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.
Amaiwana — “Hong Kong Love”
Patrick: Dipping into retro sounds can open up all kinds of discussions derailing from the music – what is the nature of nostalgia? Is culture stuck? What does ~ it mean ~ man? Easy way to avoid all of that is just release something catchy so the brain is too busy bopping along that it can't turn it into discourse. That's long been '80s fan and synth-pop crafter Amaiwana's strong point, and new single “Hong Kong Love” features a melancholy melody given its ache by synths galore and a pleasant skip.
Cephalo — “Bougainvillea”
Ryo: For the band’s new one, cephalo phase out the post-rock-esque headrush slowly built and unleashed in last year’s Gloaming Point EP for a lightweight feel. Shedding some of the wooziness in favor of delicate guitar riffs makes for a seemingly more casual affair, though the newfound breeziness can feel like a front after picking up on some of the roundabout lyrics alluding to unfulfilled relationships and uneasy reunions. Cephalo sounds well settled in “Bougainvillea” until the cracks eventually start to show
Gliiico — “Gut”
Patrick: Rock trio Gliiico coat their songs in a layer of dust and fuzz, giving a very precise playing band boasting great hooks a slight lo-fi energy. That's present across newest release The Veil, with highlights finding the group adding some snap to their sound. “Gut” is one such example, featuring a funk groove and nice vocal delivery, the sort of song that sounds good in any condition.
Midnight Grand Orchestra — “404”
Patrick: The songs on the latest EP from Hoshimachi Suisei and Taku Inoue's collaborative Midnight Grand Orchestra can often be a bit busy, leaning into a vaguely swing sound that smothers the emotions underneath. Not the case with closer and highlight “404,” wherein the pair strip the instrumentation back, letting some electronic skitter and Suisei's singing carry it. Here, less is truly more.
RIM — “How Many?”
Ryo: “I want to feel a little / of someone else’s precious summer,” RIM sheepishly confesses at the top of “How Many.” But if her new song is the virtual singer’s idea of a pop-rock jam dedicated to summer romance, it sounds less like innocent fun under the sun than complete delirium from the punishing temperature. The breakbeats relentlessly pound like a migraine. The guitars are blown out beyond recognition, eventually resembling molten lava once the chorus ends. Everything in “How Many” sounds like it’s all melting into a puddle, though RIM’s tongue-tied lyrics suggest the feverish vibe is exactly how she’s feeling once she starts daydreaming about a summer for two.
She Her Her Hers — “Tomorrow’s Sun”
Ryo: “When I go to sleep / I start to think,” She Her Her Hers starts off their new song, their late-night musings accompanied by a languid R&B passage very familiar with the band. “Tomorrow’s Sun” seems to hit it a little on the nose with its twilight-hour music casted over those lyrics yet its balmy drift delivers rather bleak thoughts: “That there is no guarantee / that tomorrow will come,” they go on. She Her Her Hers continue to indulge on increasingly heavy matters, but leave it up to them to carry those existential asides along such weightless, dreamy music.
