NME Radio Roundup 14 February 2022: Liam Gallagher, Mitski, alt-J and more

Mitski embraces crystalline synth-pop euphoria on ‘Stay Soft’, a single from her newly released album ‘Laurel Hell’. Though Mitski is beloved for her devastatingly forthright songs on consuming emotion, ‘Stay Soft’ shows her enigmatic side as a songwriter and storyteller. Doomy and dramatic, it spins a sexually charged tale of obsession and mutual destruction. – Karen Gwee

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On their fourth album ‘The Dream’, Alt-J’s Joe Newman told NME that he’d begun to write more from his own voice instead of leaning on fictional imagery and characters: “a big step forward for me”. But on ‘The Actor’, the band still indulge in a bit of tongue-in-cheek myth-making. As they explained in a statement: “Hollywood, 1982. Another hopeful young movie star arrives in search of The Dream. What follows is a tale of desperation, drugs and death in LA’s most famous hotel. It’s ‘The Actor’.” – KG

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‘Everything’s Electric’ is the first single of Liam Gallagher’s new album ‘C’MON YOU KNOW’ – and it was co-written by Dave Grohl, who also drums on the track. In a five-star review, NME’s Jordan Bassett called ‘Everything’s Electric’ “a little more future-facing than the classically minded singles from his last two solo albums”. It’s definitely a compelling preview of a record that Liam’s called “80 per cent a bit peculiar”. – KG

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Next month, Spanish pop artist Rosalía releases her third album ‘Motomami’, the highly anticipated follow-up to her acclaimed breakout ‘El Mal Querer’. Since that record, which synthesised flamenco and modern avant-pop, she’s become a darling of the urbano genre and worked with the likes of The Weeknd, J Balvin and Bad Bunny. The flirty ‘Saoko’, which goes into a thrilling jazzy interlude, proves she’s not done expanding her sonic horizons. – KG

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Move over, ‘Charlie’ – Mallrat has a new signature song. The Australian artist Grace Shaw has begun an exciting new chapter with ‘Your Love’, a track that pulls snappy electronic beats, vocal glitches, dreamy synths, a Gangsta Pat sample and a heady, repetitive hook into a compelling whole. It’s the work of a canny pop auteur. – KG

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Joy Crookes wanted her 2021 debut album ‘Skin’ to be a personal record, and nowhere is that intent more obvious than on its second track ‘19th Floor’. A celebration of her grandmother and her journey as an immigrant to the United Kingdom, ‘19th Floor’ finds Crookes, who’s of Bangladeshi and Irish heritage, soberly meditating on her roots. – KG

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Red Hot Chili Peppers have welcomed John Frusciante back into the fold for new album ‘Unlimited Love’, which drops in April. Its first single is the melancholy-tinged ‘Black Summer’, which features a sizzling solo by Frusciante that fans have been waiting for since 2006’s ‘Stadium Arcadium’. – KG

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Nova Twins indulge in some bloodlust on new single ‘K.M.B.,’ which stands for ‘Kill My Boyfriend’. This revenge fantasy is the first preview of the duo’s new album ‘Supernova’, which they’ve said “is made out of dreams, triumphs and colourful nightmares. When you get to the other side, you will always come out a winner.” – KG

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Flume teams up with fellow Aussie MAY-A for ‘Say Nothing’, the lead single off his next album ‘Palaces’. The producer born Harley Streten has already moved the pop dial with his beguiling yet accessible future bass, but the layered, unpredictable ‘Say Nothing’ proves that he’s not resting on his laurels just yet. – KG

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NME 100 and pop statement-maker Bree Runway’s latest single ‘Pressure’ is slinky and confident, Bree flaunting her vocal versatility with different flows and styles. “I am a flamingo in a world full of pigeons. I want to be as bright as possible,” she cheekily said of the song in her NME cover story in January. – KG

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