Our Songs of the Week column looks at great new tunes from the last seven days and analyzes notable releases. Find our new favorites and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for other great songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Oso Oso, LA LOM, Machine Girl, and more come through with killer tunes.
Staff Picks: Best Songs of the Week August 3rd – August 9th
Cliffdiver — “lord have mercer”
On “lord have mercer,” Cliffdiver simultaneously tap into their inner Paramore, their inner disco lover, and their inner revenge fantasist to deliver a danceable banger that calls out abusers and manipulators. Complete with teased high-hats, a syncopated guitar line, and deliciously cutthroat lyrics (“So can you tell me now how big a boy are ya?/ Now that I’m calling you out, ate up with your paranoia/ I hope it destroys ya… ‘lil bitch”), “lord have mercer” is a cathartic anthem that reclaims power from those who deeply don’t deserve it. — Jonah Krueger
Listen via Apple Music
LA LOM – “’72 Monte Carlo”
Instrumental group LA LOM’s excellent new album, The Los Angeles League of Musicians, really couldn’t have arrived at a better time. We’re getting into the dog days of summer here, folks; it’s getting hard to romanticize the heat. But the effortlessly tropical energy of this LA LOM album, arguably epitomized by “’72 Monte Carlo,” has the magical, transportive ability to make the oppressive humidity and endless seem fun and exciting. Check out their live performance of the cut here, then toss the full album on a loop. It’s a stellar listen from top to bottom. — Mary Siroky
Listen via Apple Music
Lunar Vacation — “Tom”
There’s an endearing, if humorous, kind of vulnerability to this track from Atlanta-based indie rockers Lunar Vacation. Ahead of the arrival of their sophomore album next month, the band has unveiled “Tom,” which leapt from a silly point of inspiration (the villainous Tom Sandoval of Vanderpump Rules fame) to a similarly unserious premise (utterly doomed crushes). But whether you’re familiar with this backstory or not, the vibrant chorus and tight production allows “Tom” to stand on its own, regardless of a level of familiarity the listener might have with the band. — M. Siroky
Listen via Apple Music