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EW‘s music staff dug into the best of what’s new and next this January, from crisp electro jams to pop stompers and rising indie-blog anthems.
Stream them all via our Spotify playlist below (minus a few currently only available online; we’ve provided separate links for those).
Miguel — “Coffee”
On this slinky number from his new EP, the R&B virtuoso manages a nearly impossible feat��murmuring “I just wanna watch you sleep” without making us want to file a restraining order.
Listen on Soundcloud.
Tove Lo — “Talking Body”
Upholding her rep as radio’s raunchy new darling, the Swedish nymphet trills about the bedroom activities on her docket. Hint: Neither HBO Go nor napping is involved.
Purity Ring — “Begin Again”
Glitchy and gorgeous, the latest off the Canadian synth duo’s second LP is like a dying star: a mixture of gloom and shimmering sweetness.
Nicki Minaj — “Four Door Aventador”
Rappers can be demanding, but on her woozy trip-hop track, Nicki merely asks that you double-tap her Instagram pics… while she cruises the Sunset Strip with Shia LaBeouf and Donna Karan.
Petite Noir — “Chess”
The much-buzzed Cape Town, South Africa resident’s otherworldly voice swoops from fluttering falsetto to creamy baritone on this thrumming slow-burn ballad. Checkmate, new friend. Checkmate.
Waxahatchee — “Air”
“I left you out like a carton of milk,” the Alabama-bred songwriter born Katie Crutchfield coos on this cinematic beauty. With a song so hauntingly pretty, how mad can you get that she’s careless with dairy?
Johnny Flynn — “In April”
Song partners and real-life paramours Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice penned this yearning, folksy ramble for the Anne Hathaway indie drama Song One.
Tink feat. Charlamagne Tha God — “Around the Clock”
Quoting Wu-Tang lines older than she is over a swaying Timbaland beat, the 19-year-old Chi-town native stakes out her territory with raspy try-and-step-to-me defiance.
Heems — “Sometimes”
The newly solo MC, formerly of rap hucksters Das Racist, spits light-speed low-self-esteem boasts (“Sometimes I hate compliments/They make me blush!”) over a fidgety electro-hop backdrop.
Listen on YouTube.
Hanni El Khatib — “The Teeth”
While the Black Keys are busier these days tumbling down psychedelic rabbit holes, fans of oil-stained garage blues can hop aboard this chugging scuzz-rock express.
Rae Sremmurd — “My X”
The purest yawp in youth culture currently belongs to the barely legal Sremmurd boys. Producer Young Chop’s doomsday drums perfectly match their primal bellows.
Charli XCX — “Gold Coins”
The bratty Brit doesn’t mean to brag, but she’s got “offshore bank accounts,” Bentleys, and one hell of a knack for pop hooks.
Mark Ronson feat. Mystikal — “Feel Right”
Growling with delight over strutting horns, Mystikal sounds like rap’s answer to the Muppets’ Animal on this funk-filled call-and-response banger.
Jazmine Sullivan — “Mascara”
Her melting ballad about superficiality may seem satirical, but with lines like “My tits give me trips to places I can’t pronounce,” we really want to hack her Orbitz account.
Modest Mouse — “Lampshades on Fire”
The long-absent indie titans unfurl their first official single since 2007, a bouncing tale about humanity destroying then abandoning the Earth. (Way more fun than it sounds.)