Tyler, The Creator
‘LUMBERJACK’
Flexing his wealth and addressing his haters over abrasive beats, the lead single from Tyler, The Creator’s recent record ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ is a standout cut. Sampling Gravediggaz’s 1994 track ‘2 Cups of Blood’ and filled with menacing beats, it’s a triumph. – JX Soo
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
H.E.R.
‘Bloody Waters’
H.E.R. conjures tight R&B grooves alongside a mesmerising vocal performance for ’Bloody Waters,’ a cut off her awe-inspiring debut LP. Featuring jazz fusion maestro Thundercat, his signature brand of hypnotic bass guitar meshes perfectly with the song’s propulsive percussion. – Isaac Chiew
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List
Mabel
‘Let Them Know’
Mabel’s latest is an exuberant house track about being unapologetically authentic. With glittering disco production courtesy of SG Lewis and its anthemic chorus, the bombastic floor-filler is a welcome return from the British singer. – IC
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Morly
‘Dance To You’
Described by Morly as a “benevolent exorcism”, ‘Dance to You’ is a heartfelt, intimate, and profound offering. Building upon a stripped-back combination of the singer’s voice and keys, the track eventually rises to a soaring ballad that’s a proclamation of change and growth. “Cause I can’t grow / Inside your glow / And I’d rathеr be an artist / Than his wife,” she declares. – IC
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Rejjie Snow, Tinashe & grouptherapy
‘Disco Pantz’
Rejjie Snow recruits Tinashe and grouptherapy for an all-star smooth jam on his latest release ‘Disco Pantz’, the third single from his upcoming LP ‘Baw Baw Black Sheep’. “Tell me dirty, how I like it / Give me motion, make me live enough / Hit my line and I’ll be drownin’ up / But if you try me, I’ll be slidin’ up,” Snow and Tinashe sing together on the sensual chorus.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List
Little Simz
‘Rollin Stone’
Little Simz’ third single from her upcoming record, ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, is another testament to her ever-versatile lyricism. Hard-hitting beats anchor Simz’ verses on family and clout, before she effortlessly handles a beat-switch to acid-flavoured Auto-Tune. – JXS
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Modest Mouse
‘The Sun Hasn’t Left’
“I found optimism where it actually existed because I needed it,” Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock recently told NME, and this positivity is evident on ‘The Sun Hasn’t Left’. Taken from their new album ‘The Golden Casket’, on it the band conjure a slice of maximalist, marimba-laced pop, as Brock delivers an uplifting message of hope: “The world is a womb, it ain’t just a room / Well, there’s still something left / Something left for you.” – JXS
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
The Haunted Youth
‘Coming Home’
On The Haunted Youth’s ‘Coming Home’ reverb-drenched guitar riffs and lush synthesisers form a hazy backdrop for an earnest vocal performance to cut through. With its exuberant lyrics (“Don’t you wanna go to a place like home? / Don’t you really think about it?” vocalist Joachim Liebens repeatedly asks over a lush soundscape) and dreamy instrumentals, it’s a beauty. – IC
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Travie McCoy
‘A Spoonful of Cinnamon’
On Travie McCoy’s first solo single in six years, the Gym Class Heroes founder reflects on losing loved ones and his personal struggles, sharing introspective bars over understated guitar loops. “He hugged me, then he apologised for lost time / And then I lost them both, and I damn near lost my mind,” he raps about his late father, in a heartbreakingly confessional verse. – IC
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Hussy
‘New Fair’
‘New Fair’, Hussy has explained, is “very much a verbal vomit of subconsciousness song but ultimately is kind of about how you can’t always tell what’s on the other side of a situation. And how often you need to push past difficulty to get somewhere fruitful.” The third cut we’ve heard from her debut EP (dropping next month) is a slice of indie rock melancholia, which sees the rising artist descend into a potent, drowsy haze, as she sings about navigating difficulties and overcoming challenges. With resonant guitars, rock-steady backbeats and intricate harmonies, it’s a winner. – JXS
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Jessie Ware, James Vincent McMorrow & A Month Of Sundays
‘Lost In LA’
Taken from Two Inch Punch’s ‘A Month Of Sundays’ project, Jessie Ware and James Vincent McMorrow team up on this ode to finding belonging in the city. On a bed of pulsing bass and insistent beats, Ware asks sincerely: “I’m searching for that sound / That I can’t get to know / When I say runaway, runaway, runaway / But you ask me to stay / Does that make me your fool?” – JXS
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
