Another week, another chance to dive into the depths of New Music Friday
No filler, no fluff—just the essential new releases that deserve your time. This weeks New Music Friday, is all about dream-pop haze, searing rock riffs, and introspective lyricism.
From Tāmaki Makaurau’s indie darlings Phoebe Rings to Naarm’s hard-hitting Floodlights, these are new releases that deserve your time.
Babe Rainbow
Babe Rainbow’s latest single Like Cleopatra is sun-warped psych-pop, made for days when you can’t tell if you’re sweating or melting. Inspired by fresh milk and whatever’s in the air up in Byron, it’s effortless in a way that makes other bands wish they could be this loose.
Radio Free Alice
Noah Learmonth has something to say, and it’s not up for debate. Radio Free Alice swings hard on Empty Words—stabbing guitars, a half-snarl of a vocal delivery, and a chorus that makes you want to kick over a mic stand. Performative activism? This track calls bullshit.
Floodlights
Floodlights have a knack for making personal introspection sound stadium-ready. Buoyant wrestles with family baggage and self-doubt, all while careening forward on a drumbeat that refuses to sit still. A song built for festival fields, or at least a long drive with the windows down.
Mulga Bore Hard Rock
This is rock music that means something. Straight out of Akaye, Mulga Bore Hard Rock take a family ballad and turn it into a sing-your-guts-out anthem. Think blistering solos, sky-high hooks, and an undeniable sense of place.
Phoebe Rings
There’s dream-pop, and then there’s Phoebe Rings, who sound like they record inside a sunbeam. Their new tracks are equal parts weightless and devastating—hushed Korean vocals, synths that shimmer like a mirage, and melodies that drift in and out like a memory you can’t quite hold onto.
Panik Flower
This track feels like scrolling at 3 AM when your brain won’t shut up. NYC’s Panik Flower dig into media addiction with ocd, a shoegaze-drenched blur that jitters between euphoria and panic. Sage Leopold’s vocals are hypnotic, the guitars are drowning in fuzz, and the whole thing is deliciously overwhelming.
Sara Baroni
Some songs punch you in the gut quietly. Sara Baroni doesn’t need big production or dramatic flourishes—she just needs a melody and a few perfectly chosen words to wreck you. I Lost It, I Miss It is raw, unguarded, and impossible to shake off.
MAVS, Zara, Themba
A light soulful hip hop track by Sydney producer MAVS and vocalist Zara, featuring rapper Themba. Giving that summer love feeling, with its dreamy guitars and smooth harmonies that instantly takes you to a place where you can just get lost in your feels.
Keen for more? Check out Happy’s Mixtape:
