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ICYMI: NME now has two radio channels live and on the air! You can tune into NME 1 for a selection of stone-cold classics and indie anthems, while NME 2 will bring you the best of the past decade — from alternative bops to grime and leftfield dance.
Each week Team NME carefully handpick a selection of tunes to add to both playlists. This week we have the returns of Bon Iver, Kid Cudi and Jamie xx, the brilliant new track from NME favourite Girl In Red, and an outstanding cut from Rina Sawayama’s debut album. Here are all this week’s additions to the NME 1 & 2 playlists:
On the A List
Bon Iver
‘PDLIF’
First up, we’ve got the new one from Bon Iver. ‘PDLIF’, or ‘Please Don’t Live In Fear’, was made to ease your anxious mind. Over raspy saxophones and pealing piano chords Justin Vernon reassuringly croons words of hope, comfortingly repeating “There will be a better day” and requesting that listeners “Please don’t live in fear”.
Peach Tree Rascals
‘Things Won’t Go My Way’
Meshing hip-hop, indie rock and dreamy pop; the latest from LA-based quintet Peach Tree Rascals is an explosive cut of the band’s genre-blurring sound.
On the B List
Tash Sultana
‘Pretty Lady’
Up on the B List we’ve got Tash Sultana’s new one. A song that they first used to play whilst busking six years ago, ‘Pretty Lady’ is a slice of sultry, lo-fi rock.
Girl In Red
‘Midnight Love’
“This song is about me making someone feel really small,” Marie Ulven, aka Girl in Red, explained to NME about her new single. “It’s just me reflecting on how I made this person feel.” Over wistful synths and ethereal electronics Ulven grapples with the hurt she could have inadvertently caused, with beautifully candid results.
Yazmin Lacey
‘Morning Matters’
Taken from the Nottingham-based soul singer’s gorgeous new EP of the same name, ‘Morning Matters’ is four minutes of pure sunshine. Featuring Femi Koleoso and Ife Ogunjobi of Ezra Collective on drums and trumpet, it’s a dazzling example of Lacey’s impressive vocals.
The Koreatown Oddity
‘Weed In L.A.’
Taken from Dominique Purdy’s (aka The Koreatown Oddity) upcoming album ‘Little Dominique’s Nosebleed’, ‘Weed In L.A. sees him consider how much his hometown of L.A. has changed since he was a kid. Filled with jangling piano licks and classic hip-hop beats that accompany Purdy’s distinctive flow, it’s an exciting glimpse of what’s to come on the new record.
On the C List
Alfie Templeman
‘Liquid In Happiness Form’
Co-written with The Vaccines‘ Justin Young, ‘Happiness in Liquid Form’ gives Alfie Templeman’s pysch-flecked bedroom rock a sparkling disco-pop makeover.
Jamie xx
‘Idontknow’
‘Idontknow’ has been around for a while, but initially people weren’t entirely sure who was behind the squelching club track. In Autumn of last year, it started to make an impact on the club scene, as DJs like Four Tet, Caribou and Bicep played it as part of their sets. Now Jamie xx has officially released the tune, and his first solo release in five years is a bass-thumping beauty.
Rina Sawayama
‘Bad Friend’
Taken from Rina Sawyama’s astonishing debut album ‘SAWAYAMA’, here she turns regret for falling out of touch with a once-close-pal into a soaring avant-pop banger.
Kid Cudi
‘Leader Of The Delinquents’
In Kid Cudi’s first solo release since 2016 he casts aside the melodic vocals of his recent releases and returns to the harsher rapping that appeared in his earlier music. Over shimmering piano riffs and growling beats he discusses past drug use and his own mental health in a blistering return.
Orlando Weeks
‘Blood Sugar’
Dedicated to all NHS workers, the latest from former Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks is a ghostly soundscape of choral vocals, gleaming electronics and enveloping instrumentals.
Ryan Hemsworth
‘Sun Up’
With its strutting bass line, hazy beats and euphoric vocals, Ryan Hemsworth’s new tune is a club-ready smasher.
Christine and the Queens
‘I disappear in your arms’
And finally on the playlist this week we have ‘I Disappear In Your Arms’. Lifted from Christine and the Queens excellent ‘La vita nuova’ EP, it’s a swaggering synth-pop treat.
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