Every week, members of the Vulture staff will highlight their favorite new songs. They might be loud, quiet, long, short, dance-y, rawkin’, hip, square, rap, punk, jazz, some sort of jazz-punk-rap fusion — whatever works for the given person in that given week. Read our picks below and please tell us yours in the comments. (Also, read music critic Lindsay Zoladz’s list of the 32 Best Pop Albums of 2014.)
Bastille featuring HAIM, “Bite Down”
I don’t quite get the pair-up, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like how it sounds. For their mixtape, VS (Other People’s Heartache Pt. III), Bastille teamed up with the likes of MNEK, Angel Haze, and HAIM. “Bite Down,” which comes out sounding a bit like the boys vs. girls number Grease (“Well-a, well-a, well-a, uh!”), but with a bit less Travolta.—Lindsey Weber (@LindseyWeber)
DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge, “You Know You Like It”
Personally, I’ll take whatever AlunaGeorge I can get, even if it’s a remix courtesy of DJ Snake (of “Turn Down For What” fame), that’s good enough. Here, AG’s deeply groovy original got an even groovier dance remix.—LW
K. Michelle – Maybe I Should Call
K. Michelle’s Anybody Want a Heart? is officially out today and while it’ll be tough to follow-up last year’s crowd-pleasing “V.S.O.P.”, how could you ignore an album with a track called “Drake Would Love Me?” You know what Drake would love, though? “Maybe I Should Call,” is so emotionally honest that it reads straight from diary pages. (It also sounds nice, too.)—LW
Nicki Minaj, “All Things Go”
Just because the song is called “All Things Go” doesn’t mean Nicki is sampling Sufjan Stevens. Instead, this song, which premiered on SNL this weekend, is probably the most serious Nicki has ever been. She puts everything into the open from her abortion to her relationship issues. The pop hook written with Esther Dean makes it more palatable, but you walk away from this song getting to know a lot more about the woman behind the wigs.—Marcus Jones (@MJinMD)
Purity Ring, “Push Pull”
This doesn’t sound like 1989, but we like to think this is what Taylor Swift thinks 1989 sounds like. —MJ
You Blew It!, “Lanai”
2014 has been a bummer. Fortunately, there was also a lovely revival of emo music to wash away the sorrows with a glass of tears. You Blew It! released one of the genre’s best records this year, Keep Doing What You’re Doing, and now are readying a follow-up EP, Pioneer of Nothing. “Lanai” is the first single. If you read those first few sentences and found yourself interested, then it is exactly what you’re looking for. —JDF
Rae Sremmurd featuring Nicki Minaj and Young Thug, “Throw Sum Mo”
When Nicki Minaj teased this song on Instagram last night, she said it went “hard AF.” She wasn’t fibbing: The beat sounds like the hypnotic jingle coming from a possessed ice-cream truck (in a good way, promise). Although Nicki only contributes the chorus, the song’s other verses — filled with lots of good flow and onomatopoeia — won’t disappoint. —Sean Fitz-Gerald (@srkfitzgerald)
Sleater-Kinney, “Surface Envy”
You dream has come true: I’m going to talk about guitar tone! Hey, wake up. Jesus, do those guitars sound huge. This is what every rock-and-roll band wishes they sound like. —Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)
Twin Shadow, “Turn Me Up”
It’s the 1980s. You walk with your head down in some metropolis that has descended into chaos. It starts to rain. You put your hands in your pocket. You lift your head, look at the camera, and sing this song. —JDF
Daniel Wilson, “Proofread”
If men with luscious voices are your thing, have you heard what would happen if Bon Iver hung out with Sam Smith? His name is Daniel Wilson and his EP, Boy Who Cried Thunder, is all-around lovely. Start with “Proofread” – a catchy song that provides the perfect thumping bass line for Wilson to properly stretch his vocal chords across.—LW
Alex Winston, “Careless”
Alex Winston has been consistently crafting earworms since her debut, and her latest release “Careless” is easily one of her best. It has the ingredients of your standard lovesick pop song, but driven by Winston’s distinct, emotive voice and an infectious, powerhouse chorus, it’s the kind of jam you won’t want to stop scream-singing while stuck in traffic.—Lori Keong (@ljkeong)
