Gold Soundz: June 20, 2025

This week's suggested new music, curated by omg!nyc

Summer is here and things are really starting to heat up. If you’re on the east coast, I hope you’re staying cool as we kick-off this heat wave. If you’re looking for a scorcher to match these blazing temperatures, look no further than the latest for alt-rock shoegazers Hotline TNT whose latest is sure to be one of the best guitar albums of the year, full of buzzing hooks and killer, fuzzing melodies.

The HAIM sisters are also back to welcome the new season with their latest album, I quit. Once again the sisters embrace their knack for jubilant pop melodies, angsty anthems, and a song that recalls heyday mid-aughts indie rock to deliver a pleasing album of big hooks and shout-a-long choruses.

Meg Remy returns this week with her newest album as U.S. Girls and she once again follows her own path, defying genre norms to craft something eclectic and true. Continuing to take risks to create something that incorporates slight trip-hop elements, pop, and indie rock she once again finds stellar grooves to propel her sound.

Psych-pop group Unknown Mortal Orchestra already delivered an album this year full of heady, krauty instrumentals that is served best as headphone music meant for deep listening. This week Ruban Nielson and company hit us with something more expected and accessible that captures their animated sound with technicolor highlights.

We’re one week away from Lorde'‘s new album, Virgin, and today we get one more single, “Hammer.” This one finds Lorde chasing a beat as the song slowly builds without a total payoff of a beat drop, but still moves ahead with intrigue and a bit of a thrill and it comes with assistance from Dan Nigro, Fabiana Palladino, and Devonté Hynes (aka Blood Orange).

On Wednesday, Wednesday announced their new album would be out in September and shared the record’s second single, “Wound Up Here (By Holdin’ On).” While the first preview for their new music eased into their country vibes, this is a ragged, rocking number that hits with the bruising punches of their heaviest tunes.

Marcus Brown’s Nourished by Time’s new album is coming in August and this week he dropped “9 2 5,” a swirling dance jam. Hitting us with hard, Baltimore club beats, this is an instant smash that sparkles with dazzling success. There’s a lavish euphoria that permeates from this one and the perfect track to soundtrack your summer on the dance floor.

It’s still a little shocking that Forth Wanderers are suddenly back with new music after seeming to be gone forever and while there’s not certainty on a return to the stage, the new songs are surely helping to build the anticipation for the indie rockers’ comeback. “Bluff” is another satisfying number that brings out the softer side of the band.

You’re probably not expecting a Mazzy Star song to make you wanna dance at a rave, but Four Tet’s new song puts his indelible touch on the dream-pop band’s song “Into Dust,” turning the sample into a club-ready hit. It’s a lush and sensuous jam with Hope Sandoval’s voice spiraling into the ether as a party builds around it.

After teasing a collab with Skepta for quite some time, Fred Again.. dropped into New York City for a secret pop-up show in Brooklyn with Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax which they streamed live on Twitch while finally premiering their new song “Victory Lap.”

Post-punks bar italia released two really good records in 2023 and this week they shared their first piece of new music since that years second album, The Twits. “Cowbella” is a stark tune with more of their rugged, angular notes which adds more moody textures to the band’s gritty sound.

Afro-jazz collective KOKOROKO’s new album is due later in the summer and this week they shared the third single from the upcoming record. “Just Can’t Wait” is a sleek and deeply funky jam that is powered by beefy bass and electric keys while smooth vocals layer the top for a refreshingly groovy track.

The striking ambient tones of Vines are back on the artist’s latest glacial pace of a song, that moves with steady purpose through lush layers of fog and haze. The instrumental piece brings forward sweeping bursts of piano that swells over marching drums for something bold and stirring.

A liquid-crystal beat drops in and a twinkling melody begins to swirl as Justine Dorsey’s wispy vocals dance over the cloudy, dream-pop track from After. Blending bits of trip-hop with millennial pop, this shimmering tune is like a breath of fresh air, full of bubbling joy and a soaring spirit.

Albums:

HOTLINE TNT | Raspberry Moon
HAIM | I quit
TROPICAL FUCK STORM | Fairyland Codex
U.S. GIRLS | Scratch It
KAROL G | Tropicoqueta
GHOSTFACE KILLAH | Supreme Clientele 2
S.G. GOODMAN | Planting By The Signs
JEREMIEH CHIU / MARTA SOFIA HONER | Different Rooms
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA | Curse EP
MOUNT KIMBIE | The Sunset Violent (Live In Heidelberg)

Songs:

LORDE | “Hammer”
CARDI B | “Outside”
WEDNESDAY | “Wound Up Here (By Holdin’ On)”
NOURISHED BY TIME | “9 2 5”
ERYKAH BADU | “Next to You” (ft The Alchemist)
AMAARAE | “S.M.O.”
FORTH WANDERERS | “Bluff”
FOUR TET | “Into Dust (Still Falling)”
FRED AGAIN.. | “Victory Lap” (ft Skepta and PlaqueBoyMax)
NATION OF LANGUAGE | “I’m Not Ready for the Change”
BAR ITALIA | “Cowbella”
KOKOROKO | “Just Can’t Wait”
THE HIVES | “Paint a Picture”
LIQUID MIKE | “AT&T”"
R. MISSING | “Shadowist”
VINES | “I’ll be here”
AFTER | “Deep Diving”
WINTER | “Misery” (ft Horse Jumper of Love)
NATE MERCEREAU / JOSH JOHNSON / CARLOS NIÑO | “Openness”

If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2025) here!