“Next long-player/ Ooh, it’s coming out soon/ I’ll be honest/ I’m under the moon/ We’re only doing this ’cause it’s fun/ Don’t even think my mom bought the last one.” That’s a hilariously honest way to open your new single if you’re Justin Hawkins preparing to release a new Darkness album in 2025. More than two decades beyond “I Believe In A Thing Called Love,” the winkingly ironic yet also dead serious hair-metal pastiche masters will drop Dreams On Toast next month, and today’s new single “Walking Through Fire” is a gem. It’s not just cleverly self-effacing — it’s also mighty catchy.

Back in 2009, Franz Ferdinand covered Britney Spears’ chart-topping hit “Womanizer” for BBC Radio 1. Sixteen years later, the Scottish rockers have another spears cover on deck for a different BBC station. In Radio 2’s piano room, Alex Kapranos and the band joined forces with a symphony orchestra for a very fun version of the immortal “Toxic.”

Just a few days ago, Fontaines D.C. shared the single “It’s Amazing To Be Young,” a sweet power pop song inspired by the birth of guitarist Carlos O’Connell’s child. The Dublin band are currently on tour in Asia supporting Romance, one of the Best Albums Of 2024; at their Tokyo gig tonight, they played “It’s Amazing To Be Young” live for the first time. It sounds nice, and you can check out some fan-captured videos from the pit below.

Bill Fay, the British cult folk singer-songwriter, died Feb. 22. He was 81. Dead Oceans, the label with whom he recorded his last three studio albums, confirmed his death in a statement on social media Saturday.

The Streets are back with a new song. Mike Skinner released a remixed version of Fabric Presents The Streets last year, and on Thursday (Feb. 20) he unveiled his first music of 2025: “How To Win At Rock Paper Scissors.”

On Wednesday (Feb. 19), the Go-Go Museum opened in Washington, DC on the 5-year anniversary of Mayor Muriel Bowser signing a law naming go-go the official music of the city. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place in November but the museum had only been available for private and group tours, and now it is open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Last Year, Rihanna performed her first full concert since 2016 at an Indian billionaire heir’s wedding. The pop star has been celebrating her birthday and A$AP Rocky’s not guilty verdict this week, and now there are rumors that she’ll be headlining Glastonbury and doing a London residency.

Superheaven announced their first album in a decade, Superdrag announced their first NY and LA shows in 15 years, and Supergrass announced a 30th anniversary tour and got covered by Kelly Clarkson. Supertramp were off this week.

Every week the Stereogum staff chooses the five best new songs of the week. The eligibility period begins and ends Thursdays right before midnight. You can hear this week’s picks below and on Stereogum’s Favorite New Music Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly. (An expanded playlist of our new music picks is available to members on Spotify and Apple Music, updated throughout the week.)

A few years ago, the producers Ryan Hemsworth and Giraffage joined forces to form a knowingly silly dance duo called Bodysync. After releasing a bunch of stray bangers, including the Dazy collab “Back Of My Mind,” Bodysync dropped their full-length debut Nutty last year. Today, they follow that record with another stray banger. This one is called “Surf.” It’s a bright, sunny, sample-happy midtempo track that might be even more cartoonish than most of Bodysync’s other stuff. Check it out below.