--- title: The Best Songs to Listen to This Week description: New music from Vampire Weekend, Lauv and Troye Sivan, Julia Michaels and Selena Gomez, Júníus Meyvant and Dua Lipa. canonical: https://time.com/5512427/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-71/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-25T20:20:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:57:05.442Z og:title: 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week og:description: New music from Vampire Weekend, Julia Michaels and Selena Gomez, and more og:url: https://time.com/5512427/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-71/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week twitter:description: New music from Vampire Weekend, Julia Michaels and Selena Gomez, and more twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week (25 Jan 2019) > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b9b317fc-1ac1-429f-b998-a1d478c1ce03&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 25, 2019 8:20 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 25, 2019 8:20 PM UTC Vampire Weekend returns after nearly six years — and the music is a fine return to form, and feels as bright and fresh as spring. Meanwhile, [Lauv](http://time.com/5335106/lauv-interview/) and [Troye Sivan](http://time.com/5375715/troye-sivan-2018/) team up for a downbeat reflection on the struggle to find love. On the other hand, Julia Michaels and [Selena Gomez](http://time.com/5052045/selena-gomez-taylor-swift-friends/) have a different kind of struggle on their minds: the daily battle with anxiety, which they candidly address on their new collaboration of the same name. Iceland’s Júníus Meyvant releases a new album filled with lush, orchestral arrangements of folk-pop. And Dua Lipa comes back with a “Swan Song” for a new movie. ### “i’m so tired…” Lauv and Troye Sivan Perhaps it was inevitable: perpetual bleeding-heart [singer-songwriter Lauv](http://time.com/5335106/lauv-interview/) has joined up with similarly heart-on-his-sleeve [singer Troye Sivan](http://time.com/5375715/troye-sivan-2018/) for a duet that blends their two tenors in a tender, downbeat pop tune. The title may suggest this is a lullaby, but the lyric has more to it: “I’m so tired of love songs,” Lauv admits. “Tired of love. Just wanna go home.” Sometimes, as the two share in twining verses, romance — and the search for connection — is just plain exhausting. At least now we know even pop stars deal with disenchantment. ### “Harmony Hall,” Vampire Weekend After nearly six long years, beloved indie rock band [Vampire Weekend](http://time.com/4201930/vampire-weekend-bernie-sanders-concert/) dropped two new songs to herald their return. “Harmony Hall” is sweet and nimble, a welcome return to form for a group that always seemed to float atop the currents of pop and rock. Ezra Koenig isn’t necessarily joyous here: “I thought that I was free from all that questioning / But every time a problem ends another one begins” he laments. But his often-cryptic lyrics find balance with a tune that is buoyant with rich guitar and piano riffing that will make old-school fans happy. It may still be winter, but spring is already in the air with the band back in the mix. ### “Anxiety,” Julia Michaels feat. Selena Gomez [Julia Michaels](http://time.com/4785837/best-songs-2017-so-far/item/julia-michaels-issues/) has made a career out of being deeply honest about the interior workings of her mind. “Anxiety,” off of Michaels’s new EP _Inner Monologue Part 1_, is a singsong track that reveals more than ever about the humdrum, everyday challenges of dealing with, well, anxiety. “My friends, they wanna take me to the movies,” she sings, “I tell ’em to f–k off, I’m holding hands with my depression.” Selena Gomez, for whom Michaels has written before, joins her halfway through with an equally unfiltered take on the subject. The bones of the song — pleasantly scratchy guitar and a bright melody — are upbeat enough, but Gomez and Michaels imbue their feather-light vocals with enough uncertainty and pain to drive the point home. ### “New Waves,” Júníus Meyvant Iceland is usually better known for its stunning waterfalls and natural beauty than its musical output. But artist Júníus Meyvant is starting to change that, thanks to his unusual, lushly orchestral style; he calls it “freaky folk pop.” Brass and percussion form a bold base for his rockstar-style verses on “New Waves,” over which he layers strings and even some electric guitar screams, building a composition as textured as the dramatic landscape from which he hails. Meyvant has been an Icelandic star for a few years now, nabbing that country’s local awards. His new album _Across the Borders_, out this week, should help him find an audience farther afield. ### “Swan Song,” Dua Lipa “Swan Song” soundtracks the movie _Alita: Battle Angel_, and it’s a clear battle anthem, with pulsing drum beats and an anxious, driving melody. As usual on songs she appears on, it’s pop singer [Dua Lipa](http://time.com/collection-post/4971133/dua-lipa-head-next-generation-leaders/)‘s mellifluous voice that adds weight and smoothness, and a welcome human element. The movie, which opens in mid-February, is an action film starring an Uncanny-Valley-style CGI-enhanced main character; the song echoes that mix of electronic rhythms and a touch of the real. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5512427/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-71/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5512427/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-71/"},"headline":"5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week (25 Jan 2019)","datePublished":"2019-01-25T20:20:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:57:05.442Z","description":"Dua Lipa and more","url":"https://time.com/5512427/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-71/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5512427/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-71/","name":"5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week (25 Jan 2019)"}}]}] ```