Welcome to AP A-sides, where we’re highlighting the very best songs from the past week. Every Friday, the AP editors will wade through the daunting number of tracks released daily, narrow down their favorites, and give them to you in one playlist. Because the definition of alternative is constantly in flux, there are no rigid parameters to our selections — just tracks that we’re obsessively talking about and listening to on repeat. This week’s playlist features artists diverse in genre but singular in sound, including Scowl, Lucy Dacus, Knives, Bartees Strange, and more.
Read more: In conversation with Scowl and Frank Iero
Check out our picks below, and stay informed about everything coming out in February with our monthly album release calendar.
AP A-sides – Feb. 14, 2025
- Bartees Strange – “Lovers”
- Heart Attack Man – “Laughing Without Smiling”
- Horsegirl – “In Twos”
- Knives – “THE DAGGER”
- Lucy Dacus – “Best Guess”
- Scowl – “B.A.B.E.”
- SPELLLING – “Alibi” (feat. Turnstile’s Pat McCrory)
- Star 99 – “Pushing Daisies”
- Rusty Williams (Hayley Williams’ grandfather) – “Angel Eyes”
- venturing (Jane Remover) – “Believe”