EsDeeKid and Fimiguerro show Liverpool some love on 5am

There’s loads of music out there, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up.

Rather than letting the algorithm dictate your music taste, you can listen to Rated by THE FACE – a playlist that’s lovingly curated and updated by our (human) editorial team every week.

EsDeeKid – 5am ft. Fimiguerro

EsDeeKid just dropped his mixtape Rebel, and it sounds like no other rap project that’s come before it. The bally-clad scouser leans into his distinctive accent, knocking out humorously dark punchlines over hotboxed beats courtesy of Wraith9, who’s known to use heavy breathing sounds as a percussive instrument. On 5am, EsDee is joined once again by the Nigeria-born, London-based hedonist Fimiguerrero, who slices through thick layers of sci-fi synth with bars honouring his host’s hometown: ​“Shell a show in Liverpool, I’m Paul McCartney /​I’ve been stacking bread on top of cheese like a sarnie.” DR

Multiscreen – That’s Life

You may recognise Louis Blooey from that viral Iris Law reviews a mango video, but it turns out he is also the founding member of Multiscreen, a new musical project that seeks to satirise ​“the absurdness of modern media and clout culture”. Multiscreen’s first release, That’s Life, is driven by punchy synths and decorated by strings courtesy of Mary in the Junkyard’s Saya Barbaglia. Lyrically, Blooey takes on the tough ticket we now know as ​“adulthood”. JW

Lorde – Hammer

Described by Lorde as an ode to ​“city life and horniness”, Hammer – the final single we’re getting before Virgin drops – is a euphoric pop banger that delights in pierced ears and hot pavements. ​“Some days I’m a woman, some days I’m a man,” Lorde sings in the pre-chorus, alluding to the ​“gender broadening” she referenced on previous single Man Of The Year. ​“I might have been born again/​I’m ready to feel like I don’t have the answers,” she belts in the chorus. With a bassline that boomerangs in and out of your headphones and a luxurious crescendo, Hammer is a song to soundtrack the spontaneous summer missions depicted in the song’s London-shot video. TL

Dexter in the Newsagent – Special

We’ve been onto Dexter in the Newsagent as an artist to watch since 2022, when she was signed to Corteiz’s Rulestheworld Records, and she’s since maintained a steady, relatively lowkey presence in the UK scene. Special, her first song of 2025, is a relaxed, introspective meditation on love – and it’s one of her best yet. ​“Mine in the morning /​I need you like coffee/​You’re mine in the evening /​need you like sleeping,” she sings with R&B delivery, over an unusual mix of skittering drums, airy-synths and a plucked acoustic guitar. An appropriate tune to wind down for all those recovering from Fête de la Musique. JW

PinkPantheress – Close to You

PinkPantheress is having a great year. Her dancefloor-friendly mixtape, Fancy That, was met with critical acclaim, and it’s sounding even better now that summer’s in full swing. The former FACE cover star seems perfected the press grind with a laidback approach to interviews and every time she gets on the mic – whether during The Dare’s Lido set or at her eclectic Victory Lap session – it looks like a genuinely good time. To keep the positive vibes going, she’d dropped the short and sweet fan favourite Close to You, which she wrote back in 2021. ​“It’s because of the determination of the stans,” Pink wrote about the track’s release. Bring on Glastonbury. DR