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 five best new songs to stream this week. And don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post. Not sure which streaming service is best for you? Check out our post about the best music streaming services, or go in depth and learn the differences between Apple Music and Spotify to better weigh your options.
Chance The Rapper — Untitled
Chance The Rapper appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert recently to debut this as-yet unnamed track, a gentle and deeply personal song filled with softly spoken words. It offers an intimate glance into his post-fame career, with powerful lyrics that put his life in real-world perspective. “It ain’t really fun to hang out with me no more,” he raps midway through the song, “We can’t go to the River East and hang at the beach no more/It’s messed up I made it this way and my feet so sore/But it’s all downhill from here I could teach snowboards.”
Ty Segall — Alta
Indie rock icon Ty Segall continues his string of shredding guitar jams with his latest single, Alta, which treats fans to an outright radical solo about halfway through the harmony-fueled banger. The stand-alone release further expands Segall’s extremely prolific output this year, following a new LP, a charity EP, with proceeds benefiting the American Civil Liberties Union, and a special 7-inch record.
Glen Hansard — Time Will Be The Healer
“One day when you’re long past this, you’ll laugh about it,” sings Irish songwriter Glen Hansard — who many will recognize from the critically beloved indie film Once — on his latest song, Time Will Be The Healer. The cathartic new single proudly wears its positive outlook without ever veering into all-out corny territory.
LIV — Hurts To Liv
The award for most beautiful pop ballad of the year so far goes to this recent release from Swedish supergroup LIV, made up of Lykki Li and members of acclaimed bands Miike Snow and Peter Bjorn and John. The powerful lyrics are sung in perfect harmony by the excellent musicians, who join together in a simple and elegant arrangement with acoustic guitars, a Fender Rhodes piano, and a deep drum beat.
Chronixx — Skankin Sweet (and more)
Jamaican reggae band Chronixx made a special appearance at NPR’s Tiny Desk recently, performing wonderfully groovy — and shockingly tight — renditions of some of their most popular tunes. On Skankin Sweet, perfect harmonies intersect with layers of guitar and percussion, forming exactly the kind of song you want to sit back and relax to.
That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more songs to stream, and check out the playlist loaded with our recent selections below:
