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Favorite Songs of the Week

SPIN’s 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

Welcome to our weekly roundup of the SPIN staff’s favorite new songs. Below, sample the best from 21st-century emo apostles, anti-harassment activists, and more.

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

Avalon Emerson, “Frontier” (Whities)
Berlin-via-San Francisco producer, DJ, and software engineer Avalon Emerson has been DJ’ing for six years and producing for four, but the past six months have seen her profile sharply rise with a sidewinding Boiler Room set and two new EPs. For “The Frontier,” her debut on Young Turks affiliate Whities, she returns to her American Southwest roots, and not just in its glowing, Easy Rider-reminiscent clip. Over robust bass rolls she lays down a melody that sings and swoops as if made with an erhu, lending the track and ethereally pop-minded quality. Halfway through, crunchy snares kick in with the thrill of speeding from the ramp onto the highway, with nothing in front of you but open road. — HARLEY BROWN

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

Fear of Men, “Island” (Kanine Records)
Feeling lonely and being alone are not the same thing. You can easily feel the former surrounded by others — or, as Brighton’s Fear of Men sing in “Island,” in a relationship. On their dreamy post-punk single, which comes from their forthcoming sophomore effort, Fall Forever (out June 3), the trio describe a partnership that’s crumbled into a state of disillusion. Bolstered by warped vocals and somber strings, frontwoman Jessica Weiss illustrates her ambivalence, “Now I don’t care if I’m not what you want / I used to be scared to be the stronger one.” Regardless of intention, she doesn’t have a choice anymore. — RACHEL BRODSKY

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

Into It. Over It., “Anesthetic” (Triple Crown)
On the cusp of releasing his third full-length, the John Vanderslice-produced Standards (out on March 11), Evan Weiss calms his usually frayed nerves with his latest single. Experimenting with cymbal shimmers and a spare, Death Cab for Cutie-esque guitar-line, Weiss lightens his typically strained high register into a tranquil tone. Save this one for your next hammock swing. — R.B.

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

Larkin Grimm, “I Don’t Believe” (Self-Released)
What a horrible thing for this song to have to exist. Larkin Grimm claims that Michael Gira of Swans raped her, false accusation statistics are extraordinarily low, and lyrics about wishing that she would die, or that he would, so she could go outside, are just heart-sinking. But the true gift of “I Don’t Believe” is that it’s comforting. The song’s beauteous harp is strewn across the gut-wrenching emotions Grimm exorcises here and will never truly be able to part with; it sounds like she’s trying to sew up her own body. Her mission comes through in the song’s placidity: To normalize conversation about rape to make it clear that some unseen villain isn’t just assaulting the 25 per cent of women who’ve suffered, but real people we know and maybe even love. Also: To heal. — DAN WEISS

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

Mitski, “Your Best American Girl” (Dead Oceans)
To say that reading a good poet is like reading her diary may be clichéd, but nevertheless remains true of Mitski. The DIY singer/songwriter’s confessionals are at once heart-rending and relatable; her voice unmistakably raw, each song is a page laid bare for the world to see. That doesn’t mean, however, that Mistki sacrifices her strength. The lead single from her forthcoming album, Puberty 2, begins slowly and develops into a confident crescendo with a wall of sound constructed via distorted guitar and pleading vocals. Mitski’s songwriting proves that emotion need not connote weakness. — EVAN SIEGEL

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

S**tKid, “Oh Please Be a Cocky Cool Kid” (PNKSLM)
If Sky Ferreira released Charli XCX’s lost punk album instead. If the drum machine that replaced Bobby Gillespie on the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Darklands was elected leader of the band. If Billy Idol played at 285 Kent. If Sleigh Bells only recorded in a very dark and cramped closet. If Love and Rockets realized that they should’ve always sounded like “So Alive.” If Juiceboxxx was president. If for exactly two minutes in hell, heaven was possible. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Larkin Grimm, Into It. Over It., and More

Tory Lanez, “Uber Everywhere” (Mad Love / Interscope)
Fargo Fridays — rapper Tory Lanez’s version of Kanye’s G.O.O.D Fridays — is back. After taking a break for the winter, the series returned last week with “Uber Everywhere,” a rework of Madeintyo’s 2015 track of the same name. Lanez’s version takes the back track to a deeper place with a grumbling bass-line, while the R&B-tinged vocals keep everything light, including what may very well be a shot at fellow Toronto native Drake and frequent collaborator Metro Boomin: “Oh, I knew you was a trick, you slip and slide in that s**t / It be me and Play Picasso ain’t no Metro in this hoe.” Sleep with one eye open, Tory — Young Metro probably does not trust you. — MEGAN BRADLEY