BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE MONTH 28/11/2025: Skrillex, FKA Twigs, Ice Spice and more…

 

This month’s roundup features songs about cruise ship designers, Spongebob soundtracks and AI country songs. Artists featured include Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Sassy 009, Skrillex, Dry Cleaning, FKA Twigs, Ice Spice, Breaking Rust and Megadeth.

THE BEST:

‘Only Girl’ – Man/Woman/Chainsaw

I’ve featured a few tracks from Man/Woman/Chainsaw on this blog before. This might be the London art rock band's best single so far.  Despite its very raunchy lyrics (‘choke me/ I’m your only girl’) the violins somehow make it sound very sophisticated and the delivery of the chorus is euphoric rather than seductive. The result feels like a celebration of the beauty of sex with a partner you trust, rather than just another cheap sleaze rock anthem.

‘Tell Me’ – Sassy 009

This is the collaborative work of Oslo alt pop artist Sassy 009 and British alt pop artist Blood Orange. Inspired by grunge melodies, it features some ultra-moody guitars and vocals, slathered in generous amounts of reverb. These are contrasted with tight sharp drums that cut through the rest of the production. The whole thing is very atmospheric.

‘hit me where it hurts’ – Skrillex ft. Caroline Polachek, Dylan Brady

Earlier this year, Skrillex dropped an album titled F*ck You Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but Ur Not!! <3, which I still haven’t listened to, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it. He’s now already followed this up with a new EP, Hit Me Where It Hurts X. This is the title track – it features an ethereal Caroline Polachek vocal sample weaved into an aggressive house beat co-produced by 100 Gecs’s Dylan Brady. Like most recent Skrillex releases, it sounds nothing like his early brostep material, but it most certainly bangs.

‘Cruise Ship Designer’ – Dry Cleaning

If I had a job designing cruise ships, I think I'd be pretty proud. The narrator of Dry Cleaning’s new song ‘Cruise Ship Designer’ doesn’t seem to feel that way: ‘cruises are big business, I don’t personally like them/but I need to serve a useful purpose’. I’m not sure if the song is supposed to be a commentary on people undervaluing their worth or simply a criticism of cruise ships, but either way it’s entertaining. The way the guitars turn dissonant and evil at the end, combined with ‘I make sure there are hidden messages in my work’ also suggests something sinister is going on. Will the upcoming album explain more? This is Dry Cleaning we’re talking about, so it could be part of a larger narrative, or it could be completely random.

‘Predictable Girl’ – FKA Twigs

The only thing predictable about this new song from FKA Twigs is how predictably weird it is. The video of her writhing around on a speeding motorbike isn’t too surreal by her standards (which is saying something), but the song itself is a completely unforgiving assault of glitchy electronica and cyborg-like vocals. In the absence of SOPHIE, it feels like Twigs has taken the experimental pop baton. The single comes off her new album EUSEXUA Afterglow.

THE WORST:

‘Big Guy’ – Ice Spice

Congrats to Ice Spice for landing a song in the new Spongebob movie Soundtrack. And well done for keeping it poop-bar-free and twerk-less. Unfortunately, it’s complete and utter garbage. ‘SPONGEBOB BIG PANTS OKAY’. That hook doesn’t make any bloody sense. She’s throwing out random words. It is devilishly catchy though. NO ALASDAIR, DO NOT GIVE IN.

‘Walk My Walk’ – Breaking Rust

This AI-generated country song made news a week ago when it topped the Country Digital Song Sales Chart. Out of principle, I’m putting it here, but I’m actually terrified by how decent it is. The only thing that gave it away was the fact that he doesn’t even take a breath in the chorus.

‘I Don’t Care’ – Megadeth

What is up with Dave Mustaine’s vocal delivery here? He sounds like a badly dubbed anime villain. It’s horrendous.