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.
bala & Shinichi Osawa — “Chululira (feat. MANON)”
Patrick: A lot has changed for collective bala — primarily going from a quartet to a duo — so it makes sense to go back to their roots as they recenter. “Chululira” finds electronic artist Shinichi Osawa return to produce for the project for the first time since debut tune “barla,” and he helps them find a welcome disorientation. Their latest relies on repetition and bleary-eyed thump that lends the ethereal vocals a club armor as they move ahead.
illequal — “Shellair”
Patrick: Not to be nostalgic for a month ago, but listening to illequal's new song does bring back memories of Maltine Record's 20th Anniversary Party in December. The producer played early as part of the night event, and “Shellair” reminds of the more rave-ready moments from that set (of which this almost certainly appeared), using manipulated vocals to build to a swaggering beat. Still hits hard even at home.
lapix ft. Eye — “Nova”
Ryo: It’s only been a couple of months since lapix’s previous Genexx album, and the producer spares no second getting back into the rush with Genexx Nova from New Years. The new record’s lead song, “Nova,” packs a bunch already in its first few moments. Guest vocalist Eye hopscotches across rave piano stabs, frantic guitar noodling and pumping hi-NRG beats while reciting a run-on stream of lyrics themselves. Lapix doesn’t let down from there and across the album, inviting an even bigger cast of collaborators to fill their zigzagging EDM productions.
RAY — “sagittarius”
Ryo: After making such a big splash last year in shoegaze, it was only a matter of time for kurayamisaka to be the latest band to contribute a song for idol group RAY. If what defines the subgenre is the amount of applied guitar distortion, “sagittarius” is adjacent at best: the arrangement puts on a modest coat of fuzz for the most part, sticking instead to a mellower blend of power pop until it adds some woozy Loveless-esque solos at the end. But the music stylistically lying more at the outskirts suits RAY, whose latest album, the excellent White, showed just how far out they can push their shoegaze-centric music without losing their core.
Patrick: Idols RAY call on Shotaro Shimizu — part of kuramiyasaka, an outfit responsible for one of 2025's finest albums — to give some chug to the outfit's latest single "Sagitarius." Peering away from the shoegaze tendencies they often favor, RAY instead embrace a more straight-ahead rock push built for shouting along with. Shimizu knows how to pen something anthemic without losing the muscularity of the guitar, and here RAY take full advantage of it.
Sayonara Ponytail — “Uchuu No Katasumi”
Ryo: Given the whispery Shibuya-kei folk of last year’s full-length Agua, the music to go with Sayonara Ponytail daydreaming at the edge of the universe seems like it’d resemble a slow, gentle drift in the cosmos. “Uchuu No Katasumi” instead finds the idol group banging out vibrant indie-rock guitar riffs made for summertime jams. They get nostalgic as they do, recalling the good times in their usual murmurs, but their cherished memories feel fresh behind an exuberant rock soundtrack.
