Welcome to the July edition of Beats Per Minute’s monthly playlist BPM Curates.
Summer time and the music selecting’s easy. Anything sounds good when the sun is shining – especially if it’s a fresh new release. And, boy, we have a selection of great ones for you this month. Dive in below.
Below is the track list and some notes from our team about why they’ve selected them for this month’s playlist.
Abby Helms – “i think i am”
This NYC artist straddles the line between hooky pop and tuneful R&B. The new single builds on the momentum of last year’s mesmerizing “twisted” and “argue n heal”. – Larry McClain
Anwar Carrots & Sid Sriram – ”Doves In A Tunnel”
Late last year, fashion designer Anwar Carrots launched a collaboration with Def Jam and has since “released” singles with the likes of Bun B and Maxo Kream. On the first two singles, he was credited as an unspecified performer; “Doves In A Tunnel” marks his first official songwriting credit. Teaming with Carnatic R&B superstar Sid Sriram, the track detours from Carrots’ streetwear to dark suits. Riding a high-D pedal note, the only allusion to hip-hop is Kanye West’s “Runaway”. Otherwise, the duo appear to be channeling a twisted fantasy of a darker order. For such a strong vocalist, Sriram renders vulnerability with ease and meets each gust of “Is it cold?” with more longing. It’s difficult to determine Carrots’ level of involvement, but so far he’s three-for-three. – Steve Forstneger
Barry Can’t Swim – “Childhood”
It isn’t news when dance music gets nostalgic, but it seems there has been an upswell in the past two or three years from Caribou to Jamie xx to Hagop Tchaparian. The aptly named “Childhood” arrives ironically late on Barry Can’t Swim’s new album, Loner, and overflows with love for the likes of The Avalanches or The Go! Team.
Based around Willie Hutch’s “I Choose You” (re-popularlised by UGK and OutKast’s “Int’l Players Anthem”), there seems to be an Easter egg link given its similarity to The Love Unlimited Orchestra’s “Love’ Theme” – a song off 1974’s Rhapsody In White which opens with a song called “Barry’s [White] Theme”. Coincidence? Maybe. Barry’s connection to its joy is real, regardless, as he irons out in the closing monologue: “Please, remember, I love you / This is what the history of human love feels like / Deep spasms of underground joy”. (More for our tin hats: Hutch was once hired as a Motown songwriter by… Berry Gordy.) – Steve Forstneger
The Beths – “Mother, Pray For Me”
New Zealand quartet The Beths have become known as purveyors of zipping, anxiety-infused pop rock bangers, but the latest offering from their forthcoming record strips it all back to just Liz Stokes, guitar and subtle keys. It’s in service of the singer’s vulnerable and beautiful ode to her parents; the desire to stop taking them for granted and get to know them on a deeper level before it’s too late. It’s a feeling many of us have likely had, but few of us could have produced such a picture perfect way of expressing it. – Rob Hakimian
Blood Orange – “Mind Loaded” (feat. Caroline Polachek, Lorde & Mustafa)
The first Blood Orange album in seven years is set to be a glimpse into Dev Hynes’ formative years growing up in Essex, and “Mind Loaded” is an abstract painting of a young man whose head is overflowing with creativity; a wistful flutter of longing for something bigger to come. With long time collaborator Caroline Polachek adding depth and new partner Lorde giving a grittier, emo edge, while fellow Brit Mustafa offers a few low key words, we get a star studded version of Hynes’ inner monologue. – Rob Hakimian
Burna Boy – “Change Your Mind” (feat. Shaboozey)
“Change Your Mind”, from Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness, is a soft, emotional turn for the artist; an Afro-Country ballad about heartbreak, regret, and the small hope of getting back what’s been lost. The gentle guitar and calm pacing let Burna’s voice carry the weight of someone still holding on, but unsure if he should. It’s honest and stripped down, far from the confident tone fans may expect. Shaboozey brings a steady balance to the song with his rich, Southern sound. He doesn’t overpower the track, he grounds it. Together, the two artists make something that feels personal and warm, like a quiet conversation at the end of a long day. It’s a simple, sincere moment of cross-genre connection that hits harder because it doesn’t try too hard. – Mary Chiney
Clipse – “Chains & Whips” (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
How damn good does a song have to be to still feel palpable releasing two full fuckin’ years after debuting at a fashion show? This damn good, apparently. From Push’s perfectly spiteful verse (him spitting it right at Jim Jones’ soul without blinking during their Tiny Desk appearance will forever remain a masterclass vibe) to Kendrick popping by for yet another “lolll I killed the Canadian!” victory lap (“show up at your at your gender reveal and tell ’em give me mine”) right on down to Pharrell’s unfairly cool beat (Western movie soundtrack meets a cold and mechanical future?), I’ll say it: it’s perfection. – Chase McMullen
Ethel Cain – “Fuck Me Eyes”
Ethel Cain’s new album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, is scheduled for an August 8 release. “Fuck Me Eyes”, the latest advance single, seems to signal a pivot back to the theatrical Americana/high-drama pop of Cain’s debut, Preacher’s Daughter. Swirly synths and punchy drums frame and texture a mournful yet above-the-fray vocal. Cain paints a portrait of a young woman who “gets around town” and “looks just like her momma bеfore the drugs”. The boys, meanwhile, “can’t get enough of her”, though “no one ever wants to take her home”. We’ve seen this snapshot before – it’s practically an old-school Americana/rock staple – however, Cain’s sublime delivery, elegant instrumental mix, and empathetic stance distinguish the take, giving it a Now/relevant vibe. Elevating the quotidian to the rock-operatic, Cain successfully whets our appetite for the upcoming set. – John Amen
Fiona Grey – “Rat On A Wheel”
Fiona Grey is a gifted LA singer who tackles socio-political topics, not just love songs. “Rat On A Wheel” is an anthem for today’s Cinderellas who are sick of working for the privileged. It’s one of the many highlights from Grey’s debut album Adult Tantrums. – Larry McClain
Jens Lekman – “Candy From A Stranger”
It’s been many too many years since we got some fresh new Jens Lekman material, but in his defense he’s been hard at work on a new 17 (!) track album and accompanying book (co-written with bestselling author David Levithan) called Songs For Other People’s Weddings. “Candy From A Stranger” is the jubilant first taste of this new work, full of jazzy horns, swooning strings, oaky woodwinds, and unabashed exclamations from Lekman. Working with what feels like the largest ensemble to date, the Swedish songwriter sounds reinvigorated and ready to tell his story to the world. We’re excited to have him back and eager to listen. And he sounds just as excited too; “Where have you been all this time?,” he sings with with glistening eyes on the track. That’s exactly the question we were going to ask. – Ray Finlayson
Jiles & Grubby Pawz – “Jeanos”
Is ANKHLEJOHN’s voice just not jagged enough for ya? Boy oh boy does Jiles have a broken snarl for you! Sounding, at times, not entirely unlike Tyler, the Creator with both throat cancer and far more of a visceral grudge with the world, his pairing across Griot with the discordant grime of Grubby Pawz’ production is the stuff rap dreams are made of. Given the lack of name recognition, eye-catching features, and that both artists hail from Massachusetts – not exactly known as a rap mecca outside of those inclined to be in the know – it’s likely an album resigned to be talked about excitedly solely by hip hop heads in Discord threads, but it doesn’t have to be that way: it shouldn’t. Tap in. – Chase McMullen
Maren Morris – “Welcome To The End”
Maren Morris is arguably the best singer in pop today. She was a mainstream country star who bailed on that conservative scene. The new single is an ode to resilience that benefits Jack Antonoff’s nonprofit The Ally Coalition. – Larry McClain
Molchat Doma – “Ty Zhe Ne Znaesh” (The Bug Dub Remix)
The Belarusian post synth-punkers Molchat Doma have been churning out a slew of remixes from last year’s Belaya Polosa LP. Most recently they have teamed up with The Bug, who habitually turns everything he touches into ooey-gooey liquified gold. This thing is drowning in dub. Lead vocalist Egor Shkutko has evaporated almost entirely, but Molchat Doma’s signature dark dancey disco is still present. By the end, The Bug has transformed this track into something so sinister you’ll have to be carried out of the club, gulag-bound. – Nathan Skinner
Nightbus – “Ascension”
Vocals float and waft and bob. Dancey beats inspire subtle swaying or even a druggy nodding more than full movement. Overflowing with longing and lethargy, the track unfolds as a tribute to celestial visions and an acknowledgement of those who don’t meet the world’s demands, falling through cracks and off steep ledges. Such is the latest single, “Ascension”, from Manchester-based Nightbus. Doubling down on the mesmeric qualities of dreampop, as well as all the dissociative undertones and overtones that go along with it, the piece also exudes beauty and a dark brand of freedom, perhaps capturing the catharsis or release we might experience at the moment of death. Nightbus’s debut, Passenger, is out on October 10. – John Amen
Pickle Darling – “Human Bean Instruction Manual”
An offering from Pickle Darling’s forthcoming album Battlebots, New Zealand artist Lukas Mayo serves up all the delightful pieces you would expect of them: glitchy textures, cut and paste acoustic guitar, and charming drum machines. On “Human Bean Instruction Manual” there’s even time for an introspective lull in the six and half minutes track where Mayo holds their youthful approach to their chest. “I’m not old enough / To squander opportunities,” they muse as their voice becomes more digitized and laden in vocoder effects. Spreading out over a longer time, Mayo allows themselves the chance to morph and reform their thoughts and music into something completely different from one end to the other. – Ray Finlayson
Sex Week – ”Lone Wolf”
The diamond of Sex Week’s new EP, Upper Mezzanine, “Lone Wolf” maintains a sultry edge despite what sounds like the Minions assembling for battle in the distance. Heavily indebted to Arcade Fire and The Cure, the LA-based duo embrace these influences and add a melodic, metallic bass line that lays the entire song out in the open before anyone has opened their lips to sing. Richard Orofino moans in scarcely veiled code about an S&M encounter, referencing cartoon monster Golb and Little Red Riding Hood while Pearl Amanda Dickson teasingly copies him, “Take it baa-aack”. Soon, however, she begs, “Go ahead / blow my house down”. – Steve Forstneger
TWICE – “G.O.A.T.”
Choosing just one song from THIS IS FOR has been pulling sugary teeth, so please take this more of an overall album endorsement than anything: the damn thing has the power to make you want to sprint to the nearest beach (and perhaps snag a margarita or two en route). Should I go with the woozy (and gorgeous strings of) “Options”? The eerie, delightful slide of “Right Hand Girl”? Dammit! Fuck it, given the confident, permanent K-pop resident energy on display, let’s go with “G.O.A.T.”. Even setting aside the obvious chest thumping and group high fives of the content, the vocals are queen here, spiraling around each like colorful whisps of smoke, infectious tendrils that draw you right into their glowing, vivid, and vibrant little slice of paradise. It ought to be unreachable. In these nine pairs of steady, poised hands, you’ll reach those shores with ease. What are you waiting for?! Dive in! The water’s more than fine. – Chase McMullen
Wednesday – “Pick Up That Knife”
You ever have a malaise that seems like it’ll never end – and what’s worse, the universe is conspiring to amplify it? That’s where we find Wednesday and the inimitable Karly Hartzman on “Pick Up That Knife”; the band provides a slovenly, cough-syrup-drunk backing as she narrates breaking a tooth on a cough drop, failing to shift stagnant water from a blocked plughole and throwing up in the pit at a Death Grips show. All the while, there’s a hum of discontent in her mind too; “one day I’ll kill the bitch inside my brain”. But even more than all this, there’s still one person that pisses Hartzman off more than anyone else, and the second half of the track is basically an invitation outside for a knife fight to the death. Do you dare? – Rob Hakimian
Listen to our BPM Curates: July 2025 playlist here.
