Itâs the season of returns. In the past two weeks we’ve had stellar new albums from both Arcade Fire and Kendrick Lamar, while Kasabian have just shared the first preview of their forthcoming record âThe Alchemistâs Euphoriaâ â their first since the departure of previous frontman, Tom Meighan.
Post Malone has also recently dropped new tune âCooped Upâ, the second single building up to his upcoming album; and Carly Rae Jepsen is back with the lush âWestern Windâ. All of these welcome returns were must-adds to this week’s NME Radio playlist.
Check out the rest of the new tracks on NME 1 and 2 below:
On the A List:
Arcade Fire
âAge of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)â
Taken from Arcade Fire’s new record âWEâ, the six-minute âAge of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)â is a slow-burning beauty that’ll linger in your head for days. â Sabiq Rafid
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Post Malone
âCooped Upâ feat Roddy Rich
Post Maloneâs latest single âCooped Upâ, a team-up with Roddy Rich, is the second preview of his upcoming album, âTwelve Carat Toothacheâ. âIâve been out of my bag for a long time, and Iâm trying to hop back in there,â Post said of the track in an interview with Apple Music 1âs Zane Lowe, adding: “We knew what we wanted to say, and we knew what we wanted to express, not only in a song but in that particular moment on the album.” â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
Kendrick Lamar
âThe Heart Part 5â
The brilliant, Marvin-Gaye sampling âThe Heart Part 5â â the first glimpse we got of Lamar’s stellar fifth record âMr. Morale & The Big Steppersâ before it dropped â is a triumph. Given the five-star treatment here at NME, it sees Lamar: âtaking ownership of his elder role in the rap world. He sees his influence and now wants to be a voice of reason and morality, not just a coveted rap star.â â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Carly Rae Jepsen
âWestern Windâ
Carly Rae Jepsenâs latest offering, âWestern Windâ, is a song made for basking in the warmth on sunny days. Fusing lush synths, an infectious backbeat and a slick guitar solo, itâs a total beauty. â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Willow Kayne
âFinal Noticeâ
Rising star Willow Kayneâs newest single âFinal Noticeâ is the singer-producerâs first release of the year. The catchy jungle track is also a homage to Kayneâs roots, with the artist calling it âa love letter to the junglist stylings of her hometown of Bristol.â â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List:
Sharon Van Etten
âMistakesâ
Sharon Van Etten holds no regrets on this killer guitar-laden track from her new album âWeâve Been Going About This All Wrongâ. âWhen I make a mistake / Turns out itâs great, itâs great, itâs great she asserts on the euphoric track, adding: Iâm much better than that / Itâs much better than thatâ. â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Shygirl
âStarlightâ
On new single âFireflyâ, pop-innovator Shygirl transports us to the dance-floor. Fusing skittering beats with glitchy synths, the earworm is an exciting glimpse of the artist’s upcoming debut album ‘Nymph’, due out later this year. â KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Doja Cat
âVegasâ
Taken from the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmannâs upcoming Elvis Presley biopic, on âVegasâ Doja Cat samples Big Mama Thortonâs iconic âHound Dogâ (which was also famously covered by Elvis Presley himself). Reimagining the tune with plenty of flair, the powerhouse performance is an intriguing reworking of a classic. â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Kasabian
âSCRIPTVREâ
Kasabian have returned with anthemic new single âSCRIPTVREâ. âIt has this huge sound that came from me bouncing off Kanye and old â70s soul cuts from digging in crates,” Serge Pizzorno explained of the track to NME. “Thereâs a euphoric, beautiful arms-in-the-air moment then goes back to this ferocious, heavy beat. Itâs in your face.â â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Say Sue Me
âNo Real Placeâ
South Korean indie quartet Say Sue Meâs single âNo Real Placeâ tells the story of a lost love, and trying to reconnect with the person they were before the relationship. They arenât masking their true feelings here, with vocalist Sumi Choi singing: âIâm just watching the water flow to the same place / Iâm just watching the tree that grows in the same place / And thereâs nothing I can say, Iâm just afraid / You and you have gone away / But I wanna be brave.â â SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
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The post NME Radio Roundup 16 May 2022: Arcade Fire, Kendrick Lamar, Carly Rae Jepsen and more appeared first on NME.
