Atlanta’s NEANDERTHALZ make noise that commands your immediate attention. And we say that in the best possible way. This rising group craft a distinctive alt sound that is, at its core, human.
Their work fuses post-punk, hip hop, electronica, and rock to create music that steers away from polished perfection and veers more towards raw and impactful productions.
‘Feelz Good’ is a perfect example of their sound and is bound to gain a tonne of traction this weekend. The track is a statement piece, unashamedly raw and bold.
We first featured Kojo Kay earlier this year, and we’ve been so impressed with the newcomer’s evolution since.
‘RIGHT HERE’ is the artist’s sixth release to date and is lifted from his debut ‘TONEBOW’ mixtape. Like his previous work, the track was created alongside Jamie Kuse and draws listeners into an atmospheric blend of alternative R&B, hip hop, and pop.
“This song was driven by a deep emotional moment of feeling lost yet having the hope that I am also right where I need to be while also still headed where I hope to be. When I produced this track I wanted it to immediately feel like a wave of peace crashing down from the first second.”
Despite running less than two minutes total, this track makes a big impact. Over the past few months, Kojo’s music has been praised by Earmilk, Neon Music, The Word is Bond, and many more tastemakers.
Hyperpop isn’t to everyone’s taste, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t have some type of love for Lily like the flower.
A newcomer hailing from Canada, this artist has an instant charm factor. ‘Hunger Games’ is an energetic, almost chaotic pop sound that somehow also feels quite emotionally charged.
“This song came from a writing session where we ran a Rhodes through an old reel to reel, which ended up having issues making it sound extra wobbly. We started there, and ended up writing a hyperpop track over all real instruments.”
The song is inspired by themes of self-empowerment and believing in oneself, which is sure to resonate with anyone needing a confidence boost.
A debut album called ‘Hereditary’ is out now and features a collection of songs that showcase the artist’s full range of sounds – from playful electronica to industrial and downtempo.
In the lead-up to her debut album, musician and producer Sable returns with a gorgeous new single called ‘Daughterhood’.
The song was written and produced by Sable herself and speaks of the special relationship between mother and daughter. Sonically, it draws inspiration from production by Kate Bush and Bon Iver. And as we’ve come to expect from this Mancunian talent, the track showcases some beautifully crafted alternative pop.
Sable’s upcoming album, ‘We’re Getting Older Baby’, is out soon. In the meantime, you can explore more of the Berlin-based artist’s work on Spotify here.
It’s not often for us to feature two songs from the same outfit on a post, so soft siren’s new releases are really quite exceptional in our view.
Both lifted from the genre-bending band’s debut album ‘4AM’ (out now), these songs showcase some of the finest indie pop you’ll likely come across this weekend.
Let’s start with ‘Feeling Down’, the lead single from the album. Soulful vocals glide over a dreamy, lo-fi style of sound reminiscent of 90s trip hop. The song’s hazy charm has seen it rack up more than a million TikTok views when the band previewed it earlier in the year.
“The lyrics confront ego, escapism, & the realization that sometimes what you are running from is yourself.”
Following on, another stellar song worth featuring is the cinematic ‘I’ll Be Fine’, giving us a shoegaze-inspired production that feels tense and emotionally charged. There’s an essence of melancholy, mirroring the track’s lyrics, which speak of the struggles we have to feel human in the modern world.
“A song about existing like a ghost inside your own life. It captures the heavy, quiet desperation of trying to feel human in a world that treats you like a product or a number, exploring the existential angst and isolation of the modern era.”
All in all, it won’t come as a surprise when we say that the whole album by this hugely promising Californian band deserves a listen.
“The project brings together a carefully selected collection of songs and spoken word pieces written and recorded across different chapters of my life. Through themes of faith, perseverance, gratitude, struggle, hope, and healing, SamXVI identified a narrative running through the music long before either of us realised how significant it would become.” – Abby Power
Work on the EP began before Power received news of a cancer diagnosis and was completed shortly before her surgery. The record features both new songs as well as remastered versions of older releases like ‘Count Blessings’.
Through the EP’s journey, a central theme starts to emerge: ‘that while adversity can leave its mark, it cannot take everything. Faith, love, purpose, gratitude, hope, and human connection remain’.
It’s a powerful record, and one that has clearly had a tonne of heart and soul poured into it and is a testament to both Abby and SamXVI’s artistry.
Nuorah is a singer, songwriter and producer who came across our radars this week, and we just have to share her work with you.
This artist crafts indie-pop with serious lyrical substance. The child of a complicated life, Nuorah’s work touches on topics like self-conflict, finding oneself, and where we fit into the world. On the new single ‘Blonde’, the artist explains:
“‘Blonde’ is a commentary on the quiet alienation of not meeting a supposed expectation. Driven by organic production and raw lyricism, it captures the sting of craving an impossible ideal while having to accept that it will never be reality.”
Ultimately, Nuorah’s work makes us ask ourselves: who are we meant to be?
Your weekend banger is here, and this time it’s a dark one. If you love your old-school UK garage, then you’ll appreciate Arya’s new single, ‘d e v i l’.
Released under Twitch streamer Jericho and Daniel Goudie’sNIGHTMODE label, this track sees the rising Vancouver-based DJ fuse a future-forward production with a nostalgic feel reminiscent of London’s pirate radio sound from the 90s.
Arya has amassed more than four million career streams to date on Spotify alone, where he also commands over 120k monthly listeners.
Electronic legend Iron Perez has been on the circuit for over three decades at this point, but ‘Evolution Mind’ is his first release in the production seat. And that experience shows, as this track is a masterclass in techno.
You don’t have to be a lover of the genre to appreciate the artistry behind this song. Crafted alongside Iron Perez, the production builds a cinematic soundscape that is nothing short of epic. It’s tense, bold and unexpected, leaving listeners hooked throughout its sonic journey.
At this rate, we’ll be shocked if Genevieve & Milo don’t become a global name in the next year or so. This emerging South African outfit has just released one of the most gorgeous releases of the season, and we can’t wait to share it with you.
‘What a Wonderful Thing’ is lifted from the duo’s upcoming ‘Moonflower’ LP (out 30th October) and draws listeners into a sonic landscape brimming with euphoria. Captivating vocals that tell of loving life glide over a production that balances pop with folk and indie. Speaking on the track, Genevieve explains:
“This is a song for embracing that inner madness but also the full spectrum of being alive – beauty, lust, grief and surrender. At its core the lyrics speak to the desire to be in love, not just in the romantic sense but in a longing for life. Embracing the gruesome and the beautiful, the painful and the revelatory. It is an admission of my deepest flaws but also my strengths.”
Support for Genevieve & Milo comes from the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music, Americana UK, and AnalogueTrash.
If you’ve popped in to an H&M store recently, then you might have already come across this pop gem from British newcomer IamOutlandish.
‘DEUX’ is a refreshingly bold and quirky single that playfully flirts between electronica, dance-pop, and synth. This is like nothing you’ll have heard before, and we’re already in love.
“Built around a synth I made six years ago, it’s punchy, cheeky and made to move to.”
IamOutlandish’s music has been featured on playlists like Spotify’s Fresh Finds Pop, as well as landing features on tastemaker outlets like BBC Introducing.
In recent years Lee Cole has evolved to become one of South Africa’s biggest artists. The acclaimed singer and songwriter returns this week with a new EP called ‘Letters to Myself, Pt.1’, (listen) from which ‘Something About You’ is lifted.
The whole record is full of gems, but we’re obsessed with the way this track fuses indie and house with dreamy electronica. With its euphoric sound and soulful vocals, the song is one of our favourite pop releases of the week.
Cole’s music has reached over 85 million listeners to date across radio and streams, while his live performances have included sharing stages with the likes of Robbie Williams in Cape Town.
Texas-born and LA-based artist Boy Sim is back today with your weekend banger, ‘Cloud Nine’.
Hyperpop and punk-pop merge together to form a sound that is immediately arresting. The sound feels nostalgic but also original and experimental. Lyrically, the track speaks of the rollercoaster of emotions after a break-up, when we try to move on and forge our happiness.
“‘Cloud Nine’ is about that weird period after a breakup when you start performing happiness so convincingly that it almost becomes real, yet you keep finding yourself talking about them. I wanted the chorus to feel almost absurdly sweet and euphoric, like I’m manifesting a perfect life out loud, even if part of me still isn’t really sure I believe it.”
Boy Sim has been featured by tastemakers like Paper Mag and BBC Radio 1, while his songs have landed on flagship playlists like Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Apple Music’s New Music Daily.
It’s a big day for New Jersey artist Austin Powell, since he’s just released his brilliant debut album, ‘CHALANT’ (listen).
‘Retribution’ is the lead single and treats us to an energising mix of indie, pop and R&B. Despite its playful essence though, this song sits within a record that was inspired by a difficult time in Powell’s life, when he moved from LA to be with his now-late grandmother:
“That’s the transition at the heart of this record. Away from Los Angeles into the high desert, away from independence into interdependence, away from separation into togetherness with my grandma – and watching her move away from life, slowly, into death.”
Powell first gained traction back in 2019, when his single ‘No Vacancy’ picked up praise from the likes of Happy Mag and OneWrite. Alongside his music, Powell is also an actor who has starred in shows like Shameless and NCIS.
Rising soul starlet Babé Sila returns with a sublime new single that further affirms her status as one of soul’s most promising newcomers.
‘i would, i would, i would’ is an understated gem. The production’s stripped-back style of sound gives way to Sila’s gorgeous vocals alongside elements of spoken word. The song was inspired by themes of losing oneself when they fall in love, as Sila explains:
“’i would i would i would’ is about the kind of love that can turn into self erasure. There’s that intimate, almost erotic pull of giving yourself over to someone you love completely: physically, emotionally, instinctively. Then there’s the sadness in the act of folding your own edges until there’s nowhere left to stand. Beneath the intimacy of it all there’s the old female script: bend, accommodate, become for the man you love. The song stays inside the beauty and sadness of this surrender.”
Be sure to check out Sila’s most recent EP, ‘I Told The Sun About You’, here.
San Francisco’s Analog Dog have released one of the wildest singles of the month (in our opinion), and we’re hooked.
‘DOG SPELLED BACKWARDS‘ is a captivating blend of indie, electronica, synth, and dark pop. The production veers towards the surreal and avant-garde at points, keeping listeners on edge throughout, while the lyrics tackle life’s biggest question: what are we?
“It’s a song about killing the illusions, questioning everything, breaking the chains, and discovering that the thing you were looking for may have been inside you the entire time.”
Analog Dog currently attract more than 6k monthly listeners on Spotify and have amassed more than 200k career streams to date.
Some songs give you a boost of dopamine from the moment you play them, and that’s certainly the case with LILLE and K.ONE’s first ever collaboration, ‘WITH ME’.
The track came about after the two acclaimed DJs connected online in 2025 and is a pure shot of joy. Sonically, it fuses house music with elements of that classic UK Garage sound, making it a pure delight to listen to.
“The first tune we made together since having met online last year. I was still in Florida. Kiran in New Jersey. We couldn’t ask for a better song to capture our friendship + crazy last 6 months it’s been.” – LILLE
You can catch K.ONE at Austin’s Reina on the 24th October (tickets).
Nashville singer and songwriter Garland Kelley is an artist who came across our radars this week and caught our attention with his universally likeable style of indie-pop.
‘Reality Fades Away’ contrasts an uplifting production with deeper, existential lyrics. Garland wrote, performed, and produced the song himself, showcasing some really promising potential. Elaborating on the track, he says:
“The song unfolds like a message from the future, confronting the moment when the life you imagined gives way to uncertainty, and the unexpected possibility that can emerge when it does.”
Active since 2023, Garland’s work has touched on life’s deeper topics, like mortality, identity, and philopsiphy. Check out more of his music here.
Hailing from Atlanta, HIGHJUMP is a music duo featuring artists Miles Bryant and Tommy Ghirardini. These newcomers caught our attention this week, with the release of ‘TIME OF DAY’.
The song’s production blends alternative hip hop with electronic indie, resulting in a sound that is distinctively original, while the lyrics ‘speak on chasing purpose as the hours slip by’.
Despite only being the duo’s second single, it’s clear that these chaps are findiing ways to break the boundaries of hip hop, and we’re excited to see where it leads.
