A slow week in new music? Never. With the long anticipated release of Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande and a relatively surprising new single from Adele, the music gave us a lot to sink our teeth into this week. Also of note is Steve Aoki getting Back 2 U with some help from his friends Walk The Moon, and Wale gives us his interpretation of an MJ throwback on MY PYT.
All of the musical goodness is at your disposal via Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist. For reinforcements make sure to check New Music Friday All-Stars, where you’re sure to find a favorite new jam among its 100+ songs.
10. Couldn’t Believe by Broods
There’s an undeniable CHVRCHES vibe on the duo’s latest, with the music favoring that brand of sweetness infused electro pop when it comes from one woman and one man. The song takes us into an echo-y vortex of song while Georgia Nott tackles the subject of bewilderment at a relationship that has taken a turn for the worst. It’s all a part of the sound off of Conscious, which will be available in full June 24th.
9. DOPE by T.I., Marsha Ambrosius
Nothing sweetens up a track like the ethereal vocals from the late Aaliyah, and on DOPE T.I. took that idea and ran with it, taking a key word out of the early 2000s classic Rock The Boat. The result is a throwback track that feels like the T.I. we first got to know all those years ago, here supported with production with Dr. Dre. His new album The Dime Trap was anticipated to be out earlier in the year, so no ETA just yet, but with tracks like DOPE we don’t mind the wait.
8. Hymn For The Weekend Remix by Coldplay
It’s hard to believe that before Formation dropped and Beyonce stole the halftime show, before LEMONADE and Pablo and Views, 2016 began with Chis Martin and his band of technicolor misfits posed to take the stage on Superbowl 50. It shows how far we’ve come in just half a year, and serves as a reminder to early 2016 songs to get a fresh new makeover. On Seeb’s remix Coldplay takes us from joyous to ecstatic, lifting up the lyrics with a beat that is ready for the dance floor, or just idly dancing and wailing away.
7. Where We Left Off by Brett Dennen
There’s something about Brett Dennen’s music that sounds so right as a theme song or among on movie’s soundtrack, with his song Comeback Kid (That’s My Dog) having served as the theme song to NBC’s About A Boy, and She’s Mine, which appeared on the 2009 indie film According To Greta. Where We Left Off already comes off as if it’s searching for a home on the next buzzed about indie movie’s soundtrack, particularly if there’s a moving montage of the film’s protagonist searching for meaning now that something’s gone awry. It tugs at the heartstrings, in the way that Dennen does so well.
6. Touch Of Grey by The War On Drugs
It’s an ambitious project, for a crop of talented musicians ranging from Wilco to Lucinda Williams to The Flaming Lips to take on 59 classic Grateful Dead songs. While it’s certain to piss off traditional Deadheads and super fans alike, there’s no doubt for Touch Of Grey The War On Drugs is the right band for the job. The sound of the song has been preserved and treated with the respect it deserves, while enriching the instrumentals in a mildly trippy way, that feels like there’s been a cosmic portal straight to Jerry Garcia himself.
5. Fill In The Blank by Car Seat Headrest
Fill In The Blank is riddled with that particular angst of indie garage bands, declaring in one verse “It took me a long time to figure out I don’t know what I want” sure to draw an appreciative PREACH from young and befuddled fans. And in the way only indie rock can, its lyrics are dreary, but the vibe is sanguine and at times down right optimistic. If you’ve never heard of the band before, I’m sure the band is inclined to forgive you in favor of showing love, but in the six years they’ve been around, they’ve already produced a staggering 12 albums.
4. Best Love by Yuna
There’s a serious Sade presence on Best Love, hitting you with a low key sweet and sexy vibes left and right. The Malaysian pop princess is making herself known worldwide with her latest and fifth international album, Chapters. The song will play best as an unwind track at the end of the day, and if you want more of where that came from, Crush (which features an appearance by Usher) taps into that same ultra chill vibe.
3. Life Itself by Glass Animals
The percussion rolls in hard on Life Itself, and if you listen closely you can hear the squeals of delight from indie kids rejoicing everywhere over the first band only release since 2014’s Zaba. Lead singer Dave Bayley recently shared in a press release that in the past two years “….so much has happened! All of it of it made want to think about people, and write rawer and more human.” Apropos, then, that the upcoming record is titled How To Be A Human Being. Hypnotic in its delivery, you’re likely to have Life Itself on repeat 4 or 5 times before you even know it has happened.
2. I Am A Nightmare by Brand New
Turn it all the way up for Brand New’s newest (that word play never gets old) single, opting here for their more amped up delivery, as fans are for having to wait seven long years since the band’s last album. The band is coming back guns a-blazin’ surrounding the release of Procrastinate!, getting ready to soon kick off a 23 city US tour on June 25th. The band’s masterful lyrics are on display on I Am A Nightmare, after you’ve had a chance to rock out a few times they’re worth savoring over.
1. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele
With the Beyoncé-centric times we’ve been living in for the past month, it’s been easy to put other music heavy hitter’s on the proverbial back burner. But the thing about Adele is that she always astounds, and she’s serving no less than her best on SMLTYNL. As an extra treat to fans she’s produced a track that doesn’t have her typical stratospheric range, i.e. we can all sing along and still have it sound decent. The trademark you-did-me-wrong-but-I’ve-moved-on lyrics are present, this time delivered with the musical equivalent of a shrug and an eye roll.
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