Despite the ease of access that streaming has brought to the distribution of music, the volume that's released can make it a daunting task to find unique new stuff every week. In this recurring weekly feature we put together a short list of new songs from the past week that stand out amongst all the noise and deserve a spot in your rotation.
All songs featured in this recurring series can be found in our scrmbl selection 2026 playlist on Apple Music or Spotify.
Half Mile Beach Club — “Azure Out”
Patrick: Zushi's finest return with an instrumental gust of guitar rock, creating a song that starts breezy but turns blustery as it rips ahead. “Azure Out” underlines the tension that has long existed in their music, whether it is coastal-ready like this or more experimental. It teases something easy-going — and ends with some tropical flair! — but also gets intense at times, disrupting the beach vibes. Listen above.
kanekoayano — “Blue”
Patrick: Sadness can often be an excuse to shrivel up or grow muted, but kanekoayano uses a downer moment as a reason to let loose. “Blue” is the mood the band front by Kaneko Ayano finds itself, but rather than wallowing they set the stage before letting guitars and vocals tear through the song to add something cathartic to its atmosphere. Part of that comes from lyrics finding greater beauty even in a weak state, and ultimately clinging to hope even if it doesn't feel possible in the moment.
LUCY — “Goddamn!!!!!”
Ryo: LUCY made noise upon their debut in 2024 for assembling former idols from renowned groups like MIGMA SHELTER and Sakura Gakuin. They create buzz again through their new song which introduces not-so-new member Peri Ubu, who also used to be a part of BiS–a group whose idol-meets-punk sound lives in the music of LUCY. The pop punk of “Goddamn!!!!!” sounds more off-the-cuff than LUCY’s usual, and the scrappy feel only suits the vocals of the group’s new addition more as they all spring into action.
pinponpanpon & Varg²™ — “no it’s not”
Ryo: Pinponpanpon linking up with Varg2–a frequent collaborator with names like Bladee and Ecco2k–in a new song doesn’t come as a total surprise considering how the trio’s music is so tapped into internet rap. While they usually act a fool over the electro-slop beats of their main producer French Cries, the three sound appropriately downcast here as they try on the numbing cloud-rap of Drain Gang. They still get silly, reciting a hook that’s sticky from how nonsensical it is. Yet their mind seems to drift elsewhere with their flexing and loopy-spooky wordplay dissipating into the thick, languid haze.
SIRUP — “Not AI”
Patrick: The easy route to take with “Not AI” is applaud its mission statement, celebrate SIRUP's embrace of the human in the face of new tech confusion, and let the likes roll in. Yet in the wrong hands, a simple anti-artificial-intelligence screed turned musical could be lame as hell, keep it on your Substack. Thankfully, SIRUP knows how to lay down a groove, and in doing so actually underlines the sort of energy only an artist can bring to art.
Technopop Yuuki Synthesizer Chan — “rebloud”
Ryo: Like the singer’s own name, Technopop Yuuki Synthersizer Chan’s titles seem like a string of tags fed into an electropop generator: electric, mirage, emotions just about describe the ethereal feel behind her first original track of the same name. “Rebloud” from her new Sound・Organic・Traxx EP sounds like that code-feeding process in action. Acid-house bass lines start off a reciting of vaguely tech-y lyrics from the singer that’s indecipherable in meaning yet mesmerizing as pure rhyme, like Etsuko Yakushimaru spitballing over a brutal 303 loop. To be fair, overloading the machine with all this impenetrable code is sure to make it burp out an electro freakout as wild as this.
