Keeping up with the best 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 the start of J. Cole’s return and Coldplay also launch a new era. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
J. Cole — “Interlude”
Since 2018’s KOD, J. Cole fans have begged for even a crumb of new information about the rapper’s next project. He offered much more than a crumb last week, revealing that The Off-Season would arrive in a matter of days. Before the album drops this week, he offered “Interlude,” a soulful and brief (as you’d expect from a track called “Interlude”) new song.
Coldplay — “Higher Power”
Coldplay is starting a new chapter, Lady Gaga fans be damned. Although Chris Martin won’t technically confirm that a new album is on the way, it sure feels like one is: Last week, they shared “Higher Power,” an energetic and driving new single aided by the production talents of Max Martin.
Modest Mouse — “We Are Between”
Modest Mouse had a handful of one-off, non-album singles in 2019, but aside from that, fans are still waiting for the band’s first album since 2015’s Strangers To Ourselves. Well, finally, The Golden Casket is coming this summer and they previewed the effort with the catchy and huge-sounding “We Are Between.”
Bebe Rexha — “Break My Heart Myself” Feat. Travis Barker
Rexha may not have gotten a metal song on her new album Better Mistakes like she wanted, but she did manage to recruit Travis Barker to help out on “Break My Heart Myself.” The drummer’s presence doesn’t transform the single into a pop-punk tune, as Rexha instead confidently takes the track into jaunty-but-edgy pop territory.
Isaiah Rashad — “Lay Wit Ya” Feat. Duke Deuce
In a piece about patience paying off for Rashad, Uproxx’s Aaron Williams wrote of the rapper’s new single, “It appears to showcase an artist who hasn’t lost a step from his glory days at the height of the so-called SoundCloud Rap era — one who managed to not only adapt to ways the Southern rap sound has evolved since then but to adapt those sounds to his own unique style.”
Toosii — “Shop” Feat. DaBaby
Toosii is on an absolute roll: His new mixtape, Thank You For Believing, is his third new project since February 2020. He’s mostly solo on the album, but one highlight comes when DaBaby joins him on the new single “Shop,” on which the rappers portray themselves as a couple of tough guys you don’t want to mess with.
Health and Nine Inch Nails — “Isn’t Everyone”
As is made obvious by looking at the winners lists from recent film award ceremonies, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been busy providing memorable sounds for beloved movies. They still regularly carve out time for Nine Inch Nails, though, and they did so last week by joining Health on the perfectly industrial single “Isn’t Everyone.”
Saweetie — “Fast Motion”
A lot of recent headlines about Saweetie have been related to a former high-profile relationship, but let’s not forget that she’s one of hip-hop’s most exciting artists. She proved that last week with “Fast Motion,” a blood-pumping new single that shows off her energy. Imagine how good she’ll be after boot camp.
Coi Leray — “Bout Me”
Fresh off making her TV debut (on The Tonight Show, of all places), Leray is riding the momentum with a new single, “Bout Me.” After blowing up on TikTok with “No More Parties,” Leray keeps aggressively pushing forward and using “Bout Me” to address her haters, who she insists won’t be able to bring her down.
Conan Gray — “Astronomy”
With the release of Kid Krow last year, Gray has proven himself to be an exciting and diverse young artist. His two latest singles achieve the same feat: February’s “Overdrive” was a big, upbeat pop anthem, while the new single “Astronomy” inhabits decidedly more mellow territory, as its a tender-hearted ballad about the end of a relationship.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.