Gold Soundz: May 23, 2025

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

May 23, 2025

Well, it’s a good thing it’s a long weekend here in the States because there’s almost too much new music to consume in just two days. Coming in hot is the return of avant-pop luminaries Stereolab who are back with their first album in fifteen years. The Groop has never been one to be defined by genres and their blend of space-age pop by way of cosmic lounge music with krauty motorik beats and lofty elastic melodies sounds just as ripe and fresh for your pleasure today is it did in the ‘90s proving they can’t be beholden to a specific time period and can continue to craft tunes that will always feel blissfully out of this world.

For the first time in six years, These New Puritans have a new album out and it’s comprised of richly detailed layers of brooding post-industrial tunes full of haunting tones and melodic grooves. The singles have all been powerful tracks that move with precise intention that crafts such a dominating sound through minimal motions.

It’s been a decade since Shamir’s breakthrough album Ratchet and this week he’s back with he says is his final record. Over the course of ten years and ten albums, Shamir’s made charming electro-pop that flirts with emo and acoustic moments while still retaining an inner voice.

After already dropping a new album earlier this year, Mogwai quietly delivered another set of new songs this week in the form of the soundtrack to the BBC’s The Bombing of Pan Am 103. As has been tradition with many of their soundtracks, this is a well paced and ideally sequenced record of their core sonic template, all of their key elements showing up in pure form.

On the 30th anniversary of their iconic song “Common People,” Pulp dropped their latest single from their upcoming reunion record which will be their first in 24 years. “Got to Have Love” is a killer disco inflicted single that shines with serious passion and brings the band wonderfully into focus with pure sparkle and hi-def rock and roll flare.

“Elderberry Wine” is the first piece of new music from Wednesday since their excellent album Rat Saw God was released in 2023. Since then, it’s been announced that guitarist MJ Lenderman will no longer be a touring member of the band and only play on studio sessions moving forward (although he did play with the band on Colbert this week). This follows the new of his separation from lead singer Karly Hartzman and the end of their romantic relationship. Perhaps some of that will be the source material for the tracks off their yet to be announced new album, but for now this track begins to hint at the subject matter while taking their sound in a more Country direction, stripped of their shoegaze walls of sound and churned into something with twang and charm.

With each new single, the direction of the new Turnstile album feels more opaque. We’ve heard some funky numbers, more traditional hardcore, and bleary dream-pop tracks. This week they’ve given us another curveball with “LOOK OUT FOR ME” which begins which kicks off with aggression before dissolving into an IDM-style breakdown. There’s really no telling what they’ll do next.

One of the most anticipated records of the summer is coming from Hotline TNT. Resurfacing sounds of the nineties via shoegaze and alt-rock with dashes of Britpop power, the band’s sound remains larger than life even on this more strip-backed affair that gives more of an unplugged vibe while still managing to sound almighty and powerful.

Sludge, shoegaze, and slowcore all swirl together to create the sounds of Greet Death and “Motherfucker” is another crushing entry in the band’s catalogue. Sinewy guitar lines flex their muscles in slow motion as the band drifts in and out of their towering sound, moving with impressive restraint and supreme control.

Ambient artist Vines is readying to release her debut album this summer and this week shared a slow-moving piano number that takes on some post-rock elements with heavy vocoder work that hits at a glacial pace for a real zoned-out effect. Rising at a steady pace, the song’s ethereal vibes make for a mesmerizing experience that sets the tone for what’s to come.

This summer, Afro-jazz collective KOKOROKO will release their sophomore record and this week we received another single in the form of “Closer to Me.” It’s a blissful and tranquil piece that moves along at an unhurried shuffle with noodling guitars and harmonious grooves setting the scene for the season ahead.

It’s been seven years since Forth Wanderers released their self-titled second record and all signs pointed to the band’s formal hiatus. Out of nowhere, the band announced a new album was on the way and shared the ripping new song “7 Months” which finds them firmly in the pocket and back in their groove as if no time has passed. A wonderful surprise from a band wholly deserving of a victory lap.

Playing Alice Coltrane’s harp, Brandee Younger channels something deep and serene, meditative and guiding, stirring and engaging. Her notes swirl with majesty, bringing light and levity, the hovering nature of the song making it stand on edge while still bringing a sense of calmness and easy.

With their singles hitting the multi-million play count on streaming services, dream-pop outfit Night Tapes are gaining attention at a rapid clip and this week they announced that their debut album will be due in the fall. Along with that news comes a new tune that samples the Souls of Mischief classic “‘93 to Infinity.”

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

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