Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Coi Leray and Nicki Minaj drop the collaboration that almost didn’t exist and Charli XCX go full pop mode with a new album. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.
Coi Leray and Nicki Minaj — “Blick Blick”
“Blick Blick” almost didn’t happen, or at least not as it was released last week featuring Nicki Minaj. The good news, though, is that it did, as the pair dropped their braggadocios meet-up a few days ago. Uproxx’s Wongo Okon says on the single, Leray and Minaj “are a taunting duo that flexes their status and fires some shots at the competition, all without fear of being defeated at any point.”
Charli XCX — “Every Rule”
While Charli XCX spent the lead-up to Crash flexing how pop-focused the now-released album is, she kinda went against that with her final pre-album single, “Every Rule.” There’s no upbeat, in-your-face pop hook here, but rather, an emotional collaboration with AG Cook and Oneohtrix Point Never that shows even when Charli is in pop star mode, she hasn’t fully left her alternative instincts behind.
Normani — “Fair”
After generating some attention with a clothes-free teaser, Normani capped last week by dropping her latest single, “Fair.” On the tune, Normani gets vulnerable as she sings about her struggles with moving on after the conclusion of a relationship.
Arcade Fire — “The Lightning I, II”
Last week had two major Arcade Fire headlines: Will Butler revealed he left the band last year, and a few days before that, the band dropped a new single, “Lightning I, II.” Butler’s on this song, as he left the band after their new album, We, was completed. As for what the tune’s like, it’s classic, epic rock Arcade Fire.
Ethan Gruska and Bon Iver — “So Unimportant”
Ethan Gruska, perhaps best known in recent years as a Phoebe Bridgers collaborator, has added another esteemed name to his Rolodex, as he and Bon Iver linked up on “So Unimportant” last week. While Justin Vernon is clearly the bigger name here, he was actually pretty starstruck to get to work on the song with Gruska, as he said in a statement, “It’s not often that something IMMEDIATELY grasps you where you stand as his music did. It only happens a few times in one’s life.”
Fivio Foreign — “Magic City” Feat. Quavo
Fivio Foreign feels like he needs more time to work on his debut album B.I.B.L.E., since he announced last week he was delaying its release. While that news might be a downer, he came through last week with “Magic City,” a Quavo collaboration on which the rappers confidently make it rain at the strip club.
Rosalía — “Candy”
Rosalía has one of the headlining album releases last week with Motomami, which she immediately preceded with the pre-album single “Candy.” While it’s rhythmic as many of her songs are, this one comes at it in a calmer way, sounding almost ambient in some moments and captivating in all of them.
Juice WRLD — “Sometimes”
There’s apparently still some Juice WRLD posthumous material left in the tank, as last week brought a new song, “Sometimes.” The song arrived as an update to his Fighting Demons album and it’s a dark, brooding tune as he sings about the issues his substance abuse has brought him.
The Smile — “Skrtng On The Surface”
It’s currently Radiohead season… sort of. The band hasn’t announced a follow-up to 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, but Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s side project The Smile has been getting after it lately. They dropped a new single last week, “Skrtng On The Surface,” which Uproxx’s Adrian Spinelli reckons “might just be the best offering yet from this enigmatic supergroup.”
King Princess — “For My Friends”
Cheap Queen came out in 2019 and now it appears King Princess is gearing up for her second LP. She hasn’t formally announced it yet, but she’s dropped a number of singles since that album, including last week’s “For My Friends,” an evocative alt-pop tune on which King Princess reckons with how much of a handful she can be.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.