We’ve only just passed mid-January, and the year 2023 has already brought on an abundance of new music from an eclectic variety of emerging and established artists. In honor of New Music Friday, here are five new singles from this past week that I’m loving, from Billy Nomates to Shallowhalo, and more.
Caroline Rose – “Miami”
Caroline Rose’s new single “Miami,” opens with gradually amplified acoustic strumming, slowly building to a face-melting climax with bombastic drums and gnarly guitar squeals. “I’m not one to shy away from drama, and so this was a perfect opportunity to really bring out every ounce of desperation and anger and all those confusing emotions that happen after a big heartbreak,” Rose explained in their press release. It’s a rhapsodic rumination on the brutality of heartbreak, where instead of shooting vitriol at their ex-lover, Rose directs their anger at the circumstantial turmoil they’re grappling with as a result of the relationship ending.
Billy Nomates – “CACTI”
The titular track of Billy Nomates’ newest LP CACTI, is a hypnotic new romantics-tinged dance track chronicling Nomates’ personal journey of grappling with the trauma and inner turmoil she battled in lockdown (“To dance on hostile sands/Me and the desert holding hands”). Complete with haunting chromatic vocal layering and unsettling keyboard tones, a fight-or-flight stress response has never sounded better.
Godcaster – “Pluto Shoots His Gaze Into The Sun”
In anticipation of their upcoming self-titled LP, NYC heavy/experimental rock sextet Godcaster immediately shot for the stratosphere with their frenetically loud and maximalist first single, “Diamond’s Shining Face.” On the follow-up single, “Pluto Shoots His Gaze Into The Sun,” delicate soprano vocals take center stage against bare-bones acoustic plucking. It’s a glowing respite from the relentless mayhem commonly found in the band’s quintessential sound.
Shallowhalo – “Crystal Ball”
On their latest single “Crystal Ball,” New York indie dance duo Shallowhalo invoke the rapturous post-modern synthpop of Glass Candy and the whimsical romanticism of The Magnetic Fields. Rippling synth riffs, off-kilter drum breaks, and frontwoman Allyson Camitta’s breathy vocals make for an intoxicating dancefloor dream sequence.
Gymshorts – “Love You Funny”
When Gymshorts frontwoman Sarah Greenwell isn’t professing her sadistic fantasies in delicate whispers and unrestrained screams (“Gonna hold your hand till you hand it over/Gonna drive you out like an evil chauffeur”), drummer Mike Ferschke is hitting the skins with ferocity and precision, and guitarist Devin Domonic is shredding hefty garage rock solos. What immediately jumped out for me about “Love You Funny,” was that it had the same opening sequence as The Cars’ “Just What I Needed.” And from that moment on, I was all in.
LISTEN