Welcome to Songs You Need to Know, our weekly rundown of the best music right now. The Rolling Stone Philippines team is constantly sharing things to listen to, and each week, we compile a ragtag playlist of songs that we believe every music fan today needs to know. Whether it’s the hottest new single or an old track that captures the state of the present, our hope is that you discover something for your musical canon.
This week’s songs are from the ones to watch out for. Out of the blue, alternative R&B singer Kelela emerged after nearly half a decade with her atmospheric surprise single “idea 1,” and New York’s most famous indie rockers The Strokes are now riding the Delorian from the future in “Going Shopping.” Locally, artists like Chezka and rhodessa explore their own lanes where the former examines the funeral as a ritual while the latter makes “hugot” more textural and in-depth.
A cult R&B favorite dabbles in shoegaze
Over the course of her 13-year career, Kelela has become a cult favorite on Stan Twitter, and is praised for her malleability as an alternative R&B artist. Her debut album Take Me Apart had some more pop-adjacent tracks like “Waitin” and “LMK,” while Raven slinked into experimental ambient territory. After the release of RAVE:N, which compiled dance remixes of the sophomore album, fans wondered where Kelela would take her sound next.
Nobody was expecting shoegaze. In “idea 1,” her first single since 2023, she sings over distorted guitars, vocals reverberating and echoing to connote emotional distance. Despite the choice to bring in these heavy guitars, there remains a meditative quality to this new track that doesn’t set it too far apart from Kelela’s existing work. In a 2025 interview with Rolling Stone, she said that the album she’s working on would be “going back to something that I kind of started with,” which could mean either jazz or progressive metal, or even a combination of both. —Pie Gonzaga
The return of the New York kings
Nearly six years since the release of their last album The New Abnormal, New York’s very own The Strokes have made it out of the indie rock cryochamber, returning in the form of a robotic Julian Casablancas and guitar riffages that call back to their earlier material. Tighter and more tongue-in-cheek than ever, the new single “Going Shopping” goes into the band’s knack for the strange and the unorthodox, making it one of their most post-punk-adjacent releases to date. If anyone cries foul over the autotuned vocals, try checking out Casablancas’ other band, The Voidz, for once and see if it works better for you, just saying. —Elijah Pareño
Understanding life and death in reverse
In her latest single, “Stranger’s Funeral,” rising indie-folk artist Chezka wonders how one’s death affects someone else’s life from a third-person perspective. She explores becoming the spectator, viewing the process of burial as a ritual. Known for writing her feelings in her trusty diary, Chezka shifts gears here, zeroing in on the spectacle of grief and the act of understanding death. It’s a mature take on songwriting that deserves more exposure in the current local singer-songwriter landscape. —Elijah Pareño
Yearning to be the one in pop-rock format
Singer-songwriter rhodessa has steadily risen as part of a new generation of pop-rock artists worth paying attention to. After releasing breakout track “Kisame” and her debut EP kiss back in 2024, her latest single “Nananabik” doubles down on hugot with sweeter melodies and stronger high notes in the hooks. There’s no denying that the instrumental — reverb-drenched guitars, hard-hitting percussion, and layered harmonies — adds depth to her songwriting about wanting to become the one. Let’s see where she goes from here. —Elijah Pareño
Lush, warm, and emotional chamber pop
A new season of Euphoria is out, and even though I’ve lost faith in that mess, I still go back to its soundtrack. One of my favorite needle drops from Season 1 is Kelsey Lu’s “I’m Not In Love,” and I’m glad to see the American singer rolling out new music at this time, as if to remind us that Euphoria was once good — maybe even the best on streaming.
Released on March 18, “Running To Pain” is the first single of her upcoming album, So Help Me God. In this lush, melodic chamber pop cut, Kelsey’s fiery vocals wind between low notes and falsettos, charged by the sizzle of the track’s many synths. Jack Antonoff and Daniel Wilson (who co-wrote Joji’s “Sanctuary” and Rosalía’s “Magnolias”) are credited as writers and producers on the song, joining the album’s other promising collaborators, such as Kim Gordon and Sampha. —Pie Gonzaga
Dark and atmospheric downtempo that stands the test of time
Over the first weekend of Coachella 2026, I learned that Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor is married to a Filipino musician, Mariqueen Maandig (cue the national anthem). Maandig joined Reznor, Nine Inch Nails, and Boys Noize on the Sahara stage on Saturday, April 11, for what came to be one of the most electrifying, riveting sets of the weekend. And my post-NINchella deep dive into Maandig’s career is how I ended up listening to How To Destroy Angels.
Maandig fronts the band, which she formed in 2009 with Reznor, NIN’s Atticus Ross, and their frequent collaborator Rob Sheridan. Released in May 2010, “A Drowning” is their first single, and echoes Reznor’s earlier work with NIN: dark, atmospheric, and heavy on the synth bass. If you’re a fan of Nine Inch Nails and even Massive Attack, How To Destroy Angels’ “A Drowning” is easy to love. —Pie Gonzaga
