12 Finest Songs of the Week: HAIM, Moist Leg, Drugdealer and Weyes Blood, Alan Sparhawk, and Extra

Plus Alex G, Cliffords, Foxwarren, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Different Notable New Tracks

Might 30, 2025

By Mark Redfern (with Issa Nasatir)

Welcome to the 18th Songs of the Week of 2025. This week Andy Von Pip, Caleb Campbell, and Scotty Dransfield helped me determine what ought to make the record. We thought-about over 30 songs and narrowed it right down to a High 12.  

Concern 74, The Protest Concern, is out now. It options Kathleen Hannah and Bartees Unusual on the 2 covers and might be purchased from us instantly right here.

In current weeks we posted interviews with Rubbish (a digital cowl story), Ezra Furman, Florry, Sandhouse, Supergrass (in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of their debut album), Windser, Lael Neale, Samia, Sunflower Bean, and extra.

Within the final week we reviewed some albums.

Below the Radar subscriptions are at the moment 50% off, as are again points. Take a look at the sale right here.

That will help you kind by the multitude of recent songs launched within the final week, we now have picked the 12 greatest the final seven days needed to provide, adopted by some honorable mentions. Take a look at the complete record beneath.

1. HAIM: “Take me again”

HAIM are releasing a brand new album, I stop, on June 20 by way of Columbia. At the moment they shared its fourth single, “Take me again.”

The sister trio is Danielle, Este, and Alanna Haim. Rostam Batmanglij and Danielle produced I stop.

HAIM collectively had this to say in regards to the inspiration behind “Take me again” in a press launch: “For the primary time since highschool, the three of us all discovered ourselves single. We had been going out rather a lot; simply the three of us spending high quality time collectively. A lot in order that we might reminisce about dwelling at residence and all of the loopy tales that occurred throughout our teenage years.”

HAIM returned in March with the brand new track, “Relationships,” shared by way of a music video. It was introduced as the primary single from a brand new album and one in every of our Songs of the Week. In April they shared the album’s second single, “All people’s attempting to determine me out.” When the album was formally introduced they shared its third single, “All the way down to be improper.”

In March Danielle additionally guested on the brand new Bon Iver track, “If Solely I Might Wait.”

HAIM’s final album was 2020’s acclaimed Ladies in Music Pt. III. It earned them two Grammy nominations and was additionally #3 on our High 100 Albums of 2020 record. HAIM had been on one of many two covers of our 2021 Protest Concern. In 2021, Alana Haim additionally starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie Licorice Pizza. By Mark Redfern

2. Moist Leg: “CPR”

Moist Leg are releasing their a lot anticipated sophomore album, moisturizer, on July 11 by way of Domino. This week they shared its second single, “CPR,” by way of a music video self-directed by the band.

Beforehand Moist Leg shared moisturizer’s first single, “catch these fists,” by way of a self-directed music video. It was #1 on our Songs of the Week record. Then the band carried out “catch these fists” on The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon. Then they introduced some fall North American tour dates.

Moisturizer is the follow-up to 2022’s self-titled debut album, which was the #1 album on our High 100 Albums of 2022 record and netted the band three Grammys. Moist Leg landed at #1 on the official UK album chart and in America additionally made it to #14 on the Billboard 200 album chart (and at #4 on the Billboard Album Gross sales Chart). Moist Leg additionally debuted at #1 on the Australian album chart. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band’s debut single, “Chaise Longue,” was #1 on our High 130 Songs of 2021 record and was a viral hit.

Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers lead Moist Leg and they’re backed by Ellis Durand (bass), Henry Holmes (drums), and Joshua Mobaraki (guitar, synth). The band from Isle of Wight, England as soon as once more labored with producer Dan Carey and this time all 5 members have writing credit on the LP. Moist Leg determined to construct off the power of their dwell reveals with moisturizer. “We had been simply form of having enjoyable and exploring,” says Chambers in a press launch. Teasdale provides: “We focussed on: Is that this going to be enjoyable to play dwell? It was very pure that we might write the second file collectively.”

An enormous affect on the album’s lyrics was Teasdale falling in love in 2021, which led to her writing quite a lot of love songs. “I assumed I used to be straight all of my life till I met my present companion—these love songs are about them,” Teasdale explains. “I simply discovered it a lot extra fascinating and empowering to be writing love songs the place I’m not lusting over a person—it feels a bit of bit completely different.”

Learn our 2021 interview with Moist Leg on “Chaise Longue.”

Learn our 2022 interview with Moist Leg on their album right here.

Learn our rave evaluate of Moist Leg right here. By Mark Redfern

3. Drugdealer and Weyes Blood: “Actual Factor”

This week, Drugdealer and Weyes Blood shared the brand new collaborative single, “Actual Factor,” together with a video directed by James Manson. The track is out now by way of Mexican Summer time.

Drugdealer (Michael Collins) and Weyes Blood (Natalie Mering) reunite for his or her third track collectively, following the hits “Honey” (from Collins’ 2019 album Uncooked Honey) and “All of the sudden” (from his 2016 album The Finish of Comedy). The duo first met by probability in a studio in Oakland in 2014. “Since then, I’ve felt like she’s my musical household,” says Collins in a press launch. “I can’t actually ask for extra when it comes to somebody who impressed me to even get to this place in my songwriting.”

Each made their final launch in 2022, Collins with the LP Hiding in Plain Sight and Weyes Blood with the acclaimed And within the Darkness, Hearts Aglow..

Initially from the East Coast, Collins has beforehand recorded below the monikers Run DMT and Salvia Plath earlier than starting Drugdealer in 2016. Weyes Blood’s first solo launch was 2011’s The Outdoors Room. Since then, her 2019 LP Titanic Rising and 2022’s And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow have gained international renown.

In a press launch, Collins says the track got here to be from a demo he knew was good for Weyes Blood. “Instantly I noticed that it was the proper factor to indicate Nat, who I had been desirous to collaborate with once more for years. After that we began engaged on it by way of a number of journeys forwards and backwards throughout the U.S., and it simply grew to become one in every of my favourite issues we’ve ever executed.”

We beforehand interviewed Drugdealer for our Artist Survey sequence in 2016.

We now have coated Weyes Blood extensively earlier than, and she or he graced the quilt of Concern 71 in 2023.

We gave And within the Darkness, Hearts Aglow a rave 9/10 evaluate and the album was #2 on our High 100 Albums of 2022 record. Titanic Rising was #2 on our High 100 Albums of 2019 record. By Issa Nasatir

4. Alan Sparhawk with Trampled By Turtles: “Get Nonetheless”

Alan Sparhawk of Low has teamed up with the alt-country band Trampled By Turtles for his second solo album, fittingly titled With Trampled by Turtles and out at the moment by way of Sub Pop. Earlier this week the album’s third single, “Get Nonetheless,” was shared. It’s a new model of a track from White Roses, My God, Sparhawk’s debut solo album from 2024, which had a way more minimal and experimental sound when in comparison with the brand new album. Ingrid Weise directed the video.

Beforehand Sparhawk shared the album’s first single, “Stranger,” by way of a video. “Stranger” was one in every of our Songs of the Week. Then the album’s second single, “Not Damaged,” additionally landed on Songs of the Week.

Sparhawk launched his debut solo album, White Roses, My God, simply final 12 months by way of Sub Pop. Sparhawk’s spouse and Low bandmate, Mimi Parker, handed away in November 2022 after dwelling with ovarian most cancers for 2 years. It primarily put an finish to Low. White Roses, My God was impressed by Sparhawk’s grieving course of.

Sparhawk and Trampled By Turtles are each from Minnesota and had mentioned working collectively for a number of years, however lastly the timing labored out. “When the chance appears proper,” Sparhawk says in a press launch, “you bounce.”

The album was recorded on the finish of 2023 at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Trampled By Turtles had been already recording there and Sparhawk got here in in direction of the tip of their session there, armed with songs on the lookout for a house (together with some that hadn’t appeared proper for Low).

Choose up final print concern (Concern 73) to learn our in-depth interview with Sparhawk on White Roses, My God.

Learn our My First Live performance article with Low, the place Alan Sparhawk mentioned the primary live performance he ever attended. By Mark Redfern

5. Alex G: “Afterlife”

This week Alex G (aka Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Alex Giannascoli) introduced a brand new album, Headlights, and launched the brand new single “Afterlife” with a music video directed by Charlotte Rutherford. Headlights is ready to launch on July 18 by way of RCA and its unveiling follows the announcement of a North American tour.

Headlights will likely be Alex G’s tenth studio album, following God Save the Animals in 2022 and his movement image rating for the movie I Noticed The TV Glow final 12 months.

Alex G’s tour will start in September after a couple of competition dates within the UK with Nilüfer Yanya supporting the reveals. By Issa Nasatir