12 Greatest Songs of the Week: Miss Grit, House Counties, Tycho and Paul Banks, Westerman, and Extra
Plus U.S. Women, Twen, Howling Bells, Y, and a Wrap-up of the Final Week’s Different Notable New Tracks
Oct 24, 2025
Welcome to the thirty seventh Songs of the Week of 2025. This week Andy Von Pip, Matt the Raven, Scott Dransfield, and Stephen Humphries helped me resolve what ought to make the record. We thought of over 40 songs and narrowed it right down to a High 12.
It was a little bit of a cut up vote this week, missing in apparent favorites.
We have to shut the funding hole for our subsequent concern and are providing 25% off subscriptions, 50% off again points, and as much as 70% off print advertisements. Discover out extra right here.
Difficulty 74, The Protest Difficulty, is out now. It options Kathleen Hannah and Bartees Unusual on the 2 covers and might be purchased from us instantly right here.
In latest weeks we posted interviews with Wolf Alice (a digital cowl story), Idlewild, Elbow, Baxter Dury (a My Firsts), and extra.
Within the final week we reviewed some albums.
That will help you type by means of the multitude of recent songs launched within the final week, we’ve picked the 12 greatest the final seven days needed to provide, adopted by some honorable mentions. Take a look at the complete record beneath.
1. Miss Grit: “Vacationer Thoughts”
This week Miss Grit shared a brand new track, “Vacationer Thoughts.” The brand new single is out now on Mute.
Miss Grit is the undertaking of Korean-American musician Margaret Sohn, who makes use of they/she pronouns.
Sohn had this to say concerning the track in a press launch: “It’s about how curiosity for different individuals’s ideas can slowly disorient you and make it more durable to return to your self.”
“Vacationer Thoughts” follows Miss Grit’s debut album, Observe the Cyborg, launched in 2023 by way of Mute. It was certainly one of our High 100 Albums of 2023. Observe the Cyborg was self-produced and featured musical contributions from Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Aron Kobayashi Ritch of Momma, and Pearla. In 2021, Miss Grit launched the EP Imposter.
2. House Counties: “Roundabout”
British six-piece House Counties launched their second album, Humdrum, at this time by way of Submarine Cat Data. Earlier this week they shared one final pre-release single from the album, “Roundabout.”
Singer Will Harrison had this to say concerning the single in a press launch: “This track is about desperately making an attempt to flee a dialog with somebody at a celebration who gained’t cease speaking about themselves. ‘Roundabout’ is certainly one of the vital light-hearted moments of the brand new album. To seize the environment of the subject material, we ended up recording our buddies speaking shit within the pub backyard of our native in Homerton, which you’ll hear through the bridge. I believe you’ll be able to hear Invoice speaking about HS2 at one level. It may not be the deepest second of the album, but it surely could be probably the most enjoyable!”
Al Doyle of Sizzling Chip and LCD Soundsystem produced Humdrum. “We recorded Humdrum over two weeks in Al’s studio simply off Brick Lane, and it was a blast,” says Harrison. “Al is a hero of ours, with LCD and Sizzling Chip being two of our largest influences, so it meant lots that he needed to work with us. Lots of the songs got here into the studio almost absolutely fashioned, in traditional House Counties maximalist fashion. Al was nice at making us pull issues again to serve the track and implement the groove, in addition to serving to us form preparations extra dynamically over the longer dancier cuts (e.g. ‘When In Rome’ and ‘Meet Me In The Flat Roof’). We had been additionally ready to make use of Al’s in depth assortment of synths and drum machines, increasing the digital palette to create a number of the wackiest and lushest sounds we’ve ever used. Now simply comes the problem of making an attempt to recreate one-hundred-thousand pound tones on our beat up MS-20s…”
3. Tycho and Paul Banks: “Boundary Rider”
This week Paul Banks of Interpol teamed up with San Francisco producer Tycho (aka Scott Hansen) for the brand new track “Boundary Rider.”
“Interpol has lengthy been certainly one of my largest influences so I jumped on the alternative to collaborate with Paul on a track,” explains Hansen in a press launch. “‘Boundary Rider’ began life as an atmospheric instrumental track titled ‘Forge’ that I had been engaged on right here and there for a few years. Once I met Paul and began fascinated with what songs would possibly join along with his voice, Forge instantly got here to thoughts.
“I despatched him a demo together with the immediate ‘Boundary Rider.’ I had been studying concerning the lives of Boundary Riders through the Nineteen Thirties, individuals who patrolled and maintained fences within the huge expanse of the Western Australian outback. There was one thing about this solitary existence that I felt resonated with the track and the deep sense of isolation in Paul’s lyrics introduced this into focus.”
4. Westerman: “Nevermind”
Westerman (full identify Will Westerman) is releasing a brand new album, A Jackal’s Marriage ceremony, on November 7 by way of Partisan. This week he shared its third single, “Nevermind.” He additionally introduced some new U.S. tour dates for subsequent April.
Westerman had this to say concerning the track in a press launch: “‘Nevermind’ is a smirking, bitter little track ruminating on the denigration of which means by dangerous brokers.”
Beforehand Westerman shared its first single, “Adriatic,” by way of a music video. It was certainly one of our Songs of the Week. Then he shared its second single, “About Leaving,” and introduced some new tour dates.
A Jackal’s Marriage ceremony is Westerman’s third album and follows 2023’s An Inbuilt Fault and 2020’s Your Hero is Not Useless (which made it to #23 on our High 100 Albums of 2020 record).
Westerman wrote the album in Athens after which collaborated with producer Marta Salogni (Björk, The xx, Sampha), recording A Jackal’s Marriage ceremony over the course of 5 weeks on the Greek island of Hydra on the Outdated Carpet Manufacturing facility, which is described in a press launch as “a ramshackle, but stunning seventeenth century mansion transformed into an arts house and studio.” It was extremely sizzling and the one instrument they introduced with them was a drum machine, though the studio had its personal devices.
“Permitting the restrictions of the place, it turns into an elemental a part of what you’re doing,” Westerman says within the press launch. “The file is genuine by necessity.”
Take a look at our interview with Westerman, which initially appeared in Difficulty 67 of our print concern.
5. U.S. Women: “Working Errands (Yesterday)”
This week, U.S. Women (aka Meghan Remy) shared a brand new track, “Working Errands,” in two distinctive variations, “Yesterday” and “As we speak” variations. The “Yesterday” model celebrates the tenth anniversary of her album Half Free. The “As we speak” model was recorded with the identical band she labored with on her newest album, Scratch It, launched in June by way of 4AD. Our writers most popular the “Yesterday” model in order that formally makes the record, however each variations are included.
Remy says “Working Errands” is “a track that consumes its personal tail, by no means wholly free (Half Free, you might say…), by no means wholly sure, ceaselessly altering because it repeats.”
Annette Snell’s “Footprints on My Thoughts,” a Nashville-recorded soul monitor, impressed each variations of the track.
2015’s Half Free was the fifth U.S. Women album, however the first for 4AD.
Scratch It got here collectively when the Toronto-based Remy put collectively a brand new band for a one-off efficiency at a pageant in Sizzling Springs, Arkansas. Aided by her good friend, guitarist Dillon Watson (D. Watusi, Savoy Motel, Jack Title), Remy assembled a band of Nashville-based musicians. She then determined to journey to Nashville to file a brand new album with this new band, which options Watson on guitar alongside Jack Lawrence (The Useless Climate, The Raconteurs, Loretta Lynn) on bass, Domo Donoho on drums, each Jo Schornikow and Tina Norwood on keys, and harmonica legend Charlie McCoy (Elvis, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison). They recorded Scratch It in solely 10 days.
U.S. Women beforehand shared Scratch It’s first single, the 12-minute lengthy “Bookends,” by way of a music video. It was #1 on our Songs of the Week record. Then she shared its second single, “Like James Mentioned,” by way of a music video. It additionally made our Songs of the Week record. Third single “No Fruit” additionally made our Songs of the Week record. Scratch It was certainly one of our Greatest Albums of June.
U.S. Women’ final album was 2023’s Bless This Mess, which was impressed by Remy’s being pregnant and the start of her twin boys.
Remy’s album earlier than that, Heavy Mild, got here out in 2020. Learn our interview with Remy on that album right here.
6. Twen: “Tumbleweed”
7. Howling Bells: “Heavy Lifting”
8. Y: “Skipper”
9. Meric Lengthy: “A Small Act of Defiance”
10. Sleaford Mods: “The Good Life” (Feat. Gwendoline Christie and BIG SPECIAL)
11. Tunng: “Anoraks”
12. Hannah Jadagu: “Regular As we speak”
Honorable Mentions:
These songs virtually made the High 12. There are much more songs on the Spotify playlist.
Bartees Unusual: “Ain’t No person Making Me Excessive”
Bartees Unusual: “Pigs Fly”
Cigarettes After Intercourse: “Anna Karenina”
Depeche Mode: “Within the Finish”
Dutch Inside: “Play the Music”
Eliza McLamb: “Endlessly, Like That”
fanclubwallet: “Do You Hate Me?”
Florence Highway: “Miss”
Foo Fighters: “Asking For a Buddy”
House Entrance: “Eulogy”
jasmine.4.t and Jacob Alon: “Discover Ur Ppl”
Lily Allen: “West Finish Lady”
Oneohtrix Level By no means: “Lifeworld”
Sampha: “Cumulus / Reminiscence”
Sean Solomon: “Taking pictures Star”
Softcult: “She Mentioned, He Mentioned”
Religious Cramp: “You’ve Obtained My Quantity” (Feat. Sharon Van Etten)
Sports activities Group: “Medium Machine”
Right here’s a helpful Spotify playlist that includes the High 12 so as, adopted by all of the honorable mentions and a few further songs:
