Niall makes something good and Yachty sings over a sax solo. WHAT IS GOING ON THIS WEEK?
10. J HUS - Common Sense
We're edging closer to the release of J HUS' debut album Common Sense, out next week, and he's dropped the title and opening track from it. Common Sense is a confident, big city anthem that pulls HUS even further away from the grime world. It's really exciting to hear a British MC trying something different and winning.
9. Akouo - Feel That (Feat. Montaigne)
Aussie producer Akouo has recruited the big-voiced Montaigne for his latest single and it's something new for both of them. Montaigne explores the soulful side of her voice sounding very Jessie Ware in parts while Akouo lays down a smouldering instrumental.
8. saulte - Light Up (Feat. Liv Dawson)
British producer salute has teamed up with rising vocalist Liv Dawson for joyful cut Light Up. There are so many heavy, political anthems this year that it’s so refreshing to hear something that’s so positive and efortless. Dawson, fresh from her Disclosure collab Searching, lends a comforting, velvety vocal to salute’s sparkling instrumental.
7. Niall Horan - Slow Hands
Earlier this week we remarked that Harry Styles had released a song more boring than a Niall Horan song but now we take that back because bloody Niall’s gone and released a great song. Slow Hands has woken us up from the temporary sleep he put us in with This Town, delivering a groovy, sensual beat. It’s a simple pop song done well and maybe that’s all Niall has to do.
6. Sigrid - Fake Friends
Our favourite Norwegian popstar Sigrid released an EP today and Fake Friends is the only new song on it. It allows us to hear Sigrid's simultaneously crystalline and husky vocals over a beat that switches between the muted and the pulsating. We're all really excited to hear what else Sigrid has in her arsenal.
5. Perfume Genius - Wreath
Perfume Genius released his fourth album No Shape today and Wreath is the standout track on it. It's an anthemic, slow-building track that will give you goosebumps from the first moment he opens his mouth. It's one of those songs that sounds instantly grandiose and that feeling only multiplies as it unfolds.
4. Paramore - Told You So
It’s 2017 and we’re still talking about a pop-punk band that had their breakthrough in 2007, meaning Paramore are doing pretty well. More than pretty well, actually. They’ve embraced their full pop capabilities and are making some of the best music of their career with newie Told You So proof of that. Frontwoman Hayley Williams knows her way around a melody and this more spacious production really suits her soulful voice.
3. LCD Soundsystem - Call The Police
James Murphy and co are back with their first new material in seven years and it was bloody worth the wait. Call The Police is everything you expect from LCD. It's anxious, raucous, messy and beautiful, sounding like an anthem for the end of the world. This one's even more rockier than their previous material, suggesting Murphy's been listening to a little Springsteen in his downtime.
2. Lil Yachty - Bring It Back
Lil Yachty is one of the most unpredictable figures in music right now so it’s somewhat expected that his new single is totally unexpected. Bring It Back, taken from his forthcoming debut Teenage Emotions, sounds like the result of hanging out with Carly Rae Jepsen. It’s an infectious, ’80s-tinged tune that sees him in singing mode, worlds away from the hip-hop vibes of his last single Peak A Boo.
1. HAIM - Want You Back
HAIM are officially back with the first single Want You Back off their forthcoming album Something To Tell You and, bloody hell, they know how to pen a pop song. It’s an ’80-tinged anthem of regret, full of those slinky, fast spoken HAIM melodies that we’ve become so fond of. The three of them gel together effortlessly showing that time has done nothing to break their bond which is lucky because that’s their biggest drawcard.
