Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
These 10 tracks from artists including Anitta, Bazzi, Daya and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
Sophie and the Giants, “We Own the Night”
The summer nights are waning — Labor Day is but two weeks away! — so the sound of Sophie Scott crying “Keep dancing, keep dancing, like we own the night” is especially timely as we try to soak up every bit of shared joy that we can. Sophie and the Giants have made behemoth synth-pop ravers before this one, but “We Own the Night” marks an especially euphoric entry into a growing discography. – Jason Lipshutz
Bazzi, “Heaven”
Nearly a half-decade after “Mine” racked up millions of streams and impacted pop radio, Bazzi has returned with perhaps his best single since his breakthrough: “Heaven,” which samples Fiction Factory’s “(Feels Like) Heaven,” scores with both effective production details — the bob-and-weave of the percussion, the way the guitar tingles at times — as well as a chorus that Bazzi makes both sumptuous and cathartic. – J. Lipshutz
PONY, “Peach”
PONY mastermind Sam Bielanski trades in deliciously crunchy pop-rock with a sneakily huge emotional wallop; if you’re a PONY diehard or unfamiliar with the project, “Peach,” a deliriously likable track about vulnerability in a damaging relationship, represents a wonderful place to start, or continue. Following the promising debut album TV Baby, the Toronto singer-songwriter is hitting a stride with tracks like “Peach,” and should be in for an exciting upcoming run. – J. Lipshutz
Annie DiRusso, “Call It All Off”
A guitar buzzes in the background of “Call It All Off” as Annie DiRusso, fresh off a relationship that didn’t work, realizes, “I don’t know anything anymore.” Over the course of her new single, however, the Nashville singer-songwriter regains her footing, and the stray post-breakup details become empowered declarations — a songwriting transition that’s rather ambitious, but which DiRusso pulls off masterfully here. – J. Lipshutz
Blondshell, “Sepsis”
Sabrina Tietelbaum’s first two singles as Blondshell, “Olympus” and “Kiss City,” hinted at raw storytelling tools that could be supported on a wider screen; “Sepsis,” her third track, serves as that grander showcase, a soft-to-loud scorcher with slicing lyrics and a bittersweet guitar jangle between admissions like “And I think I believe in getting saved / Not by Jesus validation / In some dude’s gaze.” Third time’s the charm here, as Blondshell has released her best song yet. – J. Lipshutz
Skinner, “Dog Daze”
Self-proclaimed DIY slouch-rocker Skinner lets the sounds of post-punk and no wave guide him in new track, “Dog Daze.” The Dublin-based artist first takes his listeners off-guard, leading with ominous bass notes juxtaposed with erratic saxophone elements for the intro, which fades into a more consistent groove as the track’s first verse rolls around. The lyrics — directly inspired by Dog Day Afternoon — sees the 24-year-old fighting the feeling of being stuck between the never-ending rock and hard place. – Starr Bowenbank
Triathalon, “Die”
New York-based Triathalon has returned with its newest album, Spin. The ambitious 13-track LP sees the trio continue to dabble in the lo-fi hip-hop and R&B-tinged alternative that they do best, an “Die” adds an element of acoustic guitar that languidly plucks through the track underneath a bed of thick synthesizers and existential lyrics (“Time, well, it’s taking its toll/ Life doesn’t want me to know/ When l’Il die”) — a fitting choice, given the current state of the world. – S.B.
Serpentwithfeet, “I’m Pressed”
Summer is coming to a close, but the house resurgence continues to grow, as serpentwithfeet dips his toe into the genre and balances out hushed vocal delivery with impressively tight vocal riffs. The singer’s romance may have fizzled — another hallmark of the season’s end — but he offers his former lover a chance for reconciliation, and if not, an uplifting friend. – S.B.
Daya, “Her”
Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter Daya, continuing her reinvention post-“Hide Away” and “Don’t Let Me Down,” mines the bright, bouncy synth-pop of the ’80s on the first half of “Her” before slowing it down a touch with a thumping New Order-esque beat; think of it as a synthy musical exorcism of an ex she just can’t get out of her head. – Joe Lynch
Anitta & Missy Elliott, “Lobby”
“This is that new Anitta, suckas!” Missy Elliott jubilantly declares at the top of their disco-funkified collab “Lobby.” The trilingual Brazilian pop star’s sonic reach is global as her appeal, and on “Lobby,” she slides into pop-funk earworm territory, a realm that Doja Cat has been dominating the last couple years. – J. Lynch
