Despite the ease of access that streaming has brought to the distribution of music, the volume that's released can make it a daunting task to find unique new stuff every week. In this recurring weekly feature we put together a short list of new songs that stand out amongst all the noise and deserve a spot in your rotation.
All songs featured in this recurring series can be found in our scrmbl selection 2025 playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.
ART-SCHOOL — “Outsider”
ART-SCHOOL has always been nostalgic for rock’s recent past with the band sticking to a fuzzy ’90s Britrock sound popular about half a decade before their classic 2002 debut, Requiem for Innocence. “Outsider,” off their upcoming mini album, 1985, gathers inspiration from further back in UK music, growling with woozy My Bloody Valentine-esque riffs. The song also looks back into ART-SCHOOL’s own history: originally recorded to a personal cassette tape when the band first formed, “Outsider” now finds a proper home in a timeline that couldn't have been more enthusiastic about shoegaze.
Cho Shakaiteki Sandal — “City Girl”
Cho Shakaiteki Sandal’s spiky pop-punk chills out into shimmery funk with a retro art-rock sheen that suits a title like “City Girl.” But if the band’s mellow sound here got you thinking they’re any less boy-crazy, you got it mistaken. Like their let’s-make-out hit from last year, “Ne-Chu-Sho,” they get crafty with the puns in the titular chorus. I don’t want to ruin a good joke, so I’ll just let the band themselves explain the double meaning behind “city girl.”
Haruki Hamano — “Vengeance”
Apologies to the Heisei J-pop queen, but Haruki Hamano shared the better Kana Nishino song this week in “Vengeance” from the singer’s new album, Net BaBY. Despite the sweetness of the squeaky R&B production, the song is pure evil but deservedly so when a no-good ex-boyfriend has cheated on her with multiple girls at the same time. Hamano’s got to fight petty with petty: “I cleaned your toilet with your toothbrush, see you in hell,” she sings her crime like a nursery rhyme. And had Nishino of the “Aitakute Aitakute” days been the breakout star of this decade in J-pop instead, she might have indulged in this kind of revenge-fantasy R&B too.
One Boiling Point — "Body"
The advanced single from rising blurry-pop creator One Boiling Point's Material / Ears album offers a disorienting preview of what's to come. Over a ripple of electronics playing out like intercepted radio waves, the artist lets words and phrases flow outward. One Boiling Point's voice twists alongside the song, resulting in a fever dream feeling that still holds together melodically. Listen above.
usabeni — "CITY GIRL VELOCITY"
Imagine the shimmer and shine of '80s pop created from one's bedroom. That's the vibe permeating usabeni's latest single "CITY GIRL VELOCITY," which grooves on a small-scale replication of the disco-indebted studio glitz of the Bubble era. Modern touches add a slight tension to the throwback bliss — EDM details turn the dancefloor ecstasy into a swelter — but the overall melody coupled with usabeni's delivery makes for a song using the means in front of it to recreate its shimmering visions. Listen above.
ZE — "Jidoo Kan"
Vocaloid provides the freedom to create any kind of voice the artist wants, but the personality of the characters representing the software oftentimes bleeds through. Case in point, Kaai Yuki, the avatar for a voicebank recorded by an elementary school student. That means a more childish, light delivery to play with, which works well in the dizzying playroom pop of Yukopi but can backfire when moved out of its comfort zone. Producer ZE strikes a balance on the jaunty sounding "Jidoo Kan," leaning into a pre-K sound but sporting lyrics with a creepy edge, at least depending on how you want to read lines like "my mom and dad have gone far away" and "I'll stay a child forever." Perhaps that's just kid-brained observations...but it's a welcome bit of subversion here. Listen above.
