Ravyn Lenae – ‘Skin Tight‘
Having captivated the future-RnB crowd with ’Sticky’, Rayvn Lenae returns with The Internet’s Steve Lacy in tow, crafting a video that serves some serious alien body-oddy-oddy. Twisting and turning in a surreal virtual reality world of slick, pulsating shapes, it forms a throne from which her voice floats, echoing the likes of SZA and Jamila Woods in its quiet, romantic regalness. Smooth, sexy and just a little bit weird, we’ve exceedingly glad to have her back.
Arlo Parks – ‘Softly’
Season 2: Arlo Parks Takes New York! Sincere as always, ’Softly’ delivers on its name, delicately picking its way towards a chorus that feels disarmingly intent on burrowing its way into your brain. Where previous tracks were beautiful yet understated, ‘Softly’ is the work of an artist whose much-deserved success is being channelled into open confidence; this is a chorus written for performance and one that is going to sound HUGE when she supports Harry Styles in stadiums this summer.
Jerry Paper – ‘Kno Me‘
Feel like your new year hasn’t quite gotten off to the start you hoped? May you find solace in Jerry Paper, a synth-rock star who is quite literally incapable of getting back on the horse. Sweet and just a little bit silly, ‘Kno Me’ is an anthem of self-consciousness and itchy scrutiny set to easy Weezer-esque Americana, the perfect thing to shut your eyes and disappear into on days where the world feels just a little bit too tough. That proverbial Stallion will be tamed, but it can wait another day.
Lucy Dacus — ‘Kissing Lessons’
Making keen use of Lucy Dacus’ impeccable way with nostalgic-country-esque storytelling, “Kissing Lessons’ introduces us to “Rachel”, the cool girl a year older who blurred the lines between childish experimentation and something that felt like it might have been a little bit more than friends. Perfectly succinct, it balances any potential angst with a wistful resolution, promising excitingly-upbeat things for our cover girl’s newest era.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – ‘The Way It Shatters‘
While innovation is all well and good, there’s always room for a few musical stalwarts that you know you can rely on for a good time. On ‘The Way It Shatters’, Aussie favourites Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever know the value of maintaining business as usual; heavily layered guitars that could feel messy and chaotic, but somehow conspire to make you feel like summer has already arrived and you’re three pints deep at a really good indie festival. Bottoms up!
Listen to these and more new tracks on our BRAND NEW 2022 playlist
