Friday Favourites: The Best New Tracks of the Week 28/08/26

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 Friendly Fires, Olivia Rodrigo, Slowly Slowly, CZARFACE and more.

Friendly Fires – 'Lose All Your Friends'

I didn't realise Friendly Fires were still a thing. The UK indie outfit, who went big in 2008 with the release of their self-titled debut album, haven't released any new music in seven years. That all changed this week when the duo of Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson dropped 'Lose All Your Friends'.

Less polished than their older material, 'Lose All Your Friends' has a fun, '90s Madchester vibe, balancing live instrumentation with the indie rock sound that made them famous.

"Sometimes you have to lose everything to start again," the band say of the track. "Embrace the chaos. Take a chance. Don’t be afraid of change."

Empress Of - 'HandsOn'

Three weeks out from the release of Empress Of's fifth studio album, Dream House, the Honduran-American artist has shared 'HandsOn'.

Written by Empress Of, Cecile Believe, Nick León and Matt Cohn, 'HandsOn' is a twinkling synth production with a catchy hook. We love it and hope you do too.

Maple's Pet Dinosaur – 'Child's Play'

Having just signed with Warner Music Australia and In Bloom, emerging 15-year-old talent Maple's Pet Dinosaur have shared new single 'Child's Play'.

A heavy, slanted rocker that gives off Evanescence vibes, 'Child's Play' finds Maple calling out those who think she's too young to be doing what she's doing.

"I think it's a concept that can translate to anyone who has ever felt like they are being kept in their box - I hope it inspires them to pick up a machete and cut their way out," she says of the song's lyrics.

Ninajirachi – 'iPod Touch (Madeon Remix)'

The Ninajirachi love has gone global. The young artist has managed to score a remix from French producer, singer and songwriter Madeon – his first official remix in over a decade – of her breakout hit, 'iPod Touch'.

Turning the track into a high-energy EDM barnburner that keeps the vibe of the original, Madeon's remix also throws a new verse into the mix.

Of the remix, Ninajirachi shares, "I didn’t really want to release an 'iPod Touch' remix until I could do it with someone whose music I was writing about in the song. I'm really sentimental about it and just wanted it to mean something. I heard Madeon's earliest music in the background of a tie-dye denim shorts tutorial on YouTube when I was in Year 7 and fell down a rabbit hole. We met at Coachella this year, and he asked me to be there for his set, but I didn't know he was going to play an edit of the song. It was earnestly a surprise. Music is so awesome. Everything made sense when I heard his verse on the remix, like, of course, he went through the same revelation a generation before I did. Everyone who loves anything has been through this. It's so amazing. I feel so lucky to experience it and have this remix exist."

"I haven't done an official remix since 2012, and I wasn’t sure I ever would again… But 'iPod Touch' is one of my favourite dance tracks in recent memory," Madeon reveals. "After hearing Nina talk in an interview about how my early music inspired it, I was incredibly touched. I decided to add my own verse talking about my own childhood memories of discovering the music that would change my life. Right now Nina is inspiring another generation of young artists. This remix is a celebration of the power of transmission.

Pearly Stars – 'Perfect Weather (for a love confession)'

This is six minutes and twenty seconds of mind-altering post-rock from Adelaide trio Pearly Stars. What begins as a slow, melodic crawl erupts into a volcano of crushing guitars and hurricane-like percussion, ending with a near two-minute assault of distortion.

Erykah Badu & The Alchemist feat. Kamasi Washington – 'Black Box'

The much-hyped project between cosmic soul singer Erykah Badu and hip hop producer The Alchemist is finally here. Recorded over the past 18 months between Dallas and Los Angeles, the 16-track collection pairs Badu's smooth and sensual vocals with Alchemist's gritty, boom-bap-inspired beats.

The final track, 'Black Box', is a trippy, '70s soul-infused jazz creation that features not only Badu singing but also a spoken-word verse from the Queen of Neo Soul. The Alchemist provides downtempo production, with special guest Kamasi Washington getting his saxophone on. Superb stuff.

Mariae Cassandra – 'Splinters'

If the name Mariae Cassandra sounds familiar, it's because the emerging singer-songwriter took out the triple j Unearthed High competition in 2024.

After several years playing shows alongside WAFIA, Kita Alexander, Spacey Jane and The Buoys, along with taking to the stage at Laneway Festival, BIGSOUND and SXSW Sydney, Cassandra is excited to release her first song of 2026, 'Splinters'.

Now 18, 'Splinters' conveys the doubt and insecurities that come with growing up, with Cassandra's delicate vocals cutting through the catchy riffs. Originally written when she was 16, Cassandra returned to the song two years later "with a different perspective" and "rewrote parts of the song to reflect who I had become during that time, shaping it into what it is now."

Paul Kelly – 'Stardust'

One of our greatest songwriters has dropped a new single today. 'Stardust' is taken from the expanded edition of his latest album Seventy (Deluxe Edition).

It's a cover of a song originally written by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. Performed solo with an acoustic guitar, Kelly warms the heart with this wonderful ditty.

Speaking about the song, Kelly says, "'Stardust' is hands down my favourite song of all time. My friend Tim Rogers agrees with me on this. Mysterious and infinitely deep. Endless. A song about a song. 'And now the purple dusk of twilight time steals across the meadows of my heart' is an opening line to die for.

"I'd circled the song for a long time and during the long, dark days of COVID in Melbourne, when we couldn't go outside, I finally went to work. I forced my fingers into new shapes on the strings and practised moving between the (for me) complex chords. Learning them was only half the battle. I had to work out how to sing it. I studied Nat King Cole's version and of course the man himself, Hoagy Carmichael, who co-wrote the song. Checked out Willie Nelson, too. Finally, after two weeks of deep study, I sang it into my phone as the plague hovered outside."

CZARFACE & Frankie Pulitzer feat. Method Man – 'Mad Technology'

What do you get when you pair CZARFACE (hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck) with Frankie Pulitzer (actor Tom Hardy) and throw in a little Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan)?

The answer is Esoteric, Pulitzer and Meth trading verses over a piano-laced boom bap production on a song that makes up one of the best rap albums of 2026.

Who knew Tom Hardy could actually rap?

Slowly Slowly – 'Sacrosaint'

Slowly Slowly vocalist Ben Stewart has a euphoric voice that's put to great use on Slowly Slowly's latest tune 'Sacrosaint'.

This is what indie rock dreams are made of, with 'Sacrosaint' capturing the existential crisis millions of people are going through in the modern world, with Stewart's relatable lyrics soundtracked by fuzzy, swirling guitars.

Los Bitchos ft. Ambrose Kenny-Smith – 'Holding Cell'

The second single taken from Los Bitchos' upcoming Los Bitchos & Friends Vol 1 is a driving psych-rock affair featuring Ambrose Kenny-Smith of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

It's exactly what you'd expect from this team-up, with Kenny-Smith's vocals mixing nicely with Los Bitchos' '60s rhythms.

"It's been interesting to bring forward the use of voice as a texture rather than saying, 'This song is about my boyfriend, or my mum, or despair, or whatever it is people write about'," the band said.

Los Bitchos & Friends Vol 1 is set for release Friday 13 November via GREAT! Records. Pre-order here.

Olivia Rodrigo – 'serena joy'

After releasing 'serena joy' as a CD exclusive through Analog Records in Orange County, California, Olivia Rodrigo has shared the song for everyone.

A modern protest song written during the writing sessions for you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, the track is an electropunk triumph about speaking up that was inspired by The Handmaid's Tale.