Best New Songs (February 13, 2025)

At Paste Music, we’re listening to so many new tunes on any given day, we barely have any time to listen to each other. Nevertheless, every week we can swing it, we take stock of the previous seven days’ best new songs, delivering a weekly playlist of our favorites. Check out this week’s material, in alphabetical order. (You can check out an ongoing playlist of every best new songs pick of 2025 here.)

Adult Mom: “Door Is Your Hand”

Adult Mom’s first release since their 2022 hibernation, “Door Is Your Hand,” finds Stevie Knipe serving up a deliciously vengeful indie power-pop confection. The track, which gestated for five years before emerging fully formed, crackles with the kind of vintage college radio energy that makes you want to dust off your Dr. Martens and write angry poetry in a thrifted notebook. Knipe’s razor-sharp lyrics dance between murderous fantasy and vulnerable confession, while fuzzy guitars wrap around their voice like a protective older sibling. The song kicks off with a bang: “Picturing that you were dead is / The only way to cope with my head” Knipe sings, somehow making emotional exorcism sound like a lost track from 120 Minutes, feeling equal parts timeless and urgently contemporary. With help from collaborators Olivia Battell, Allegra Eidinger and Lily Mastrodimos, Adult Mom has crafted something that sounds like therapy session notes set to the soundtrack of your favorite ’90s coming-of-age film—raw, cathartic and unexpectedly triumphant. —Casey Epstein-Gross

Amy Millan: “Wire walks”

The last time Amy Millan put out a solo album, I was 11 years old. For the last 25 years, she’s been a fixture in the Canadian band Stars, but never the showrunner. But, for as long as she has “been the girl” in Broken Social Scene, she has had my whole heart. And this week’s news, that Millan is returning with I Went to Find You, her first solo project in 16 years, comes with a sweet song titled “Wire walks.” And let me tell you, “Wire walks” is already a SOTY frontrunner for me. It’s got a reference to Stars’ “Ageless Beauty” in it, and it’s this melt of pop jubilee. It’s anti-gauche, but “baroque” doesn’t quite capture the delicacy, as vignettes of synthesizers drip into orchestral rummages and feathered fingerpicking. Millan’s voice, too, has aged each day with love; “Wire walks” is whimsical and vintage, anchored by tattooable lines like “I want to carry the sad out of you” and “You might need to lean into what you’ve always been.” —Matt Mitchell

Bartees Strange: “Backseat Banton”

When cats are terrified, they arch their back and fluff their tails in an effort to look bigger and more intimidating to potential threats—like the classic cartoon cat always pictured as a witch’s familiar. That image immediately sprang to mind when I heard this line from “Backseat Banton,” the closing track from Bartees Strange’s new album Horror: “Being scared has made me bigger now, bigger than I was / The darkest side of waking up is seeing who I’ve become.” Strange’s personal fears—from the unpredictability of relationships to the harsh realities of being a Black man in America—are woven throughout his latest record, and they come to a head on this anthemic, country-meets-heartland-rock finale. Will he be an observer, the titular “Backseat Banton?” Or, as he proposes, “should [he] grab the wheel and spin?” From the declarative, road trip-ready keys at the start to his lithe vocal performance, I’d say it’s safe to say Strange has chosen the latter. —Clare Martin

Cryogeyser ft. Wednesday: “Mountain”

On “Mountain,” Cryogeyser teams up with Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman for a sonic sierra that feels, somehow, equal parts crushing and caressing. The LA trio’s latest offering from their upcoming self-titled album feels like watching an ice sculpture melt in reverse: Shawn Marom’s fuzzed-out guitar work creates a wall of sound that’s less Phil Spector and more frozen waterfall, while Hartzman’s soaring harmonies weave through the mix like Northern Lights. When they sing, “I hear one door closing holds another open,” it hits you with the weight of an avalanche in slow motion. “Mountain” is a meditation on friendship that trades the usual longing for something rarer—the warm glow of actually having what you want. The track builds like a snowball rolling downhill, gradually gathering mass and momentum until all of a sudden you realize it’s become something altogether massive and mesmerizing.—Casey Epstein-Gross

Florist: “Gloom Designs”

“Gloom Designs,” the latest preview of Florist’s forthcoming album, Jellywish, lasts just over four minutes: an impressive runtime considering the scope of singer-songwriter Emily Sprague’s loping stream-of-consciousness narration, a swirl of tangible imagery, disarming confessions and existential inquiries. A sparse folk confessional, the track is like a window into the innermost rooms of Sprague’s mind: all the clutter has been cleared, allowing for acutely personal revelations (“I’m turning 30 in a few months / Spending most of my life Gemini”) and achingly familiar, though generally unspoken anxieties (“It’s not okay / It’ll never be okay”) to float to the surface, unimpeded and in clear view. There’s a corresponding intimacy to the music, itself: interstitial hisses of feedback fit mirror the spontaneity of Sprague’s ponderings, and the delicate finger-picked melody evokes pastoral scenery, as though Sprague is singing as they walk a verdant path, unhurried and at peace with the natural world and humanity’s unsolvable mysteries. —Anna Pichler

Japanese Breakfast: “Mega Circuit”

The alt-country train has picked up another passenger today, and a surprising one at that: Michelle Zauner, better known as Japanese Breakfast, leans into her rural Oregonian upbringing on her new single “Mega Circuit.” With shuffling drums from legendary percussionist Jim Keltner (heard on hits like “Dream Weaver” and “Here You Come Again”) and droopy pangs of pedal steel, this song serves up a country-fried version of Japanese Breakfast and yet another peek at Zauner’s upcoming album For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women). She explains, “‘Mega Circuit’ was one of the first songs I wrote, intent on making a creepier, more guitar driven record. The song is sort of an examination of contemporary masculinity, and explores a conflicted desire to embrace a generation that in the absence of positive role models has found refuge in violence and bigotry.” Frankly, this song couldn’t arrive at a more apt moment. “Deep in the soft hearts of young boys so pissed off and jaded / Carrying dull prayers of old men cutting holier truths,” she sings, calling to mind all the frustrated people who misplace their anger. Using both empathy and biting wit, Zauner reminds us yet again why she is such a brilliant songwriter. —Clare Martin

My Morning Jacket: “Squid Ink”

It’s a rare treat when My Morning Jacket decides to crank up their amps and dive headfirst into a riff. The band’s periodic embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll spirit has yielded some of my favorite tracks, namely the live version of “Off The Record” from their 2006 album Okonokos (the energy in that opening guitar line is truly magnificent and something I dream of seeing one day), as well as cuts like “Anytime,” “I’m Amazed” and “Holdin On To Black Metal.” Still, MMJ have defined their sound not off of lofty, ripping guitar riffs, but through Jim James’ reverb-soaked vocals and the band’s southern-style, brake-pad instrumentals. Their last single, “Time Waited” was a clear highlight of the latter, announcing the band’s 10th studio album, is, through a wistful yet explosive piano ballad. This week, the Louisville rockers returned with “Squid Ink,” swinging the pendulum back to a full-throttle, alt-rock romp. The song revolves around lead guitarist Carl Broemel and his acute talent for creating captivating yet simple melodies within every fuzzed out note he plays. The riff is totally Jimmy Page-coded, with all the heaviness and groove of Zeppelin circa Led Zeppelin III. “Squid Ink” is just begging to be played live—which works out well because My Morning Jacket goes on tour this April, and as is shapes up to be an album equally tender and wild, I can’t wait to see how they bring each song to life on the big stage. —Gavyn Green

Robin Kester ft. Rozi Plain: “Departure”

This new Robin Kester single is splendid. The Dutch musician is now in an elite class, having recently signed with Memphis Industries, a Brit label with a roster featuring the Go! Team and Field Music. “Departure,” her new collaboration with This Is The Kit’s Rozi Plain, is diaristically influenced and filled with gestures of leaving. “You travel to a sunlit place, but the light there is also strange,” she sings against Ali Chant’s synthesized, orchestral production. The track is dappled in vibrant havoc, hiking upwards in scale as a wall of voices harmonizes behind Kester’s. There are glimpses of a young Beth Gibbons here, but Robin Kester’s chamber singing bellows like the seams of a moor rupturing into uniqueness. “Departure” is beautiful in all of its zig-zagging, executed as a perfect wash of pop decadence. —Matt Mitchell

The Tubs: “Chain Reaction”

The build-up to the Tubs’ new album, Cotton Crown, has been incredible so far. “Freak Mode” and “Narcissist” hit all the right levels of amped-up jangle-pop, brightened by bang-on, tempo-shredding guitars. And the sweetness doesn’t rest on “Chain Reaction,” a punk-as-all-get-out track about, as bandleader Owen “O” Williams puts it, “being a scammer/swindler/charlatan/snake oil salesman/trickster/bluffer/con artist/grifter/dodgy dealer/hustler” in the “world of love.” Caught somewhere between Hüsker Dü and Richard Thompson, the Celtic band risks it all on “Chain Reaction,” dissolving into “the mold on the bathroom wall, the creeping dread [and] the balance limit.” The song is all gas, no brakes. Even in bleakness, the Tubs fill breakneck rock ‘n’ roll with sensational joy. —Matt Mitchell

Will Stratton: “Bardo or Heaven?”

Much of Will Stratton’s next album, Points of Origin, emanates a hypnagogic aura; the listening experience often equates to an aimless, mid-summer drive down a California highway, sunlight seeping through cracked-open windows, a cool breeze cutting through the parched air. As sheerly pleasant as these tunes are, reducing them to slivers of cosmic-Americana bliss would be an insult to Stratton’s meticulousness as a lyricist and composer: These songs are dense and inexhaustible, each a fully fleshed-out microcosm of its own. While the earlier singles Stratton has shared read as short stories (family members, a clergyman, a lover and other characters inhabit “I Found You”; listening to “Temple Bar,” you can feel the joint’s creaky floorboards beneath your feet), his latest album preview, “Bardo or Heaven?,” is more akin to an impressionistic, modernist poem. As Stratton chronicles a wildfire’s aftermath, his lyrics straddle religious dogmas, disparate time periods and corporeal imagery, without every feeling clunky or patchwork; his narration is more in the vein of a stream-of-consciousness style. The instrumentation is as transportive as Stratton’s words—his smokily-voiced inquiries hover over piano runs that roil like a river, and the saxophone solo rises and thickens like an impenetrable smog. “Bardo or Heaven?” is synesthetic and cerebral. —Anna Pichler

Best New Cover Song: Courtney Barnett, “Lotta Love”

I swear we get a new Neil Young tribute album once a decade, but I’m certainly not complaining—and it’s not like there’s a shortage of material to pull from. The recent announcement of Heart Of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young (arriving April 25, with proceeds benefiting the Bridge School in Hillsborough, California) came star-studded, with features from Fiona Apple, Eddie Vedder, Brandi Carlile and Mumford & Sons. And the guest list only gets better from there: Case in point, Courtney Barnett’s new cover of Young’s 1978 song “Lotta Love.” Barnett plays this one close to the chest, faithfully recreating the feeling from the original while spinning in a few modern production twists—a jangly electric guitar strum here, the bright chime of a bell every now and again, and her sweetly transient voice to tie it all together. Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa and Mini Mansions’ bassist Zach Dawes also contributed to the track, with the three ultimately delivering a rendition that blooms with the warmth, optimism, and nostalgia laden currents of Young’s initial recording. I would love to believe that in some alternate universe she took the song in her canonical slacker-rock direction, much in the way Dinosaur Jr. covered “Lotta Love” back in 1989, but Barnett captures the serene spirit of the track all the same. —Gavyn Green

Other Notable Songs This Week: Beach Bunny: “Tunnel Vision”; Ben Kweller ft. Waxahatchee: “Dollar Store”; BRONCHO: “Funny”; Circuit des Yeux: “Canopy of Eden”; clipping. ft. Aesop Rock: “Welcome Home Warrior”; Cross Record: “God Fax”; DJ Koze ft. Marley Waters: “Brushcutter”; Horsegirl: “Frontrunner”; Joni: “Things I Left Behind”; Lucy Dacus: “Best Guess”; Macklemore: “Fucked Up”; Masma Dream World: “O, Dark Mother”; Moontype: “Long Country”; Most Things: “Shops!”; Pet Symmetry: “Big Engagement”; PUP: “Hallways”; Scowl: “B.A.B.E”; serpentwithfeet: “Wanderer”; SPELLLING: “Alibi”; Star 99: “Pushing Daisies”; The Convenience: “Dub Vultures”; William Tyler: “Star of Hope”; Yoshika Colwell: “Last Night”

Check out a playlist of this week’s best new songs below.