Best of #NewMusicFriday: Hailee Steinfeld, Allie X, Tove Styrke + More
It's Friday once more, PopCrush readers, which means we're (web) surfing a big ol' wave of brand new tunes! If you feel like you're drowning in a sea of songs, desperate to know which tracks deserve your attention, consider this your life preserver: Below, discover the best five songs #NewMusicFriday has to offer.
"Most Girls," Hailee Steinfeld
She celebrated women's self-love (and kicked the stigma of female masturbation to the curb) on "Love Myself," and today Hailee Steinfeld is back with another anthem for girls everywhere, whether they prefer to "keep their physique real private" or "wear jeans so tight 'cause it feels so right." "Most Girls" is effortlessly feminist trop-pop: Over swirling electronics and skittering, humid EDM beats, Hailee joyfully champions the autonomy and strength of her fellow women, slamming slut-shaming ("Some girls kiss new lips every single night / They're stayin' out late cause they just celebrating life"), cultural expectations of what girls should wear and even body/plastic surgery-shaming ("You know some days you feel so good in your own skin / But it's okay if you want to change the body that you came in"). Yasss, queen.
"Pop Bitches," Rebecca & Fiona
If the Runaways were an EDM group in 2017, this Rebecca & Fiona banger is precisely what they'd sound like. "Pop Bitches" is a cherry bomb gone "boom!" in the club: Saw-tooth new wave synths and razor sharp electric guitar riffs smash together, creating rollicking techno-punk bliss as the Swedish dance stars and producers intone in icy unison, "These pop bitches make you f---ing sick, right? / We party hard, they call the cops." Well, party on, girls—we ain't stopping ya.
"Say My Name," Tove Styrke
Swedish pop artist Tove Styrke—not to be confused with a certain other Swedish pop artist named Tove—delivers a deliciously summery bop with her latest love song, "Say My Name." Featuring a textural, strummy string riff and a beat that bounces like a plastic beach ball in the pool, Tove urges her would-be lover to "go 'head and feel what you feel." "Say my name," she demands, "Wear it out like a sweater that you love 'cause I can't get enough when ya / Say my name!" It's slinky, slick and sexy—a surefire summer love anthem.
"Paper Love," Allie X
Allie X knows that sometimes, love is like a paper cut: It stings. On "Paper Love," the Canadian pop star crafts pure electro-pop alchemy in ode to the inevitable pain of falling head over heels for someone. "Oh, I know that boy's gonna rip me up / 'Cause he ain't that nice / He won't do right / He'll leave a nasty cut," she laments in celestial melodies over a jagged, driving bass line and a catchy whistling hook that's sure to get caught between your ears all day long.
"Mood," Emily Vaughn
Over it? So is Emily Vaughn, the Florida-bred, Nashville-based singer-songwriter you've probably been sleeping on. (Wake up!) On "Mood," the synth-pop princess brushes off all manner of foolishness, particuarly of the f--kboi variety. "I'm not in the mood / ...I'm so gone, there's no need to prove me wrong / I don't care what you do," Emily sings, her voice evoking a devil-may-care attitude, over a finger-snapping, swaggering beat before the track crescendos with a big, '80s electro-pop breakdown. Coincidentally, "Mood" is our #currentmood, too.
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