This week, we bring you the new single from Beyoncé as well as new releases from Perfume Genius and from the enigmatic rising star, Orville Peck. Plus, hear new tracks from Rina Sawayama and Steve Lacy, and discover the music of erstwhile Angeleno turned Minneapolitan, Zora.

Orville Peck, “C’mon Baby, Cry”

The mysterious face mask. The high drama. The choreographed dance moves. That voice. Orville Peck has been a beautiful enigma since day one, and with each album, he’s gaining more fans and attention. Peck is queer artist in the country world who doesn't shy away from singing a love song about a boy who's beautiful when he cries.

Rina Sawayama, “This Hell”

Like all great dance-floor anthems, this track is all about shrugging off the haters and having fun. In "This Hell," Rina Sawayama says, “Don’t know what I did but they seem pretty mad about it” before declaring that any situation is better with the ones you love with you.

Perfume Genius, “Teeth”

Baroque and dramatic, the latest offering from Perfume Genius is eccentric, experimental, and beautiful. An artist who's always been able to use his delicate voice to make the ugly moments in life glow with inner beauty, Ugly Season is a passionate display of his best work.

Steve Lacy, “Mercury”

The former Internet guitarist who wrote a song about the struggles of coming to terms with his sexuality in 2019's "Like Me" is bringing the funk with some tropicalia flair on his latest, "Mercury."

Beyoncé, “Break My Soul”

Nu-disco is looking good on Beyoncé. She's created a joyful dance jam for the Great Resignation generation. She's sampling Big Freedia and Robyn and giving big hands up praise vocals with lyrics like "You Won't Break My Soul/ I'm Telling Everybody."

Zora, “Happiest I’ve Ever Been”

The local artist has been hyped by Rolling Stone, Stereogum, and Bandcamp. A young Black trans woman who moved from Los Angeles to Minnesota during the pandemic, Zora splits her time between activism and making music. A joyful song about a traumatic mental health scare she went through last year, Zora shared, “I used songwriting as a way to cope with my circumstances and speak up about what I had gone through, no matter how intense it was. I wanted to make a song that sounded carefree, fun, and relaxing, accompanied by some of the darkest lyrics you’ve ever heard.”

Playlist