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 YouTube, Apple Music or Spotify.
Kroi — “All in”
Patrick: Kroi has been tipped as one of the “next big things” in Japanese rock for a minute now, but personally it has rarely coalesced into songs that really showcase any kind of new terrain for this space. “All in” isn't that ballyhooed epoch shift, but it's a big improvement from the band, merging woozy synthesizer fantasia with funk grooves and rapping. Here's a mix working well for them, and one with enough sonic tension between its elements to actually deliver on all the hype.
PSYCHIC FEVER — “If You’re Mine”
Ryo: Some things in pop are almost guaranteed to work, like boy-band harmonies laid atop the hydraulic bounce of Atlanta bass. PSYCHIC FEVER kick off their new full-length with a track driven by this exact foolproof mix, serenading their would-be partners about all their dreamy possibilities over the latter dance subgenre’s skittering drums. “If You’re Mine” also sets the tone for the rest of the EXILE TRIBE group’s solid new album as it displays a modern touch applied to nostalgic pop tropes. Atlanta bass is only of many millennial pop references—like crunk synths, Neptunes-esque clavichords, South Asian strings by way of Timbaland—in DIFFERENCES reformatted to play alongside today’s hip-hop rhythms.
Regallily — “Conifer”
Ryo: In Regallily’s new song, guitarist/vocalist Honoka Takashi yawns out a soft melody that’s simple yet sticky like the nursery rhymes she’s been interpolating lately. The buzzing guitar riff dusts off a worn-out mood found in the band’s recent mellow tunes. But like their best, the easy-going sound of “Conifer” soon gives way to a gut-punching refrain as Takahashi suddenly snaps awake in the chorus. “I want to understand,” she shouts with a tremble in her voice like she’s cornered in, and throughout the song, her ambitions seem to weigh her down more and more – maybe a feeling inspired by its tie-up anime, Draw This and Die. “Conifer” sounds light and easy until it’s anything but.
Reol — “COCOON”
Ryo: After a decade since Reol’s solo breakout, I tend to expect beat drops the size and strength of TNT explosions to accompany the singer’s equally thunderous voice. But while the bass on her new one has the weight and wobble like her typical output, the production has a much sleeker finish as it embraces the fluid cascading of UK garage rather than the pyrotechnics of brostep. Her vocals still reach for the highs, but as it zigzags along with the beat, it evokes a different, more stylish kind of cool that goes beyond pure power.
salasa — “KAMINARI”
Patrick: Smooth funk with a slight disco sparkle, though the real spark that gets “KAMINARI” going is salasa's vocals. She adds the longing and lust needed to turn this sparse backdrop into something exciting, and makes the eventual release later on all the more electric.
yama — “U and I”
Patrick: Sometimes, even the gloomier pop stars just need to deliver some triumphant sounds for the warmer months. Mysterious singer yama has always dabbled in the shadowy and socially deconstructive in her music, but she's also capable of big ol’ pop moments built for a sing-a-long. “U and I” channels the stadium-packing pomp of Official HIGE DANdism via its horn showers and general bigness, resulting in one of the most upbeat songs in a catalog largely defined by introspection.
