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, CHAEYOUNG leans into funk-driven grooves in “SHOOT (Firecracker).” SG Lewis collaborates with Shygirl once more in the belated summer club track “Sugar.” COALESCENCE releases a much-awaited head-banger in “Pantomime.” Sabine’s “Pretty Like a Boy” pairs tender melodic hooks with instrumentation that veers between sultry restraint and jagged edge. Thyro Alfaro’s “Labing Isang Numero” reminds us of what Pinoy pop should be, and Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” still captures an unmoored, existential haze decades after its release. Each one sounds different, but they know how to get under your skin.
A pleasant surprise in K-pop’s biggest debut
TWICE’s CHAEYOUNG steps confidently into solo territory with “SHOOT (Firecracker),” a track that feels like a deliberate breakaway from her group’s glossy pop blueprint. Instead, she leans into funk-driven grooves, threading tasteful vocal melodies over a beat that’s more about space and rhythm than sheer volume.
The collaboration with sibling trio Gliiico, a Filipino-Japanese band whose own hybrid sound mirrors her adventurous streak, gives the track added edge. What sets this apart is CHAEYOUNG’s willingness to experiment with genre while still chasing hooks that lodge themselves in your head.
As her peers in K-pop test solo projects of varying quality, “SHOOT (Firecracker)” signals that CHAEYOUNG might have the ear and instincts to carve a lasting identity on her own. It’s a sharp introduction that hints at future work with more teeth and personality. —Elijah Pareño
Like ice candy and handheld fans
Earlier this month, English singer-producer SG Lewis released Anemoia, a dance album that realizes his nostalgia for Ibiza’s club scene in the ‘90s. No track embodies this better than “Sugar,” the album’s second single released in July and Lewis’ latest collaboration with Shygirl.
Had it gained popularity in its release, “Sugar” could have been the song of the summer. The dance-pop track is lush, vibrantly colored with claps, synths, and bright piano bangs. As someone who didn’t even exist in the ‘90s and has never been to Ibiza (where the song’s music video is set), my only frames of reference are 2010s Calvin Harris and cool public swimming pools, and this track feels just like that. —Pie Gonzaga
A searing rock cut destined for big stages
Filipino four-piece COALESCENCE might be fresh out of college, but their single “Pantomime” already sounds arena-ready. Reminiscent of Two Door Cinema Club’s energetic rock tendencies, the track is a head-banger anchored by Ethan Cardaño’s searing vocals that cut straight to the bone: “Love is partly talking / the rest is all pantomime.”
The chaos peaks in Jianzen Deananeas’ screaming guitar solo right at the midpoint, shaking the song into overdrive. After being played at the University of Santo Tomas’ Paskuhan in 2024, where COALESCENCE also performed a pop-punk cover of Chappell Roan’s “Hot To Go,” “Pantomime” finally saw release on September 19 this year, making its way from campus jam to breakout anthem. —Pie Gonzaga
When R&B meets 2000s grunge
Sabine’s “Pretty Like a Boy” is a sharp, genrefluid statement that straddles R&B, rock, and other things that are altogether harder to categorize. Their androgynous vocal delivery blurs lines of identity and style where the track’s strength lies in how it refuses to conform — pairing tender melodic hooks with instrumentation that veers between sultry restraint and jagged edges.
Lyrically, Sabine confronts questions of image, gender, and self-expression without slipping into cliché, framing individuality as both an uncertainty and a weapon. The production keeps things distorted where it counts, letting their vocals sit at the center, before opening into swells that feel as cathartic as they are stylish.
In a landscape where genre boundaries continue to dissolve, “Pretty Like a Boy” proves you can be many things at once without compromising sound, vision, or intent. —Elijah Pareño
The real soundtrack standout
Everybody knows Nadine Lustre’s “Paligoy-ligoy” and Donnalyn Bartolome’s “Kakaibabe,” but one song off the Diary ng Panget soundtrack that really deserves its flowers is “Labing Isang Numero” by Thyro Alfaro. The singer’s soulful vocals carry one of the catchiest choruses to score the beloved rom-com: “Nais kong malamang ang iyong 091-EWAN.”
Released in March 2014, the track still has the makings of a good Filipino pop song: an uncomplicated but groovy bassline, horns, and many woah-oh-oh’s. Like a friend said, “This is what P-Pop should be.” —Pie Gonzaga
Three and a half decades of psychological warfare
“Where Is My Mind?” has long transcended its original release, cemented as one of the defining tracks of late ’80s indie rock.
Before its cinematic rebirth in the closing scene of David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club, it was already an eerie masterpiece that distilled the Pixies’ unsettling charm. Kim Deal’s echoing backing vocals drift like ghosts against Joey Santiago’s jagged guitar riffs, while Black Francis’ nasal, half-deranged delivery injects equal parts menace and melancholy. The dynamic shifts — quiet lulls exploding into abrasive bursts — would go on to influence entire generations of alternative bands.
But beyond its legacy as a grunge-era blueprint, the song endures because it captures an unmoored, existential haze. It’s both intimate and overwhelming, simultaneously grounded in raw musicianship and untethered in its spiraling mood. Decades later, “Where Is My Mind?” still sounds like a question with no clear answer, which is exactly why it resonates. —Elijah Pareño
