Sam Rankin / Daily Nexus

“Ant Pile” by Dominic Fike

Dominic Fike’s newest release titled “Ant Pile” is an exciting sneak peek into his not yet released sophomore album, “Sunburn.”  The song emulates feelings of nostalgia as Fike reminisces about his childhood crush that leads into a complicated high school romance. The story of a first love gone wrong sets the perfect scene for the rest of Fike’s album, supposedly based on his childhood in Florida. The universal feeling of young love and loss makes the upbeat song both relatable and devastating at the same time. The flavorful guitar riffs show a slightly more rock side to Fike’s usual pop melodies. The song provides an electric first look into “Sunburn,” an exciting summer release this July.

– Avery Stanley

“as if” by glaive

glaive comes out in “as if,” the lead single off his upcoming debut album titled “I Care So Much That I Don’t Care at All,” releasing July 14. The song tackles themes of coming out, not being accepted and asserting that he’ll never change himself for the approval of other people. The song begins and ends with an excerpt of Timothée Chalamet’s famous 2016 performance of a monologue from the “Prodigal Son,” with the ending line, “I’m going to find my place in this world, count on it,” embodying all the themes of the song. The music video released alongside this song showcases glaive alongside a boy who rescues him from the mistreatment of his friends. The rest of the music video showcases queer couples just plainly existing together as the lyric “as if I’m ever gonna change” repeats in the background, asserting that despite the negativity, he will never change his identity for somebody else.

– Diana Mateescu

“you don’t like me like that” by Zeph

“you don’t like me like that” is Zeph’s second single off her upcoming debut album, “character development,” which is a truly elevated version of her style and an exciting peek into the album. The song is an expression of anger and frustration for being led on by a guy who she thought had mutual feelings for her. The music video displays a combination of retro and modern visuals and showcases Zeph surrounded by bunches of flowers and eventually cutting and burning them as a manifestation of her anger. With lyrics like, “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot / Doesn’t matter, I’ll still lose” and “He loves me, he loves me not / He’s making me go fucking crazy,” she truly showcases feelings of frustration that anybody who has experienced getting led on can relate to.

– Diana Mateescu

“Sunshine Baby” by The Japanese House

English indie-pop singer Amber Mary Bain, best known for her stage name The Japanese House, released the track “Sunshine Baby” on May 17. “Sunshine Baby” is dreamy and nostalgic, reflecting on a past relationship and reminiscing in a bittersweet fashion. The production is delicate, not overpowering Bain’s gentle vocals but still being strong enough to fully engulf the listener in the song. The track also features Matty Healy from the English pop band The 1975. The two of them alternate on the bridge, singing, “Now we’re right where we are (Sitting in the back seat, driving with my sunshine baby) / I don’t wanna fight with her (Well, I’ve gone a little crazy, surely someone’s gonna save me now)”. The song serves as a single for Bain’s upcoming album, “In the End It Always Does,” which will be released June 30.

– Lauren Chiou

“MATHEMATICAL DISRESPECT” by Lil Mabu

Full of witty wordplay and energetic flows, “MATHEMATICAL DISRESPECT” by up-and-coming rapper Lil Mabu was released on May 18 and is a catchy, fun and upbeat song that might take you by surprise. Halfway through the song, Mabu stops the track and takes a second to explain a clever lyric by saying, “Get it? ‘Cause blue and red equals purple / So I blew her back out and I left her on read / Don’t let that go over your head.” Not all rappers can get away with this kind of break in the song, but there are multiple videos on Mabu’s page of people reacting with wide eyes and screaming. At the very least, it’s a song that speaks to hip-hop culture’s deep present need for a changeup and a fresh new face. Given the large amount of celebrity support on his page and his over 7 million monthly listeners on Spotify, it’s clear Mabu is doing something right — check out this fun little track if you get the chance.

– Aayush Dixit