10 songs you need in your life this week

The bent pop of Superorganism sounds like the theme music for your childhood imaginary friend come to life, held together with glitter, lollipop sticks, and magical energy, and their sound has found few parallels since the release of their 2018 self-titled debut. “Teenager” is content to be nothing more than pure, distilled Superorganism, its crunchy electronics, sparkling melodies, and undercurrent of hope making the song bold, while guest spots from CHAI and Pi Ja Ma turn the energy up a notch, as if a food fight could break out at any moment. At its core, “Teenager” captures what makes being young again so appealing: even if you’re slightly scattered, you’re energized, and full of a specific and seemingly limitless potential. – JD

For an artist like Stromae, gaining distance from the spotlight of celebrity is essential to tapping into the amount of external characters he tries on throughout Multitude, his third studio album and first to be released in eight years. On “La Solassitude,” or “solitude,” the Belgian-born musician slips into the mind of a man named Nicholas who finds misery in the routine of relationships but can’t find satisfaction in the single life, either. Stromae escapes into an adventurous wonderland of strings and percussion while his character yearns for understanding, even framing the tone of his delivery to match the jaded lyrical landscape. There’s no complete resolution, or a moment of grand realization, which tracks for the song’s perpetually dissatisfied narrator. — LP

Kristine Leschper doesn’t repeat herself. When You Walk a Long Distance, You Are Tired, her first album at the helm of the Athens four-piece Mothers, was a collection of moody folk rock jams. Then the group uprooted to Phillly and turned in the grim post-punk opus Render Another Ugly Method. Now solo, she’s gone orchestral, enlisting Mothers drummer Garrett Burke’s percussive scapes, Brooklyn composer Sammy Weissberg’s string and woodwind arrangements, and a bevy of additional musicians to help her realize her lush vision for The Opening, Or Closing Of A Door. “This Animation” pulls the curtain back on a pastoral scene where Leschper’s soprano vocal lines roam free in perfect harmony. Nothing feels forced, but everything is in its right place. — RH

U.K. rapper Dave has built his way to superstardom in his home country with two densely packed albums filled with chiefly serious songs tackling everything from the role fate plays in a life on the streets to the aftermath of Brexit and the Grenfell fire. He's always been able to tessellate between the grandstanding and the hitmaking (see "Freaky Friday" for Dave's fun side), but on new song "Fly Me To The Moon," he tries on a new look: contentment. At a time when his peers are looking to U.K. garage and other early millenium moments for inspiration, Dave has built this track around a sample of Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me To The Moon." There's a confidence to that kind of move (as well as a necessary bank balance) but he pulls it off, throwing lines like "In Jamaica, quick vacation, travellin' my past time" over a hummed rendition of the big band classic. The self-produced tune weaves its way through a life of private jets and bags of cash, yet his globetrotting adventures end with him seeking a trip further afield, to space. Proof that even in his most relaxed moments, Dave has bigger things on his mind. — DR

There are no dull moments on Subaru Boys: Final Heaven. Whether it's someone from Cruel Santino’s ever-expansive universe of collaborators popping up like a new character joining your RPG party or the lush production that gently hugs his wispy vocals, there’s something constantly pulling you into the cosmic journey that is Santino’s sophomore album. On “Swagger Back,” the Lagos-based artist links with D.C.’s WifiGawd, and for a moment, it feels like Santino is the one who’s been teleported to a new world. Santino’s hurried, breathy flow feels like something he borrowed from WifiGawd for this song. “You ain’t hip to this swag yet,” WifiGawd scoffs. It’s a flex only two of the most future-looking artists out could make sound cool in 2022. — BC

In a graceful expansion of the 333 universe, Tinashe is tapping into a well of self-worth on “Something Like a Heartbreak.” It appears as the first track on the record’s deluxe edition, adding a layer on reflection that finds the pop singer declaring: “Thankful that you cracked me open / Now I'm finally growing / I'm another woman, holding onto hope, not hopeless / Felt it in the stomach, something like a heartbreak.” It’s an added dimension on the wide-ranging album that explores the facets of romance, linking most closely to the gleaming cut “The Chase” both in context and the subtle production that emphasizes the lyrical narrative and vocal performance. — LP

As children, the two members of Overmono, U.K. producers Tom & Ed Russell, would record tapes mixing their favorite underground dance tracks with their parents' record collection. The bootlegs, by all accounts, weren't great, but they showed a willingness to experiment and to mix mediums. That energy carries on through to "Gunk," the brothers' much-more-accomplished new work. There is a frantic energy to "Gunk" that feels boxed in but ready to burst at any moment. Matching that energy is a sped up sample of R&B singer Kindora's 2018 single “3 x 3” that gives the song a bubbly pop edge, as primed for the club as it is the world above. "Gunk" will appear on Overmono's next EP, Cash Romantic, due April 8 via XL Recordings. — DR

First Hate are a duo that have never been shy to explore the ironic tension between their heady preoccupations and their music, a blend of Balearic bliss and melodies fit for mainstage acts at EDM festivals. “Commercial,” the Copenhagen synth-pop band’s new song, brings that dynamic into full, glorious bloom. First Hate’s vocalist Anton Falck Gansted sings in the opening like the picture of a vocalist on a David Guetta single: “There’s a new star in the night sky / Way up high, we’re floating like we’re satellites, First Hate in the sky.” As the song develops, it reveals itself as a wry critique of/paean to life under capitalism with a crowd-shaking hook, where Gansted boasts “I say ‘Money loves me’ / You say ‘Come on honey let’s spend it all’.” All said, “Commercial” is charged with the acceptance of a skydiver whose parachute doesn’t work. As finality approaches, First Hate have found something to hold on to. – JD

Z Money’s new album Back 2 the Blender is a 24-track marathon that somehow manages to clock in at just under an hour. And for its length, it has a surprisingly high hit rate. “Bounce Back” and “Street Nigga,” two highlights from the project, are testaments to his superhuman endurance and beat selection. The former is a 2-minute drill that showcases his dexterous flows and the latter has a beat that could double as the theme song of an old Resident Evil game. It’s been three years since his last album, but you’d never be able to tell. Z Money doesn’t sound the least bit rusty. — BC

LEYA and Deli Girls are two of Brooklyn’s most fearsome DIY duos, and together they make a formidable, four-headed beast. The combination of atonal harp plucking, ominous synth and string beds, and demented shouting sounds even scarier on wax than it looks on paper. LEYA’s music has always occupied a liminal space between dreams and wakefulness, and Deli Girls singer Danny Orlowski’s unhinged vocalizations — which pivot from whispers to dry heaves to primal screams in split seconds — ensure the track induces nightmares, whatever state you’re in when you begin. — RH