New Music Friday: Fresh Faves of the Week - May 22nd, 2026 – What Songs Came Out This Week? (New Releases)

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MAY 22, 2026 –– Just in: all of your favorite new releases in one place.

This week is bringing us bangers from Sleeping With Sirens to the highly anticipated new Cartel drop; we've got you covered with all the spins you need to know. One of our favorite projects of the year has been the refreshing sounds of FILM, featuring Joe Reinhart of Algernon Cadwallader, Kenny Vasoli from The Starting Line, and the last drum recordings of the late TJ DeBlois. Their album Permanence just dropped today, and it delivers the rawness we've been waiting for. This week, we're showcasing the track Diminished Return, a drop that immediately punched us with its grit.

New Lake Drive brings a funky vibe that has us moving with its catchy chorus with their drop 'Cherry Colored Sweater'. Ecca Vandal hit us with powerful, hard-hitting vocals that scratch our brains in the best way with 'MOLLY', and Reece Young returns with an edgy alt track 'Lights Out' that we can't stop spinning.

HEAVY HITTERS of the week:

With 'Rat Torture' by Distant to Of Virtue's heavy-but-catchy 'What It's Like To Be Happy', we have your metal sub-genres covered. Whether you're into deathcore or metalcore, you can find a track that makes you want to open that pit up.

156/Silence dropped their new single 'No Arms' along with a music video and of course it's already on our rotation, this is the first release off of their upcoming album 'From A Distance' set to release September 4th 2026.

Safe to say the scene has been fed this week with banger after banger.

Check out the full list of drops below:

Fave New Releases of the Week

1. Give or Take — Cartel

2. Cherry Colored Sweater — Lake Drive

3. Snowblind — Allt

4. Drowning Machine — Liquid Mike

5. Wuddyagonnadoaboutit — Strawberry Milk Cult

6. teenage drama — Paris Jackson

7. Grief is for the Living — Vienna Vienna

8. Crystallize — Quicksand

9. False Reaction — VIOLENT VIRA

10. Lost Soul — The HU (feat. Johnny Hawkins of Nothing More)

11. Rat Torture — Distant

12. No Arms — 156/Silence

13. MOLLY — Ecca Vandal

14. Paralyzed — Sleeping With Sirens

15. Diminished Return — FILM

16. BLiND EYES— SiM (feat. Yukina of HANABIE)

17. Lights Out — Reece Young

18. What’s It Like To Be Happy — Of Virtue

    
    

FRESH FAVES is a weekly updated Spotify playlist where we throw together some of the coolest recent drops strictly for your ears.

Featuring tunes in the emo, pop-punk, post-hardcore, and alternative-adjacent world, we're covering the entire scene. Make sure to stop by weekly; we'll update the playlist every Friday with our top favorites of the week.

From breakout singles to underrated drops, FRESH FAVES is your go-to place to discover the best new sounds worth spinning.

Want your music featured on our FRESH FAVES playlist?

Hit up our contact page, and we'll check out your music.

TOP8 Scene's FRESH FAVES playlist will keep you updated with what’s happening across the scene week by week. It's built for music lovers searching for new tracks, up-and-coming artists, and fresh releases worth having on repeat.

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