable cut despite the lack of clear lyrics to sing along with. Put it on in the car on a hot day and roll down the windows; You don’t need to know the words when something feels this good.

Stream BRONCHO on Apple Music

Joey Purp — Girls (Feat. Chance The Rapper)

Bass heavy and full of samples, Girls is one of the earliest bids for surprise hit-of-the-summer. The tongue-in-cheek track comes straight from Joey Purp, a member of Chance The Rapper’s SaveMoney Crew, and features a chuckle-y verse from Chicago’s new rap hero himself. An undeniably enthralling jam from start to finish, it’s easy to image this pounding from a stereo in sororities nationwide before a big night out.

Stream Joey Purp on Spotify

Queue — More

This week’s cleanest breath of pop air comes via East Coast quintet Queue, whose simple More softly captivates your senses like a gentle breeze on a perfectly sunny day. It’s a cathartic cut that’s not invasive or distracting, but which somehow brightens the spirits of all those within earshot when its time comes on your mid-morning playlist.

Download on iTunes

That’s it for now, but check back every week for more new tunes to stream!

Editors' Recommendations

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
What is hi-res audio, and how can you experience it right now?
Dlyan Wireless Headphones

High-resolution audio, hi-res audio, or even HD audio -- whatever you decide to call it (for the record, the industry prefers "hi-res audio"), it's a catch-all term that describes digital audio that goes above and beyond the level of sound quality you can expect from a garden-variety MP3 file and even CDs. It was once strictly the domain of audiophiles, but now that major streaming music services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz have embraced it, almost everyone can take advantage of what hi-res has to offer.

But what exactly is hi-res audio? What equipment do you need to listen to it? Where can you download or stream it? And does it actually sound better? We've got the answers.
What does the term 'hi-res audio' mean?

Read more
How to download music from Spotify for offline listening
How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Read more
How to switch from Spotify to Apple Music
Spotify and Apple Music transfer on a smartphone.

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service for a reason. It has a massive catalog of music and podcasts, is full of cool music discovery and sharing features, and is really easy to use.
However, with its recent price increase and the fact that it still hasn't joined most of its peers in offering a hi-res audio quality option, you may be considering jumping ship for its closest competitor, Apple Music, which counts lossless hi-res tracks, mind-bending spatial audio, Dolby Atmos Music tracks, and a catalog that rivals Spotify's among the many attractive reasons to switch.

But there's one problem: you’ve spent a lot of time creating playlists and marking songs and albums as your favorites in Spotify. Is it worth the switch? Will all that hard work be lost in translation?

Read more