The best new tracks, picked by our staff

Want to keep up with the best new music?

Listen to this weekly playlist, lovingly curated by THE FACE’s editorial team.

Sabrina Carpenter – Taste

Short n’ Sweet, Sabrina Carpenter’s hugely anticipated sixth album which gave us none other than Espresso, is finally out after months of teasing. Opening song Taste is a standout, and not just because it’s been delivered alongside a music video featuring Sabrina walking in on Jenna Ortega shagging her boyfriend in the shower (as inspired by the 1992 film Death Becomes Her). There are provocative lyrics (​“I heard you’re back together and if that’s true/​You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you”), country twangs, disco vibes and a huge anthemic chorus. Taste, basically, is an old-fashioned pop banger by one of 2024’s most exciting artists. JW

The Hellp – Caustic

According to their interview with THE FACE, The Hellp are inspired by Crystal Castles, Bruce Springsteen and Blink-182. That might seem like an odd cocktail, but on Caustic – an epic, glitchy track that’s sweetened with pop-punk melodies – you can sort of hear it. The Hellp formed in LA way back in 2015 and, for whatever reason, they haven’t yet reached their potential. But now that they’ve got the backing of Atlantic records and their first proper tour announced, this underrated band might finally get their flowers. DR

Mura Masa – Shuf (Adore U)

It might seem like Mura Masa has conquered the modern music industry with all those high profile collabs, but he sort of hates it. ​“Music as entertainment has in many cases, to me, become very advertorial and excessively sentimental in terms of creating narrative around albums and artists,” he says in the press notes for his new club-focussed album Curve 1 – his first to be released independently on his own label. ​“I think it’s far more fitting of the album’s intent to say simply: listen to it in the dark.” So dim the lights and press play on Shuf (Adore U). You don’t need a big backstory to enjoy a sugary 2‑step banger, after all. DR

Central Cee – Billion Streams Freestyle

Cench knows how to turn heads with his freestyles. He translated UK slang for his newfound American audience with the LA Leakers freestyle, partnered with Drake for his On The Radar session and proved he can spit on grime with the CC freestyle. Released as the B‑side to his single Bolide Noir with French rapper JRK 19, the Billion Streams Freestyle feels a little more lowkey. But in classic Central Cee fashion, he kicks it off with some attention-grabbing bars: ​“Said that my bitch was gay, got a billion streams, I’m a mainstream rapper /​He shot coke in SoHo House, my brodie a mainstream trapper.” DR

Kidä – Harvest Me

Kidä is an NYC-based musician and the founder of the sound design platform A Portal to Jump Through, and her passion for experimental sonics has led her to collaborate with Yves Tumor and GAIKA. On her single Harvest Me, taken from the forthcoming EP Savage Ballet, she blends Egyptian instrumentation and trip-hop production, multi-tracking her reverb-drenched to create a dense and sensual soundscape. DR

Fontaines D.C. – Motorcycle Boy

The Barbenheimer of album drops has landed, as Fontaines have dropped their fourth album, Romance, on the same day as Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet. This time around, though, the Irish post-punk band leans way more pop than they have done in the past – and to exhilarating effect. Motorcycle Boy, in particular, recalls early Smashing Pumpkins; on this song, frontman Grian Chatten, never one to scrimp on poetic lyricism, captures a peculiar type of bittersweetness. ​“Dreams, they got me choking/​I’m joking, in mine/​People sick with feeling/​They never align,” he sings unmistakably, lamenting the perils of sentimentality and an emotional disconnect between two people. Romance, indeed, but never without a tinge of melancholy. JW