Friday Night Jukebox: Best new songs from Noah Kahan, Flying Lotus and more

Welcome to the fifth installment of Friday Night Jukebox, our weekly roundup of the best new songs recommended by our In Between Music writers. Follow this link to read the previous installments from the last few weeks.

Big Brave – “The Ineptitude for Mutual Discernment”

Despite their status as one of the most consistent bands in the experimental metal scene, it still feels crazy that Big Brave’s upcoming album, “in grief or in hope”, is their 9th studio album in a little over a decade. Striking the kind of balance between ambience, folk, drone, doom and sludge metal in a way that their contemporaries could only dream of, the band has never sacrificed listenability for experimentation in the way that can often kill the actual desire to press play on these kinds of songs.

Clocking in at a brisk 5 minutes, “The Ineptitude for Mutual Discernment” is more digestible and bite-sized slice of sludge metal, one in which the witchy and hypnotic vocals from singer Robin Wattie don’t so much float over the static and droning guitar the cracklings throughout the track as much as they do blending in and meshing with it. A piece of ambient drone that comes close to sounding like a kind of peaceful apocalypse, Big Brave look poised to continue crafting the exact kind of music they’ve already perfected, a sound that has only grown increasingly applicable as background music for the current state our world has found itself in. – Quinn Parulis

 

DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ – “HeartsDesires”

While the prolific UK electronic producer DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ has been consistently churning out new music at a relentless pace for nearly a decade, it still feels remarkable that we already have a new song this close to the release of her last album Fantasy. That 4 hour behemoth of extremely-online (but not to the degree that will make you feel old) and dance-friendly House music was relentlessly listenable and somehow managed to stay fresh and surprisingly the further into it you delved, and this week’s “HeartsDesires” picks up right where Fantasy left off.

The 8 minute track unfurls the same was as most of Sabrina’s more successful bangers do; start off with a shuffling traditional house beat and sprinkle some moody synth gurgles and twinkling keys over it, and then buoy the foundation with a fantastic looping vocal track and obscure media video sample.While it isn’t a track that builds up to a climax or anything particularly impactful, the strength of “HeartsDesires” is the clear joy and euphoria that emanates from it, which at this point is both a given and a blessing for one of the most reliable djs of the modern age. – Quinn Parulis

Flying Lotus – “BIG MAMA (Continuous Mix)”

Flying Lotus’ aspirations have always relied heavily on a fusion of the audio and visual mediums. In 2006, around the release of his debut album 1983, he was known as one of the key architects behind Adult Swim’s classic bumper music. FlyLo’s music was cosmic-minded and expansive like a space-age explorer charting an unknown galaxy. The Los Angeles artist’s inspirations would span several decades and styles – from David Lynch and John Carpenter to Madlib and J Dilla. He has excellent taste and his 2010’s output, namely 2008’s Los Angeles and 2010’s seminal masterpiece Cosmogramma, put on full display an artist that is working with no boundaries. On his best work, Flying Lotus is a constellation charter. A weaver of celestial sounds that also just so happens to make you want to nod your head.

This new EP BIG MAMA sees FlyLo return to one of his earlier, perhaps underrated releases. That being 2010’s Pattern+Grid World. It’s a novel idea to return to this sound now with the project being over a decade old. Most importantly, there’s been debate as of recently about FlyLo’s post-Flamagra output with claims being that his newest releases have at best been a forgettable pastiche, ultimately inoffensive and safe. BIG MAMA is nothing if not a complete 180 from that assertion.

By indulging in colorful chiptune nostalgia, FlyLo reminds us why his music has been closely tied to the world of visual media. This is the sonic equivalent of a unicorn vomiting rainbows and sparkles. BIG MAMA is busy, frenetic, and quite slippery throughout. “IN THE FOREST – DAY”, in particular, is reminiscent of early Oneohtrix Point Never. It’s frenetic and full of ping-ponging sonic intricacies that, admittedly, might be overwhelming for some. Boredom though? Never. There’s nothing wrong with a sugar rush every now and then. – Mark Wesley

Gouge Away – “Figurine”

Following the release of their absolutely furious first two albums Gouge Away had been at the top of the pile of rising hardcore bands to keep an eye out for, but at the top of their hype the band took a step back and didn’t return for another 6 years. While that last album, 2024’s Deep Sage, was still released by Deathwise Inc., the most prolific hardcore/metal record label in the industry, it saw them sanding off a large chunk of their grit and more combative tendencies in favor of actual melody, experimental song structures and and am embrace of a more varied sonic-pallet beyond just going off as hard as possible while vocalist Christina Michelle screamed her vocal chords into shreds.

I appreciated the shift but missed the intensity that had originally defined them, and fortunately their newest single “Figurine” finds them striking the perfect balance between all their sounds. Featuring both the harshest vocals they’ve had in years alongside the kind of dreamgaze texture that calls to mind what their closest peers Mannequin Pussy were working with on their last album, it is the song that most fully realizes their sound and if they continue threading the needle like this their next album will be one for the history books. – Quinn Parulis

Iceage – “Star”

The lead single for the first album in half a decade from the extremely cool Danish art-punk band Iceage was always going to be worth checking out, but it was still surprisingly to tune in and hear them return with more energy and verve than anything off their last few albums. “Star” operates primarily off a jangly and twisting guitar line that wraps itself around a grooving bassline that props up singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt’s classic rockstar styled vocals, and off the verses alone it’s already one of the catchiest tracks in their discography.

Then the chorus drops and that guitar switches gears completely, trading edge for sheen while twinkling enough to match Elias’s dry and detached crooning about “dying like a star” before it all breaks down into the kind of lethargic chaos that they made their name on. A thrilling comeback from one of the most exciting rock bands in the game, Iceage’s return is one of the most exciting things this year has offered up so far and here’s hoping that an album announcement isn’t too far behind. – Quinn Parulis

Noah Kahan – “Porch Light”

Sometimes we grieve people who are still alive but gone, who became famous and stopped calling. Noah Kahan has built his entire career on exactly this register of loss. And “Porch Light,” the second single from his forthcoming *The Great Divide*, is among the most honest songs he’s written about it.

The narrator — at once a left-behind friend, a worried parent, possibly Kahan himself looking backward — stays on the phone with someone who left for something bigger. He wants neither apology nor autopsy. He just wants them to come back. The real devastation comes in the refrain: it’s cold, and it’s cold, and I’m alone, and I’m alone — a loop of four words that does more emotional damage than many artists manage in a full verse.

Produced with Aaron Dessner (in their first session together) and longtime collaborator Gabe Simon, the track is banjo-forward and deliberately Kahan’s most *Stick Season*-adjacent work since that album. Which makes the hook hit that much harder. The closing image, leaving the porch light on and being the one who turns it off every morning, is a small, specific, unbearable detail that reminds of how he became an unlikely phenomenon in the first place. Some artists grow out of intimacy. Kahan keeps finding new rooms inside it. – Jon Negroni

Koyo – “What I’m Worth”

Long Island hardcore is here to stay! Suffolk County natives Koyo released their new single “What I’m Worth” with a music video that seems to be straight out of the mid-2000s punk scene. The highlight of the song is Joey Chiaramonte’s lyricism. The first verse opens with, “Somebody reel me in / I’ve been treading out here the best I can / Long term victims of circumstance / Yeah, we’ll figure it, someone’s always got a plan” and sets the rest of the song up in such a perfect way.

If you squint, it’s a nice little Long Island reference as well. Sal Argento on drums is another star for me. His ability to almost melt into the background is absolutely wild because without him, the song wouldn’t work. He manages to keep their signature heavy sound throughout the two minute long song in a way only he’s capable of. – Kayla Chu

Memorials – “Dropped Down the Well”

Memorials are the duo of Verity Susman (of Electrelane) and Matthew Sims (formerly of Wire), and they play a psychedelic twist on post-punk. Their new single “Dropped Down the Well” is drenched in organs and powered by the vocals of Susman, just as Electrelane were in their heyday. This propulsive track is a whole lot of fun and fuzz, and is well worth a recommendation for fans of either Electrelane or Wire. There’s a lot of bands on the verge in the post-punk sphere these days, and it’s nice to see two musicians who have been innovating since the early 2000s continuing to put out great music that is in conversation with all that music. – Ryan Gibbs

MIKE & Surf Gang – “Minty”

There’s a beautiful moment in a recent episode of Drink Champs with Erykah Badu and The Alchemist that speaks how rap’s underground is in good hands  Alc speaks about Earl Sweatshirt, one of his frequent collaborators, and how he has been responsible for keeping him plugged in to the underground rap scene. “He put me onto everything,” the producer said. “He’s so ahead. Earl is a generational gift.” As his career has aged, Earl Sweatshirt has become one of the coolest rappers of his respective generation and,  as a result, has garnered many fans and disciples of his iconic style.

NYC rapper MIKE is one such disciple. The two rappers are kindred spirits of sorts – their work circling similar avenues both sonically, in the sense that they often operate in the world of hazy samples and warped loops, and thematically as well through their consistent explorations of familial grief, spiritual healing, and personal growth despite the world’s pummeling insistence against that goal.

No one would fault you for claiming their music as somber. Most importantly, they are both fans of hip-hop and its many different forms. Over the past few years, both artists have experimented with more trap sound palettes; Think MIKE’s phenomenal collaborations with producer Tony Seltzer and Earl’s own work with SURF GANG’s evilgiane. In these records, both artists are looser and even a bit playful when the situation calls.

“Minty”, one of the two singles released for the upcoming POMPEII // UTILITY collab album, sees MIKE in prime flexing territory discussing his affinity for expensive pieces from Acne and taking shots at rappers who are faking their image. The husk in his voice is buoyed by a steady beat that is somehow bumpy, wavy, and ethereal at the same time. MIKE himself makes several references to water – waves, shallow and deep tide. And without a doubt, “Boy, you not a gangster, take your talents off the LinkedIn” will become one of his  most iconic bars. The ability to flow on these types of beats, alongside his signature style is a real feat. In case there was any doubt, MIKE is a dual threat. – Mark Wesley

Kacey Musgraves – “Dry Spell”

How racey, Miss Kacey. The horny anthem of the summer is officially here and we all have Kacey Musgraves to thank for it. “Dry Spell” is, quite possibly, the horniest song I’ve heard in a while, but it works so well. Each line is double entendre that most women have heard before when talking to friends. “Ain’t nobody’s tool up in my shed / Ain’t nobody’s boots under my bed / Ain’t nobody’s truck up in my drive” are all thinly veiled euphemisms that can’t help but make you laugh even if you’re the one going through the dry spell. We need more horny anthems written by women this year and Kacey is the one leading the charge. – Kayla Chu

Arlo Parks – “Get Go”

Every single from Arlo Parks’ upcoming third album Ambiguous Desire has been great, and “Get Go” is no exception. Whenever Parks comes back, she has a new style she’s trying out – whether it’s the jazz-rock of her debut, the indie rock of her sophomore album, and now the UK dance of this new one.

The result on “Get Go” is slick, danceable, head-spinning electro-garage that has a distinct ‘90s sheen to it. All of that is connected through Parks, one of the best singers in modern British indie music. She is someone who takes big stylistic swings and always hits a home run. The song is sleek, stylish, and sounds great while out and about. It’s a sure shine that Arlo Parks has something special ready for her fans in early April. – Ryan Gibbs