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 Foo Fighters kick ass to start the new year and Grimes revisit her 2020 album to refresh it for 2021. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Foo Fighters — “No Son Of Mine”
Foo Fighters had a new album done in early 2020, but COVID-19 threw a (monkey) wrench in their plans to release it and simultaneously celebrate their 25th anniversary as a band. While all the troubles of 2020 aren’t behind us, the last digit of the year is different, so the band decided to celebrate the joy in that with a rocking new single, “No Son Of Mine,” which they used as a final “f*ck you” to 2020.
Reason — “Extinct” Feat. Joey Badass, Westside Boogie, Denzel Curry, and Jack Harlow
2020, recognized by many as a bad year, wrapped up on an unexpected note: MF Doom died in October, but in line with the mysterious way he navigated life, that news was only shared publicly on the final day of 2020. To add another odd twist to the situation, Reason coincidentally had a new Doom-sampling song (featuring Joey Badass, Westside Boogie, Denzel Curry, and Jack Harlow) set to drop on January 1, which he did release.
Grimes — Miss Anthropocene (Rave Edition)
2020 brought Miss Anthropocene, and the top of 2020 brought a new permutation of the latest Grimes album, a “Rave Edition” of it. More literally, it’s a remix album, and to re-work the album, Grimes recruited esteemed folks like BloodPop and Channel Tres.
Justin Bieber — “Anyone”
Bieber was yet another artist who decided to send off 2020/welcome 2021 through song, which he did with a new single called “Anyone.” In Beebs’ video for the pop ballad, he plays a boxer, presumably to draw a parallel between being a fighter and a celebrity facing the challenges of living a public-facing life.
Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa — “Real Groove (Studio 2054 Remix)”
One of the guests that Dua Lipa had on her “Studio 2054” livestream concert was fellow neo-disco purveyor Kylie Minogue, who incorporated Lipa into a reworked version of her DISCO track “Real Groove.” Not too long after that rendition’s debut, the pair dropped a studio version of it (dubbed the “Studio 2054 Remix“), which would have sounded right at home on Future Nostalgia.
Lauv — “2021”
Lauv had a strong 2020 that featured new singles (like his Conan Gray collab) and him having a role in one of the biggest Twitter moments of the year. Still, like all of us, he was ready to leave 2020 behind and welcome the new year, which he did on his single “2021.” On the emotional new tune, he looks to the future with optimism, which seems to be a perfect way to start a post-2020 rebound.
Jeff Rosenstock — “Illegal Fireworks And Hiding Bottles In The Sand”
All year, Rosenstock has been dropping loose tracks on Bandcamp as part of his 2020 Dump, and he wrapped up the year with one last addition, the delightfully titled “Illegal Fireworks And Hiding Bottles In The Sand.” While this truly was a last-minute effort (he “recorded, mixed and mastered” it between December 29 and 31), it’s not a low-effort affair, but a rock-solid slice of shoegaze to send the nightmarish 2020 off on a dreamy note.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.