Last week Beyoncé returned with floor-filling earworm ‘Break My Soul’. The first single off her upcoming seventh album ‘REINAISSANCE (Act 1)’ – slated to drop on July 29, after a 6-year wait since her last album ‘Lemonade’ – the slick tune was worth the wait.
Taking to Instagram, the pop icon shared more about what the album is all about, revealing: “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving.” The first taste of the record in ‘Break My Soul’ was a must-add to this week’s NME Radio Playlist.
Also new to the NME Radio playlists this week we’ve got the latest from Gorillaz and Thundercat in ‘Cracker Island’, alongside another cut from Aitch’s upcoming album ‘Close To Home’ with ‘In Disguise’ that features Bakar.
Check out the rest of the new tracks on NME 1 and 2 below:
On the A List:
Gorillaz
‘Cracker Island (feat. Thundercat)’
Experimental animated outfit Gorillaz’s newest single features funk virtuoso Thundercat. A buzzy number, it fuses energetic instrumentals with 2-D’s (aka Damon Albarn’s) relaxed vocals, to stellar results. – Sabiq Rafid
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Beyoncé
‘Break My Soul’
Queen Bey is back, and this time, with a pulsing electronic-laden track. A genre-splicing number, it’s an eclectic mix of New Orleans bounce, nu-disco, house and dance all at once. And as Kyann-Sian Williams wrote in a four-star review here at NME, “When the Texan queen of pop reaches the breakdown and starts rapping, she hit every single beat; there is not one flaw at all in the breakdown.” – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
Aitch
‘In Disguise (feat. Bakar)’
‘In Disguise’ is the latest preview of Aitch’s upcoming record ‘Close to Home’. On the bouncy new track he teams up London-based singer-songwriter Bakar who sings on the track’s infectious chorus, and it’s excellent. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Jesse Tabish
‘Castro’
Frontman of American indie band Other Lives Jesse Tabish debuted his solo career with the launch of his first single, ‘Castro’. Part of the musician’s first solo album, ‘Cowboy Ballads Part 1’, it’s a feel-good, atmospheric folk ballad, filled with euphoric instrumentation. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
‘Forever’
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs has dropped the latest preview of his forthcoming album ‘When The Lights Go’, with ‘Forever’. The lush, groovy track professes a love for someone that will never wane, one that would live on “forever and ever.” N’aww. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Bicep
‘Meli (II)’
Bicep‘s latest, a reworking of ‘Meli (I)’ titled ‘Meli (II)’, is a slow-burning smash. The energy of the track completely shifts with the addition of drums, giving it a new life. In a statement, the duo shared: “Meli (II)’ was formed slowly on the road. Each week we changed the drums a bit, the structure and generally allowed the crowd to inform the process. It was great to grow the track in this way, it felt like a very organic way of working.” – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List:
Kacey Musgraves
‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’
Kacey Musgraves puts her own spin on Elvis Presley cut ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ in this reworking of the track taken from Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of Presley, ELVIS. A stripped back rendition, Musgraves’ delicate vocals are accompanied by only a quiet piano, in a heart wrenching version of the classic. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Taylor Swift
‘Carolina’
Taylor Swift has once again teamed up with regular collaborator Aaron Dessner, for new tune ‘Carolina’. Taken from the upcoming film adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing, this eerie track was first conceived when Swift was working on 2020 record ‘Folklore’. Drowned in haunting vocals and filled with elegant production, it’s a beauty. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
I. Jordan
‘Always Been’
I. Jordan’s ‘Always Been’ is a breezy electronic track made for dancing as the sun comes up. Packaged in a double-single release, ‘Always Been’ and ‘First Time Back’ is the first body of work the DJ has put out this year. Via an Instagram post, I. Jordan shared: “Each of these singles show a different part of me and the styles of music I’ve been making over the last year and a bit. Both these two tracks were started during lockdown, dreaming of happier and more hopeful times, and refined while being back on the road.” – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Christine and the Queens
‘Je te vois enfin’
Last month Christine and the Queens dropped her brand new single ‘Je te vois enfin’, and unveiled a “suave and sophisticated” persona that she identifies as Redcar. The dark wave track is the first single the singer-songwriter has released this year, and an intriguing glimpse at the artist’s next era. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music