Gwen Stefani
“Baby Don’t Lie”
Mad Love/Interscope
After rumors swirled that Stefani was recording for a solo album and new No Doubt LP, “Baby Don’t Lie” is the first taste from the former. Produced by Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella, the pop cut embraces her less experimental side with middling results — she’s present, but missing her signature bite.–Steven J. Horowitz
Gwen Stefani Stays Trippy in ‘Baby Don’t Lie’ Music Video
Sleater-Kinney
“Bury Our Friends”
Sub Pop
Related
“We’re sick with worry these nervous days/We live on dread in our own gilded age,” sing Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein on Sleater-Kinney’s thunderous reunion single. It has been a decade since these indie-rock pioneers called it quits, but they’ve re-emerged with ebullience, flipping a triumphant bird at the doomsday clock.–Ryan Reed
Deeper & Better: Reaccessing Sleater-Kinney’s Material Girls
Smashing Pumpkins
“Being Beige”
Martha’s Music
Billy Corgan orbits his band’s mint 1990s sound on “Being Biege,” the alt-rock icon’s first single off its new album Monuments to an Elegy, due Dec. 9. Pwer guitars chug alongside a gleaming piano melody that recalls the sweeping aesthetic of “Tonight, Tonight,” only less resolute. If “Beige” is any indication, Corgan might be on to something.–S.J.H.
Courtney Love: Many Smashing Pumpkins Songs Are About Me
Hanni El Khatib
“Moonlight”
Innovative Leisure
After producing Khatib’s second album, Head in the Dirt, in 2013, The Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach has left his motorcycle-oil-stained fingerprints all over the garage rocker’s new single. From the ominously staccato guitar groove to the heavy reverb, “Moonlight” is a fine facsimile of the Keys circa 2005.–Harley Brown
The Black Keys Considering January Studio Return
Dillon Francis & Martin Garrix
“Set Me Free”
Columbia
While “Set Me Free” doesn’t detonate as violently as Francis and Garrix’s respective solo hits, this debut paring works up enough of a sweat to deliver some genuine chills. It won’t be this fall’s “Turn Down For What,” but it does its own admirable job connecting throbbing synths and building snares.–Jason Lipshutz
Martin Garrix Reflects on His Dizzying Rise to Dance Stardom
Oh Land
“Head Up High”
Tusk or Tooth/Kobalt Label Services
Four-on-the-floor Euro-pop isn’t hard to find, but with her addictive new single, Danish-American Nanna Oland Fabricius (aka Oh Land) breathes fresh air into a well-worn formula. “Head Up High,” a pep talk for a downtrodden friend, weaves operatic hooks and harmonies over kaleidoscopic electronics.–Ryan Reed
This article first appeared in the Nov. 1 issue of Billboard.