NME Radio Roundup 23 August 2021: Lorde, Lizzo & Cardi B, Disclosure and more

‘Mood Ring’ is the third single released from Lorde’s five-star new album ‘Solar Power’, which explores the Kiwi pop star’s personal and spiritual relationships with the natural world. She has described the song as her “extremely satirical look” on the pseudo-wellness culture. “I can’t feel a thing / I keep looking at my mood ring / Tell me how I’m feeling / Floating away, floating away”, she croons with a twinge of irony over folksy guitar strums and haunting background vocals by Clairo and Phoebe Bridgers. – Qistina Bumidin

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Paul McCartney’s ‘Find My Way’ gets a funky, disco-inspired twist in this remixed version of the song featuring Beck. This new take maintains the original’s rhythmic rock feel, but adds percussion and slippery synths to get you grooving, just like Macca himself in the accompanying music video. – QB

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Lizzo’s new era is here with the release of her defiant self-empowerment anthem ‘Rumors’. The funky guitar, rubbery synths and boisterous horns, plus Cardi B’s rambunctious clapbacks, turn ‘Rumors’ into a effervescent pick-me-up to boost your confidence on those trying days. – QB

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The Cribs kick-started their new series of monthly singles last week with the summery ‘Swinging At Shadows’. This upbeat, dance-influenced indie rock single, complete with fuzzy guitar, mellow bass and crashing drums, only adds on to the British trio’s solid track record. – QB

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Clubs are opening up again, and Disclosure are back with new music. Coincidence? We think not. The pulsating ‘In My Arms’ is the first of five songs released last week, culminating in the new EP ‘Never Enough’. Reminiscent of their earlier clubbier roots, this six-minute track’s euphoric refrain “I need you in my arms” evokes both sweaty intimacy and the electric buzz of live performances. – QB

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Brooklyn-based artist Binki proves his versatility in this genre-blending single ‘Invisible Fence’, part of his four-song debut EP ‘Motor Function’. The electronic-meets-post-punk sound mixed with Binki’s gloomy yet passionate vocal bolsters his painful take on being in love: “Where you, where you drop from?/ You supposed to love me, who you get your ends from?” – QB

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British singer-songwriter PinkPantheress’s name may not be recognisable at first glance, but her wispy voice crooning this infectious hook might: “When you wipe your tears / Do you wipe them just for me?”. After soundtracking countless videos on TikTok, the funky, 2000s-inspired bedroom synth-pop song ‘Just For Me’ has now been finally released on all streaming platforms. – QB

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Jordan Rakei’s ‘Clouds’ sees the singer-songwriter reflect on racial identity, privilege and discrimination. In a statement the multi-instrumentalist and producer explained that the conversations around race over the past few years inspired him to write about his own experiences, saying: “That whole movement made me think about this a lot, and then therapy enabled me to write about it…I’d never been that open about this in the past.”

Rakei delivers profound and poetic lyrics against a musical backdrop of layered vocals and melancholic synths: “Who am I, who am I? / But a slave to the lies / It’s my dangerous mind / Under the skin of my darkest white”. – QB

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music