Megan Thee Stallion is back with a vengeance on her latest album drop, âTraumazineâ. The pop-culture juggernaut is still doing hot girl shit, though this time with an edge weâve never seen from her before. In NMEâs four-star review, we highlighted that though âthe album features more deep cuts than youâd expect from a Megan Thee Stallion record, it shows just how sheâs pushed her pen since âGood Newsâ, while also illustrating her broad musicalityâ.
The recordâs house banger âHerâ is our latest addition to the NME Radio A List this week; alongside other additions including the second preview to Yeah Yeah Yeahsâ highly anticipated comeback album, a highlight from Kasabianâs latest project, and new tunes from Dog Race, PVA, PinkPantheress and Sam Gellaitry and more.
Hereâs what we’ve added to NME 1 and 2Â this week.
On the A List:
Megan Thee Stallion
âHerâ
As Drakeâs and Beyonceâs 2022 releases seem to suggest, hip-hop is set on bringing house music back to the spotlight. With âHerâ, Megan Thee Stallion throws her gauntlet in the house revival. Against a thumping bassline, Megan boasts of her impeccable style in bouncy bars like âHoes must’ve just seen me and they playin’ catch-up / Bitches lookin’ like lil’ Megans playin’ dress-upâ.Â
In true Megan Thee Stallion fashion, all this culminates in a bouncing hook bound to draw every eye in the room to herself: âI’m her⊠/ She⊠/ Take a pic, it’s me⊠/ Tell your friends this herâŠâ. – Eli Ordonez
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
âBurningâ
The New York City indie titans strike again with âBurningâ, the second preview of âCool It Downâ, their anticipated first album in almost a decade. The moody, retro-tinged track finds its first sparks in Karen Oâs signature vocals. âOoh / Lay your red hand on me, baby,â she coos before the track explodes with a propulsive beat and reverb-drenched guitars. This track, along with their previous collaboration with Perfume Genius, suggests weâre in for a darkly cinematic full-length to come. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Kasabian
âSTRICTLY OLD SKOOLâ
Leicester rockers Kasabian have returned with new album âThe Alchemistâs Euphoriaâ, their first record with Serge Pizzorno stepping up as frontman. The project sees them favouring a more electronic production style, which the breezy âSTRICTLY OLD SKOOLâ showcases. A syncopated electronic beat leads the way as Pizzorno admires his subjectâs old school style: âFrom a place where time forgot / Now you’re the one who calls the shots / When I could never be that cool / You’re old schoolâ – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Dog Race
Terror
Bedford goth revival newcomers Dog Race introduce themselves in dramatic fashion with their peppy debut single, âTerrorâ. The aptly-named track, produced by South London dance duo Pregoblinâs Jessica Winter, features catchy, Cure-ready guitars, a steady beat and singer Katie Healeyâs unsettling vocal delivery, a musical formula which would incite a moshpit on one night and keep you awake on another. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
PVA
âBad Dadâ
PVA have delivered the fourth preview of their upcoming debut full-length, âBLUSHâ. The South London genre-hoppers juxtapose synthesisers and drum machine beats with post-punk agitation and gloom. Singer Ella Harrisâ morosely weaves a tale from the perspective of a father whose family withholds dark secrets (âSonny says the most terrible things / When he lays awake at night / And Iâm singing to him / And he screams in his sleepâ), leaving us all the more intrigued and unsettled. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List:
PinkPantheress & Sam Gellaitry
âPicture in my mindâ
â90s revivalist PinkPantheress teams up with Scottish producer Sam Gellaitry for sprightly new single, âPicture in my mindâ. The formerâs distinctly angelic vocals grace the trackâs minimal sped-up disco beat, constructed with a rubbery bassline, forceful kick drums and vibrant pianos. As the track progresses, the duo subtract more and more elements of the song, until all that remains are their voices in unison against saccharine ambience. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Omar Apollo
âEndlesslyâ
Omar Apollo is back with breezy new tune âEndlesslyâ, from the âMarfilâ edition of his major-label debut, âIvoryâ. Originally a 30-second interlude off the aforementioned release, the track receives complete production treatment in this full-length version. Its minimal arrangement gives Apollo plenty of space to shine as a singer, as he stacks layers of vocal harmonies in this buoyant love song. In a four-star review, NME called âIvoryâ a âa collection of gorgeous, sultry songs that contend with the angst of feeling like youâre the only person who is truly awake and alive in an otherwise sleepy worldâ. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Alvvays
âEasy On Your Own?â
On their second preview for upcoming comeback album âBlue Revâ, Canadian dream-pop outfit Alvvays bemoan the humdrum of adulthood. â‘Cause we’re always / Crawling in monochromatic hallways / Dream we pull a one-eighty some day,â sings Molly Rankin against the appropriately nostalgic, â90s-inspired jangle of guitars. This powerful yet relatable track is an exciting glimpse of the bandâs first full-length in five years. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Working Menâs Club
âCutâ
Off their latest full-length offering âFear Fearâ, Working Menâs Club take us through a simultaneously hypnotic and spirited odyssey in âCutâ. Built around a cyclical chord progression and a lively beat, the track reflects on the repetition of modern life as frontman Syd Minsky-Sargeant laments: âAll the time it’s just running around my soulâ like a mantra. In NMEâs review of âFear Fearâ, we reflected that âWorking Menâs Club certainly wear the trauma well, but this riveting exploration truly thrives by seeking the light beyond the gloomâ. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
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The post NME Radio Roundup 22 August 2022: Megan Thee Stallion, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kasabian appeared first on NME.
