Essential Tracks This Week: Caribou, Thou, and more

The week’s winding down, and what better way to start the weekend than with some new music? Along with this week’s batch of Best New Releases, we’ve selected four must-hear new songs this week to check out, including some psychedelic soul, gnarly sludge metal, mournful indie rock and an upbeat dance track from a producer with a handful of aliases. These are the best new songs of the week.

Blurbs by Mia Euceda (ME) and Jeff Terich (JT)

Caribou – “Honey”

Dan Snaith breaks off his two year Caribou hiatus with a hypnotic speed garage track arranged by Kieran Hebden (Four Tet). Some fans were quick to point out that “Honey” implements the uplifting, more club oriented sound of Daphni, another Snaith project. The buildup’s twitchy synths and quick vocals alert the listener that something more grand is to come, with increasing urgency as the satisfying drop approaches. Wobbly baselines then take on the lead, warping and wriggling its way through the striking beat. Hopefully Snaith (and Hebden!) are cooking up more bangers to share soon. – ME

Out now.

Thou – “I Feel Nothing When You Cry”

New music from Thou is practically a holiday around these parts, and the first new single from their upcoming album Umbilical is certainly cause for celebration among those who like a nasty, sludgy slab of metal. “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” is the fastest Thou song I can remember hearing since 2018’s Rhea Sylvia, and considerably more viscerally aggressive than even those more accessible grunge anthems. This is where Thou pulls out all the stops, going hard as fuck on a song with a furious rhythm and a guitar tone that could peel paint from the walls. – JT

From Umbilical, out May 31 via Sacred Bones

Lionlimb – “Dream of You” (feat. Angel Olsen)

Lionlimb is a duo comprising Stewart Bronaugh and Joshua Jaeger, who have both played in the touring band of Angel Olsen. In return, Olsen lends her vocals to their new single, a psychedelic soul groove that leans heavy on Hot Buttered Soul-style dark grooves. It’s a stunning showcase for the duo’s instrumental prowess, particularly Bronaugh’s guitar soloing, which is soaring and impassioned. Of course, having a ringer like Angel Olsen to deliver the vocal certainly doesn’t hurt either, and her smoky rasp gives the song an added sense of mystique. – JT

From Limbo, out May 24 via Bayonet

Sour Widows – “Cherish”

The first single from the debut full-length from California trio Sour Widows hangs heavy with both longing and grief. Described in a statement from the group as “a plea for love disguised as a curse against the world,” “Cherish” is a captivating blend of sweetness and desperation, an acknowledgement of a need for tenderness in the face of the cruelty inherent to the world at large. But there’s also a roaring power at its center, building up from a low-key dirge into something with muscle and crunch. Love, after all, is a very powerful thing. – JT