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.

Since his viral hit Number One Candidate kickstarted 2023 with what remains one of this year’s best music videos, North London rapper AntsLive has been on a firm upward trajectory. Cheeky irreverence is his MO, and new single Ooh La La is no different. Inspired by a recent trip to Paris, the chorus of Ooh La La features some charming French one-liners – ​“She callin’ my phone at 12 A.M., dis-moi pourquoi /​She smellin’ sweet Chanel De Bleu, I smell Dior Sauvage /​Comment ça va?” – as AntsLive raps about pursuing a love interest beyond the confines of the UK. Ooh La La, indeed.

Speaking of the French, Parisian singer-songwriter Taloula, previously known as TAL, is a super-massive French popstar. Since 2021, she’s been steadily moving away from releasing mainstream hits, and M3TAMORPHIN continues that shift. Co-produced on an old Yamaha keyboard and drum machine, it sees her skilfully flit between singing and rapping over an ​’80s-inspired electro track. Her upcoming album, due in November, promises to be full of bouncy beats and trippy guitar riffs, if you’re into that sort of thing.

A dingy, industrial number from Memphis-born, Atlanta-based Mercury, and the lead track from her latest EP. Since starting to release music three years ago, Mercury has sat at the cutting edge of hip-hop, quickly establishing herself as one of the genre’s hottest alt-girls. heaven very much exists within that realm. Given the song’s super-quick-but-also-mellow lyrical delivery, this is, according to Mercury, ​“for everybody cute to shake their ass to”.

He’s carved out a reputation as one of pop punk’s next-gen stars, so it comes as no surprise that KennyHoopla’s new EP, BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT/​/​, was co-produced by Travis Barker. Characteristically bursting with energy, MARRY KILL F*CK// does exactly what it says on the tin, and doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a straight-up pop-punk banger. ​“I was sitting on the curb outside the roller rink /​Loitering and waiting for your late apologies /​It only hurt me when you called me drama queen /​’Cause I can’t pull off pink,” Hoopla sings, conjuring up teenage angst and summer romance gone sour.

R&B princess Mahalia is back with Ready, a pared back track which sees her reflect on everything she’s achieved so far, determined to use her voice as she pleases: ​“Tryna stay stable is hard when I’m tryna keep my place at the table /​No matter how I’m feeling, gotta take a minute to celebrate my winnings,” she sings. Her new album, IRL, drops this Friday.