Welcome to our weekly music post, where we spotlight our favorite new songs and albums. Hop in the comments and tell us: What new music are you listening to?
We named Waxahatchee’s Tigers Blood the best album of 2024, and surprise surprise, even the songs that didn’t make the cut are pretty great. Katie Crutchfield, the artist behind Waxahatchee, recorded “Mud” during the Tigers Blood sessions. She ultimately left it off the album before releasing it as a standalone single this week. Musically, “Mud” is a little jauntier than the rest of the album, so it makes sense that Crutchfield didn’t include it on the full release, but it works beautifully on its own. [Jen Lennon]
The Ophelias pulled off a coup for their upcoming fourth album: Spring Grove was produced by singer-songwriter and boygenius member Julien Baker. “Cumulonimbus” is the first single from the record, and it’s a bruiser of a “fuck-you” song. However, Ophelias vocalist and guitarist Spencer Peppet emphasized that it’s definitely not a breakup song. “There’s so much more beyond heartbreak to write about,” she said of the new album in a press release. [JL]
Doechii, “Nosebleeds”
“Everybody wanted to know what Doechii would do if she didn’t win / I guess we’ll never—” Doechii raps on her new track, “Nosebleeds.” She’s talking, of course, about her big win for Best Rap Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards. After that lyric cuts off at the end of the first verse, she jumps to the chorus, then the second verse comes in like this: “I guess we’ll never know / Guess we’ll never see the day that Doechii crown falls.” She dropped the track mere hours after taking the stage to accept her award, so unless she literally ran from the ceremony to the studio and laid down a perfect take, there’s no way this wasn’t recorded in advance. Which is all to say: Doechii called her shot. [JL]
Oklou, Choke Enough
There has not been nearly enough Oklou since her 2020 mixtape Galore. That finally changes with Choke Enough, the French artist’s first official album. Oklou’s music combines the twinkling 2000s pop electronica of Imogen Heap or Owl City and reimagines it for a generation raised online with PC Music and Bladee. Though the wait between projects was too long, she released six advance singles. If the rest of the album is even half as good as “Harvest Sky” or “Take Me By The Hand,” we’re in great hands. [Drew Gillis]
Various Artists, Good Music To Lift Los Angeles
There are quite a few benefit albums for Los Angeles wildfire relief making the rounds right now, including Los Angeles Rising, Super Bloom, and Staying, and they’re all worth your support. But if you had to pick one to buy right now, Good Music To Lift Los Angeles is only available for a limited time—24 hours, to be exact, on February 7. The compilation includes previously unreleased tracks from artists like Interpol, Jeff Tweedy, and The Hold Steady. Plus, Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service contributed a live version of their cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence.” [JL]
HORSEBATH, Another Farewell
On their debut album, HORSEBATH are equal parts Rolling Stones and Willie Nelson. The twangy guitar on album opener “Hard To Love” is straight country, but the vocals have an undeniable ’70s pop croon. The band’s penchant for mixing genres makes their sound hard to pin down, but they feel refreshingly distinct from many other alternative country artists working right now. [JL]
