Every week, members of the Vulture staff highlight the best new music of 2015. If the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture 2015 Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the year’s best music.
Ginuwine, “Pony” (Rustie Remix)
The producers of Magic Mike XXL asked maximalist Scottish producer Rustie to record this remix; however, they ultimately they decided not to use it. It makes sense — in Rustie’s hands the song became significantly less sexy, unless you really want to have sex with a teenage robot. That said, the remix is undeniably banging, even if it won’t work for banging. —Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)
Here We Go Magic, “Falling”
Here We Go Magic are not my favorite band, but there are few bands I listen to more often. They’re just so insanely listenable: not too fast, not too hard, not too soft. You can listen to them while working or hosting a dinner party or, you know, going for a walk. They really have a timeless feel about them, as they sound both from the past and from the future. “Falling” continues that tradition. —JDF
Kwabs, “Look Over Your Shoulder”
As a team, Kwabs and SOHN are unstoppable. This is the British soul singer’s fourth song with the Austria-based producer, off Kwabs’ forthcoming debut album, and it’s yet another underground hit. But just this once, I’d like to see it travel further than the indie blogs. If the Weeknd (not to suggest any comparisons in their sound) can turn an acclaimed mixtape run into a chart success, then why can’t Kwabs make the same of his EPs? Even without SOHN, he’s a star; here’s his stripped-down version of the new single for proof. —DL
Lianne La Havas, “Midnight”
Much of La Havas’s work is marked by strong percussion that contrasts with her subtle acoustic sound and dreamy vocals, and her new album Blood is no exception. The ting-ting-ting of piano chords in “Midnight” coupled with sultry brass almost makes you feel like you’re listening to an Adele song. So you can tell Paul Epworth, who produced Adele’s hit album 21, had something to do with it. —Eric King (@erickingdavid)
Vic Mensa, “Codeine Crazy (Icarus Story)”
Here’s the thing: I strongly dislike Future, and have sort of fallen out with Vic Mensa. It’s baffling to me, then, that I love Mensa covering one of Future’s (many) odes to lean from his Monster mixtape. It’s probably because he makes it so completely his own that the original becomes unrecognizable, save for the occasional lyric. I like when Vic gets raw, even if he’s making exaggerated comparisons between his increased exposure (to fame and drugs) and the Greek mythology of Icarus, who was undone by his own ego. That might’ve actually been the perfect metaphor for Future, so I see what you did there, Vic. —Dee Lockett (@Dee_Lockett)
Meg Myers, “Lemon Eyes”
It seems like some sort of cosmic missed opportunity that Meg Myers isn’t technically related to Alanis Morissette. She shares the same sonic gene pool, that’s for damn sure. Even when she’s trying to sweet-talk a lover worried that she’s cheating, every word bleeds vitriol. Pop music needs the level of unapologetic angst she’ll happily murder us with on her debut album, out September 18. —DL
New Order, “Restless”
New Order is set to release their first studio album in a decade, and now we have the first single. It’s good! It definitely feels like New Order, like if one of their peppy songs was slowed down a little. “Restless” is no “Age of Consent” — it’s more like “Age of Retirement.” —JDF
Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique, “Set Me Free”
I already praised Robyn’s first song with her new side project, La Bagatelle Magique, as one of the best rave songs of the next decade. Their new song, “Set Me Free,” is turned down a half-notch so that it’s just an orgasmic club banger that might be my personal Song of Summer. Robyn for prez. —DL
Jill Scott, “Run Run Run”
In releasing her soulful, heartbreaking single “You Don’t Know” straight to video, Jill Scott was basically telling us, You don’t know how effing good my next album is going to be. Now Jilly from Philly is delivering with Woman. When she’s not channeling her poet roots in three masterful interludes of spoken word, she’s singing through love in all of its stages: puppy, heartache, divorce, forgiveness. One standout on the album, “Run Run Run,” has all the soulfulness you’d expect from Scott, plus a new, energizing country momentum that might just be perfect for, I don’t know, a running playlist. —EK
