BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE MONTH 23/06/2025: Clipse, Turnstile, Will Smith and more…

This month's track roundup (I'll hopefully get back to fornightly - or better still weekly - roundups soon) features both Clipse and Will Smith returning to the rap game. Clipse are on their A-game, while Will Smith sounds like Will.i.am. Other artists featured in this month’s roundup include Turnstile, MSPAINT, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Lordkez, Igorrr and Militarie Gun & Dazy.

THE BEST:

‘Ace Trumpets’ – Clipse

Clipse – the deadly duo made up of Virginia Beach rappers Pusha T and Malice – have reformed. The Travis Scott diss in ‘So Be It’ seems to be getting all the attention, but for me the real banger out of all these new Clipse singles is ‘Ace Trumpets’. Pusha rhymes ‘squeegee’, ‘Luigi’ and ‘the Bee Gees’, while Malice rhymes ‘tie-dye’ with ‘Mai Tai’. There are more unique words in this song than Carti has used in his entire career.  

‘Look Out For Me’ – Turnstile

Off the Baltimore hardcore band’s new album Never Enough comes this new single ‘Look Out For Me’. It’s 7 minutes long and features a typically explosive chorus that will make you want to slam dance. I wasn’t expecting it to turn into an EDM track in the final third. It’s exciting to see them playing with different genres.

‘Angel’ – MSPAINT

MSPAINT are another unique hardcore band that use synths instead of guitars. Their last album Post-American was one of my favourite records of 2023, and I’ve just discovered they have a new EP out titled No Separation. ‘Angel’ feels like a continuation of their style, sporting some woozy vaporwave-flavoured synths and some surprisingly deep lyrics: ‘I feel like the problem/ I feel in the way/ But I’m staying present/ this is just today’.

‘MadDog’ – Man/Woman/Chainsaw

I’m pretty sure I’ve featured this band before on the blog (who could forget a name like Man/Woman/Chainsaw?). The London art rock six-piece new single ‘MadDog’ opens with a fiery guitar riff and exasperated vocals. As the song develops, rage seems to give way to sadness, and the guitars are joined by piano and violins, before ending with some beautiful vocal harmonies. It’s the musical direction that I wanted fellow art rock six-piece Black Country New Road to go in

‘Aweh’ – Lordkez

‘Aweh’ is a multi-functional South African slang term that means ‘hi’, ‘yes’ or ‘cool’. I’m not cool or South African enough to use in conversation, but it does make for a very infectious hook that I’ve had stuck in my head for the last two weeks. The Johannesburg R&B singer is part of the new wave of rising South African pop stars. I’m loving the smooth, summery sound of this single and have my fingers crossed that it will make it over to the UK radio and become a hit (something needs to knock ‘Ordinary’ off the top of the charts). It comes off her new album You, Me and The 90s.  

‘Blastbeat Falafel’ – Igorrr

Mixing metal and Middle Eastern sounds, ‘Blastbeat Falafel’ is another utterly chaotic single from unhinged French artist Igorrr. While I’ve often got Mr Bungle vibes from Igorrr’s music, this track sounds more like a Mr Bungle song than anything Igorrr has ever released – which makes sense given that Mr Bungle co-founder Trey Spruance plays guitar and sitar on the song. An army of other guests also feature on the track, including a church choir that amusing only get to sing for one second. And for those who are wondering, yes, there are blast beats in this song.

‘Tall People Don’t Live Long’ – Militarie Gun & Dazy

‘Tall People Don’t Live Long’ is a collaboration between LA hardcore band Militarie Gun and Richmond bedroom pop singer Dazy. As a 6ft3 dude, the title is a bit terrifying, but I get that it’s not literally a song about celebrating the shorter lifespan of tall people, and more of ‘bigger isn’t necessarily better’ anthem. It features a bustling beat that has an early 90s Madchester sound to it.  

THE WORST:

‘Pretty Girls’ – Will Smith

This sounds like something The Black Eyed Peas would have recorded 10 years ago – and I think even they might have considered it too generic to drop as a single. Also, the choice to release a song about liking pretty girls during Pride Month after recent allegations of being gay makes me think the Fresh Prince doth protest too much.