Friday Favourites: The Best New Tracks of the Week 13/11/26

There's so much new music being released in the world these days that it's hard to keep up. Even if you consider yourself a music nerd, it's impossible to listen to the hundreds of new tracks dropping every week. That's why we're here to help.

The crew at The Note are constantly turning up the volume in the office, checking out all the latest tunes from local emerging artists right through to your favourite global superstars.

We want to make sure you stay ahead of the curve, so every Friday we are bringing you our favourite tracks of the week.

This week's list features new music from Stormy-Lou, The Grogans, Friendly Fire, Jesse Ware, Austra and more.

Stormy-Lou – 'Paint Stains'

'Paint Stains' is the third single from Stormy-Lou this year, and in our humble opinion, their best yet.

Recorded and mixed at Forest Range Studios, 'Paint Stains' has a familiar feel, like your favourite hoodie or pair of slippers.

Put plainly, it's a great indie-rock song we highly recommend you give a listen.

Georgia Mooney – 'Australian Crawl'

Sydney-born, London-based singer-songwriter Georgia Mooney's latest track isn't a tribute to the great James Reyne-fronted Aussie band of the same name. It actually takes its name from the swimming stroke and concerns Mooney confiding in a friend how she really feels about them, only to be brutally rejected.

Recorded with UK producer Marcus Hamblett (Laura Marling, Villagers, The Staves), 'Australian Crawl' takes inspiration from the likes of Martha Wainwright and Sharon Van Etten and combines a riveting guitar lick with piano, synths and bass clarinet.

"We are led to believe that to declare our feelings is... well, a mortifying display of vulnerability and earnestness," Mooney says. "But I think we do ourselves a great disservice in thinking that way. I strongly believe that to open yourself up to loving someone is the noblest of offerings. A gift worthy of reverence!"

'Australian Crawl' is the first taste of Mooney's upcoming second album, Private Theatre, which is out next year. Pre-save here.

U2 feat. Dolly Parton – 'Torn'

The final song ever recorded by the late, great Dolly Parton is a duet with Irish rockers U2.

Can't say I saw this one coming, but Parton defies genres with her dynamic voice that wraps seamlessly around Bono's trademark croon over minimal instrumentation.

This is a wonderful demonstration of Parton's tremendous voice and a fitting celebration of her legacy.

The Grogans – 'One Step At A Time'

Following the Brit-pop-flavoured 'Reasons' and rock twang of 'Country Mile', The Grogans have shared the emotive vibe 'One Step At A Time', the third track taken from their just-announced sixth studio album, Kiss Me Stupid.

This is my favourite of the band's recent tracks, giving listeners a glimpse at The Grogans' softer side.

I can see this one being a live favourite the crowd can sing along with the lads.

Friendly Fires – 'Gold Dust'

The third single from Friendly Fires' fourth record, Dig Deeper, is a tropical burst of electronica that could have been recorded during the sessions for their debut album.

It's got that bubbly synth-pop feel we've all come to love about the UK outfit, who say the track is inspired by the Japanese concept of Koi No Yokan. "In Japan, Koi No Yokan means the premonition of love – an unspoken sense that this person will matter greatly to your life, even if the romance has yet to bloom," the band says.

"But what if you have never met this person? They exist in your dreams and waking visions, but they feel entirely real and so familiar. You know this is something you will have to wait for, totally out of your control. To ever realise it would be as precious as finding gold dust. Something as rare as true love has to be worth waiting for."

Dojo Rise – 'Ruby'

Here's a nice bit of soulful reggae funk from local outfit Dojo Rise.

The track was written while vocalist and bassist Adam Blesing's kelpie puppy Ruby was running amok in the studio, hence the title.

The second taste of Dojo Rise's upcoming debut album, the brass section is fantastic and adds another layer to the song's groove.

Jesse Ware – 'Middle of the Night'

Superbloom, Jesse Ware's sixth studio album, is one of the best releases of 2026. Today, the UK artist has shared a deluxe edition of the record that features the new song, 'Middle of the Night'.

The song fits seamlessly with the original tracklist and is another disco-inspired dancefloor number that continues Ware's hot run of releases.

The deluxe edition also includes a bunch of live tracks, extended versions and another newbie, 'The Way We Were'.

Armlock – 'Lifer'

Following recent singles 'Half Time' and 'Strobe', Armlock are back with 'Lifer', another teaser of their upcoming third album, Amazing.

Described by the duo of Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell as "the most straightforward song we've ever made", 'Lifer' pairs a subtle guitar riff with plodding percussion and warm harmonies.

"Around the time we wrote it, we became a little obsessed with using really plain, unpoetic lyrics," the band explains. "That probably came from a series of long and complicated conversations happening in real life at the time. There was something soothing about trying to boil down messy thoughts into the simplest words possible. The chorus kind of says everything the song is trying to say. It's about finding confidence in someone else's confidence, moving forward, and who you're doing it with. We wanted to use a luxury car and Hollywood as a symbol of prosperity, and an overly positive omen for the future, in the video. We couldn't afford to hire the car for the day but they let us sit in it for an hour or two."

Amazing is out Friday 5 February 2027 via radius (AU) and Run For Cover (ROW). Pre-order here and pre-save here.

DJ Seinfeld & Peter Xan – 'Modern Dystopia'

Ahead of his headline appearance at the new Adelaide festival Good News, DJ Seinfeld has teamed up with emerging vocalist Peter Xan for the club track 'Modern Dystopia'.

On the release, DJ Seinfeld says: "I came across Peter's work and immediately felt that there's so much gold to work with. I've wanted to try a different type of style and atmosphere with my music for a while and I think he offered the missing piece to make it work."

CHEAP-SKATE – 'Dead Plants'

The DIY project of Gippsland-based songwriter Blaike Murphy, CHEAP-SKATE is a surf punk-meets-garage rock thrill ride described as Kevin Parker, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and FIDLAR all rolled into one.

This year, CHEAP-SKATE is on a mission to write, record, produce, mix and master one track every week. At the time of writing, the one-man creative hadn't dropped a new track, so we decided to spotlight one of his previous weekly releases, 'Dead Plants'.

If you're a fan of fuzzy guitars, '90s shoegaze and melodic riffs, inject this one into your veins and let it go to work.

Mariposa, Baby Evil & Benedict James – 'Quatro Mili'

When it comes to electronic music, there isn't really one genre or sound that connects with me. It's purely based on individual songs. Some get me going, while others have me reaching for the mute button. 'Quatro Mili' is one of those tracks that has me turning the volume up to 11.

Created during an NLV Records-curated APRA AMCOS SongHubs writing camp at Wisseloord Studios in Amsterdam in 2025 by Australian/Swiss-based Benedict James, Moroccan producer Baby Evil and Colombian-Italian vocalist Mariposa, 'Quatro Mili' brings together all three artists' influences and sounds for four and a half minutes of electrifying, Afro-beat-infused dance music, with Mariposa's vocals the cherry on top of this delicious treat.

Austra – 'Bittersweet'

Canadian electronic-pop artist Austra (Katie Stelmanis) has been releasing a fair bit of new music this year.

One of my favourite songs is 'Bittersweet', a track combining dark wave synth-pop with Stelmanis' soaring vocals.

If you're familiar with Austra, you'll know what to expect, but for newbies, think TR/ST, Purity Ring or Junior Boys type vibes.