Month: July 2021

Fox News might not be totally full of vaccine misinformation, but the cable news network is doing nothing to discourage Tucker Carlson’s near-nightly rants about the Covid jab while still refusing to reveal his own status and encouraging dangerous conspiracy theories. In contrast, the Fox and Friends gang — Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade — all returned to their group couch in early May while making it known that they rolled up their sleeves and did the thing.

Still, that hasn’t quelled Kilmeade’s own rants on the subject while he seemingly believes that people refusing to get the shot aren’t harming anyone but themselves. These people are, in fact, prolonging the pandemic while also acting as a pressure cooker for virus mutations, including the more transmissible Delta variant that’s causing stock mayhem on this Monday morning. Well, bright and early on Fox News, Doocy (via Mediaite) urged viewers to “get the shot,” and as he points out, 99% of Covid deaths are among the unvaccinated. However, Kilmeade insisted, “That’s their choice!” Watch below.

“You make your own decision,” Kilmeade insisted while standing firm in saying that it’s a personal choice for everyone. “It’s available to everyone. We’re not doctors. You can say, ‘We got it,’ but I’m not gonna go there and give you other medical advice.” And then there was Doocy speaking as the voice of reason: “They don’t want to die.”

On Fox News, that’s a surprise to hear, but people welcomed the bluntness.

Some video games live and die by their boss fights. A game can be really well made, fun to play, and have a great story but it needs to have boss fights that leave a lasting (positive) impression. A bad boss fight can be enough to ruin that entire experience and leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth, especially if that fight is their final memory of the game.

It’s a fine line developers must walk, because an overly challenging or unfair boss has ruined many a video game, while too easy a final battle leaves a player ultimately dissatisfied. But strike the right balance with a great fight and it will be so memorable that it leaves the player thinking even more fondly of the game they just played. Having a memorable boss fight can be incredibly important to developers because nobody wants to read reviews about their game and hear players say they can’t even recall a single boss fight from their game.

What is it that makes a boss fight memorable? Sometimes it’s the way it simply caps off a great story, or it could be one that we rammed our head against until we finally got through, or maybe it was a total twist we didn’t see coming. A memorable boss fight doesn’t necessarily have to fit into any particular category, but the common thread in the great ones is that there’s immediate recall for gamers. Here, we’ll look at the cream of the crop, the ones that will come up the most in any boss fight conversation with fellow gamers.

Bowser (Super Mario 64)

Bowser himself isn’t any more memorable than the average final boss. He’s the typical monster at the end of the game that Mario defeats to save the princess. He’s notoriously easy in some Mario games and no fight of his is particularly challenging. The reason he’s on this list though is because of his appearances in Super Mario 64. For years Bowser was just a small sprite that was only slightly larger than Mario. We knew he was big, but he didn’t feel insurmountable. Then in Super Mario 64, we witness just how much bigger this monster is and it hits us that, yes, this is a 3D game. Defeating him isn’t too challenging, but it’s the size and scope of what a 3D Bowser represented for video games that got him on to this list.

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

Feelings on Final Fantasy VII aren’t as overwhelmingly positive as they were when everyone wanted that first PlayStation, but the memories of overcoming Sephiroth at the end of the game still hold up to this day. FFVII is, like every Final Fantasy, a game about saving the world from an evil force. However, the way the game teases the player throughout the entire adventure of the eventual conflict between Cloud and Sephiroth, all coming together at the end for one final showdown, is an experience that many players hadn’t had until they played Final Fantasy VII. That might be a common occurrence in games today, but for many players, this was their first JRPG and that driving force of Sephiroth is what pushed them to the end. There’s a reason this game is considered by many as the perfect entry point into the JRPG genre.

Mike Tyson (Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!)

There was nobody in the late ’80s more powerful than Mike Tyson and his arcade boxing game reflected that. Punch-Out!! is a simple enough game. Take the little boxer who could, Little Mac, and bring him to the title through a series of boxing matches. The trick is to figure out every fighter’s hint and counter it on the way to victory. Through a series of increasingly difficult matches and patterns, the player will eventually overcome all of them. Until they reach the end and find Mike Tyson waiting for them. The hint is well known now, look for when Tyson winks to dodge, but this was the era before internet guides. So you either had to go buy a game guide, find out the secret in Nintendo Power, or figure it out on your own. If you didn’t figure it out though you were probably going to lose because one punch from Tyson can be enough for an instant loss. This boss fight is obviously memorable because of the years of headaches he probably caused children as they tried to defeat what felt like an unstoppable force.

Dracula (Castlevania)

Do not let the video above fool you. Dracula was a brutal boss fight in the original Castlevania for the NES. Speedrunners have gotten Dracula down to a science now, but when this game first came out it was one of those titles that only the best of the best could beat. Castlevania is already a hard enough game, with plenty of tough bosses, but it made sure to tack on a super tough boss at the end to remind you that they aren’t messing around. The only saving grace is that continues are unlimited. However, the player has to start over from the beginning of the level upon the use of a continue, so if you can’t beat Dracula within your three lives then it’s back to the start!

Blue (Pokemon)

Every ’90s kid had this moment. They collected a team of six Pokémon, got all eight gym badges, and even reached the Elite Four. After powering our way through the Elite Four we finally did it. We defeated Lance and became the champion, or so we thought. Turns out we were right behind the true champion, our rival for the entire game, Blue. He was always one step ahead of us the entire way and now he’s standing in our way one final time. It’s time to shove it in his smug face and show him who the true Pokémon master is. This twist caught so many of us off guard as children, but that satisfaction of finally defeating Blue’s ultra powerful team at the end was truly special.

After the Loki season finale wrapped up, a second season was announced during the credits. Then, two days later, director Kate Herron said she wouldn’t be returning for the second season but would love to work with Marvel again. Which is all kind of unusual that it’s that definitive so quickly, especially since Loki was so well received. So, when we spoke to Herron shortly after her announcement, we had a lot of questions about why she wasn’t returning. And then after we ran out of those we had a lot of questions about Jonathan Majors’ character, who in the series is referred to as He Who Remains, who also seems to be Kang. But Herron says not so fast on those assumptions…

I just saw you’re not returning for the next season. I didn’t like reading that.

I’m sorry. I just, honestly … I’m so proud of the show and I loved working with Marvel and I’d love to work with them again. It’s a massive undertaking because we ran it like a six-hour film and I just gave it everything. And when I joined, we didn’t have a season two and I think it’s so incredible that we do. And it’s so exciting because there’s so much more road to travel, but I just felt like I was on for this bit and I wanted to just do this one and I gave it everything I had, basically, for the last two years, so … yeah.

So when you started you thought the show would only be one season?

Yeah. When I started it was just one season because that’s just what we had planned. And then obviously we were digging into the story more and everyone was getting more and more excited by it. It just felt like Marvel felt there’s more road to travel here. Which is amazing and credit to the whole team’s work, which I’m so happy with.

When did you find out there was going to be a season two?

I can’t remember now, to be honest. I think it was when we were in post. I think it was later in the process. I think so.

Okay.

I don’t want to give an exact date because I honestly can’t remember.

And it sounds like you were a little surprised there was a season two? But maybe I’m reading into that…

No, no. I knew about season two, but I came on for these six episodes and I just gave it my all. And I’m looking forward to season two as a fan but I just feel … Yeah, I’ve kind of done my bit now, I guess.

Was there any discussion with you about coming back for season two?

There was. We definitely spoke about it and like I said, I’d love to work with Marvel again but I just feel personally, for me, I just felt like this … I’ve done my part now.

Sure.

With the story and … yeah.

This is such a unique show, so I think people want the same uniqueness to come back so I think it’s a surprise to already learn that a big part of that is not coming back.

Yeah, I could see how people feel about that, but I would say we have an amazing team and so many of our team are returning. I do think that the next season will be amazing. The way I always think about it – and this is going to sound really arrogant, okay – but I love Alien. I love that movie. But I love Aliens as well and I think Aliens was amazing because the new person that came in completely re-defined and built upon what was already there.

“The new person,” James Cameron.

[Laughs] Exactly. I love James Cameron! Yeah, but I think that, for me, I don’t know, maybe that’s just where my head went with it. I feel like I’m so proud of the work that I and all the team have done but yeah, we need their James Cameron.

I’ve never heard him referred to as “the new person” before. That’s pretty great.

That’s pretty good. He’s one of my favorite directors. I’ll probably get an interesting email from his team.

Okay, let’s talk about Jonathan Majors’ character. On set, did you refer to him as Kang or was that verboten?

No, honestly, I think we always just thought of him as He Who Remains.

Okay.

I always just spoke about him in that way because obviously Kang is a variant of his character. So, I think for us, really, in terms of our story … well the thing I loved about our story was that it’s kind of like he’s almost like the purest and best version of his character.

Right.

Because when they talk about his variants, you really see the fear in his face. And I think, for me, as a fan, it made me very excited because I’m like, ohhh, what’s to come? But then I’m also like: for Loki and Sylvie, it’s that awful dilemma because you really believe him. And I think for us it was more about really crafting this version of that character, someone that was so isolated and weirdly, probably, quite a familiar thing for a lot of people, right?

We’ve all been in isolation so long now. And we even took it to his costume. Christine Wada, our costume designer, had that brilliant idea of playing on, obviously, some of the character’s looks from across the comics. But it was a variant, so we were pulling from a different time with some of the design of the clothes and also different places all over the world for the clothes. Beyond that, they had this pajama-like quality to them, because he’s home all the time and I think that was fun.

How I interpreted it, where he was basically saying if you kill me, then you’re going to have to deal with the version of me that is Kang? Is that a correct interpretation?

Yeah. Because he says, “There are other variants of me out there and if you kill me, that’s what’s going to happen, they’re going to wake up. The multiverse will wake up and with that you’re going to wake up all my variants.” I think that’s the thing that was so exciting about it to me. And I really enjoyed crafting this pure version of him because I don’t know where Jonathan will take the character, obviously, with all the different variants. But people can see in Loki: Look at Tom Hiddleston’s Loki compared to Sophia’s or to DeObia’s or the classic.

Or the alligator.

Or an alligator. Exactly. I think that’s the fun of it and the promise of, I hope, where the multiverse could go. But I can’t speak more to that. That’s really in the hands of Kevin Fiege and everyone else he’s working with.

If this had ended at season one, that’s kind of a great ending on its own. Like almost a Twilight Zone kind of ending…

I think that’s something that I and the writers were always thinking of because we only found out about it returning very late. And I think, for us, it was always important that, like you said, it stood on its own feet. I think it’s okay to leave questions. Like, where did Ravonna go? What was B-15’s past? What did she see? And also, where the hell is Loki? Yeah, I love Twilight Zone and I think that’s a really fun thing of it. I think we set out to dig into what makes the Loki a Loki and also take our Loki on a very different journey. And I think you can see that with him in the fight with Sylvie; that he’s someone who wanted the throne in episode one and now he absolutely does not want it. And I think for us it was always important to close that loop, I guess, on his story.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Yesterday, Philadelphia’s The War On Drugs teased a new single and they certainly didn’t waste any time following that up: Today, there’s news of a brand-new LP, I Don’t Live Here Anymore (arriving in October), which is the follow-up to 2017’s A Deeper Understanding. There’s also a lovely lead single, “Living Proof,” and video directed by filmmaker Emmett Malloy and shot in Stinson Beach, Florida.

Recorded in seven different studios, including New York’s Electric Lady and Los Angeles’ Sound City, I Don’t Live Here Anymore is, according to the band’s website, an “uncommon rock album about one of our most common but daunting processes — resilience in the face of despair.” Capping off the news is a huge run of 2022 tour dates across North America, the UK, and Europe.

Watch the “Living Proof” video above and check out the I Don’t Live Here Anymore art and tracklist below, as well as The War On Drugs’ tour dates (tickets go on sale on July 23).

1. “Living Proof”
2. “Harmonia’s Dream”
3. “Change”
4. “I Don’t Wanna Wait”
5. “Victim”
6. “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
7. “Old Skin”
8. “Wasted”
9. “Rings Around My Father’s Eyes”
10. “Occasional Rain”

11/12/2021 — Lake Perris, CA @ Desert Daze
01/19/2022 — Austin, TX – ACL Live
01/20/2022 — Austin, TX @ ACL Live
01/21/2022 — Dallas, TX @ Toyota Music Factory
01/22/2022 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
01/24/2022 — Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
01/25/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
01/27/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
01/28/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
01/29/2022 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
01/31/2022 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
02/01/2022 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
02/02/2022 — Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
02/04/2022 — Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
02/05/2022 — Toronto, Ontario @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
02/06/2022 — Toronto, Ontario @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
02/08/2022 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
02/10/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
02/11/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
02/12/2022 — Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
02/13/2022 — Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
02/15/2022 — Saint Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
02/16/2022 — Saint Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
02/18/2022 — Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
02/19/2022 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union
02/21/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
02/22/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
02/23/2022 — Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds
02/25/2022 — San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
02/26/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Auditorium
03/22/2022 — Helsinki, Finland @ Helsinki Ice Hall
03/24/2022 — Stockholm, Sweden @ Annexet
03/27/2022 — Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene
03/28/2022 — Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene
03/30/2022 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ KB Hallen
03/31/2022 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ KB Hallen
04/02/2022 — Berlin, Germany @ Verti Music Hall
04/04/2022 — Zurich, Switzerland @ Halle 622
04/05/2022 — Milano, Italy @ Alcatraz
04/07/2022 — München, Germany @ Zenith
04/09/2022 — Paris, France @ L’Olympia
04/11/2022 — Birmingham, England @ O2 Academy Birmingham
04/12/2022 — London, England @ The O2 Arena
04/14/2022 — Dublin, Ireland @ 3 Arena
04/16/2022 — Leeds, England @ First Direct Arena
04/18/2022 — Edinburgh, England @ Edinburgh Corn Exchange
04/20/2022 — Köln, Germany @ Palladium
04/21/2022 — Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof
04/22/2022 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
04/23/2022 — Antwerp, Belgium @ Sportpaleis

I Don’t Live Here Anymore is out 10/29 via Atlantic Records. Pre-order it here.

The War On Drugs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Nike filed a lawsuit against Lil Nas X and MSCHF over their “Satan Shoes,” but it was reported that the parties had settled the lawsuit. However, they’re still heading to court today, and ahead of that, Lil Nas X, as he tends to do, has had jokes.

He’s been cracking jokes for the past few days, joking about potential outfits he’s going to wear to court, getting more muscular so he can look good in jail, “dropping the soap,” and other related things. Consequently, #FreeLilNasX became a trending topic on Twitter today, and shortly before the trial, the rapper tweeted, “all jokes aside i can’t believe i might be going to jail. who’s going to make mildly funny tweets about being gay while i’m away.”

He also took to TikTok yesterday to share a joke about the trial, sharing a hilarious video he captioned, “the judge tomorrow when i try to flirt with him to avoid going to jail.”

Nas wasn’t the only one getting in on the fun, as his fans shared hilarious tweets about them showing up to defend the rapper in court, what’s happening in the courtroom, and more. Check out some of the #FreeLilNasX tweets below.

Idris Elba has offered a possible solution for the racist abuse that England soccer players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho have faced since the Euro 2020 final. “People in the public eye get verified on social media,” the actor wrote on Instagram. “The process of verification requires them to prove their IDENTITY, so everyone knows WHO is speaking. SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES SHOULD MAKE THIS MANDATORY FOR ALL USERS.”

Elba compared the current policies for social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to “boarding a plane and not having to show ID. THAT would never happen. If cowards are being supported by a veil of privacy and secrecy, then social media is not a safe space. It is an aeroplane that allows travellers to wear balaclavas. If cowards want to spout racial rhetoric then say it with your name, not your username.” He captioned the post, “Repost if you agree. Say less if you don’t.” It has over 221,000 likes and counting.

Four people have been arrested for comments made online about the soccer players:

A specialist team is looking into the offensive comments, police said, after three Black players — Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka — were targeted with racist abuse on social media sites… The abuse has been widely condemned, and the U.K. government has promised action against social media companies if they do not remove offensive material more quickly.

You can read Elba’s post below.

(Via ESPN)

The Killers have been open about their plans to quickly follow their 2020 album Imploding The Mirage with another new album, and now it’s set: Pressure Machine is set for release on August 13 and the band shared a trailer for it today.

Press materials describe the project as “a quieter, character-study-driven album” and note that its “songs are based on the memories and stories of people that impacted him growing up, interspersed with commentary from current Nephi [Brandon Flowers’ Utah hometown] locals about their town.”

Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. said, “We were discussing [Flowers] moving to Nephi as a kid and being stuck in the middle of nowhere, and during COVID-19, it started to feel like we were all in the middle of nowhere.” Flowers added, “I discovered this grief that I hadn’t dealt with, many memories of my time in Nephi are tender. But the ones tied to fear or great sadness were emotionally charged. I’ve got more understanding now than when we started the band, and hopefully I was able to do justice to these stories and these lives in this little town that I grew up in.”

This seems to be the album Vannucci was talking about in a recent interview, when he said, “Well, weirdly enough, we had this stockpile of songs that were sort of orphans off of the last record, but we’re saving that for the next record. We instead made another record, which is… a bit of a concept record and very different from the normal Killers stuff.”

Watch the Pressure Machine trailer above.

Pressure Machine is out 8/13 via Island Records. Pre-order it here.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Mariah The Scientist‘s second album Ry Ry World looked to broaden the scope of her content, positioning her in a world that operates under her discretion. While her first effort, 2019’s Master, zoomed in on her love life, the failures of her partners, and her forever-changing outlook on the wide realm of relationships, Ry Ry World zooms out to deliver a panoramic view of Mariah’s mind to illuminate her worldview.

Through ten songs and a pair of guest features from fellow ATLiens Young Thug and Lil Baby, Mariah drops the curtain that stood in front of Ry Ry World. She reveals three major things that keep it on its axis: ferocity, feistiness, and a fearless approach to it all. Mariah is uninterested in the things that occur in her orbit that don’t concern her. Her peaceful and easy-going voice creates a path that traverses the world uninterrupted as it evades obstacles or barrels through them unfazed.

On “Walked In,” one of the more upbeat records on the project featuring Young Thug, Mariah walks with her head held high and the belief that not only what’s meant for her will come to her. “Yes sir, tonight we falling in love / Want none of that cappin’ ’bout booin’ up,” she sings before adding later, “Looked in his eyes and asked him ‘What you tryna do?’” A straightforward approach is the first step towards saving time and energy, especially when the result relies on the actions of another party. Whether through heartwrenching questions to a man about a woman he left Mariah for on “All For Me” or the ravaging thoughts behind heartbreak and her sinister responses to it on “Revenge,” the Atlanta singer has no problem shooting an arrow of havoc into her problems to kill them off for good.

However, the singer is not against a good fight whenever it’s needed. She raises her guard and creates distance between herself and an unfaithful lover on “Aura” through dreamy production and contemplation of the what-ifs and perfect world scenarios. “2 You” and “Maybe” also grapple with the uncertainty that results from failed bouts with love. “​​Maybe we should escape / Maybe I should’ve stayed,” she sings on “Maybe.” “Maybe we should’ve ran away / Maybe I should’ve prayed.” What Mariah must come to terms with is maybe things aren’t meant to be no matter what she could’ve done.

Mariah’s fearless approach to everything in her life is what makes Ry Ry World so unique and captivating. Factor in her ferocity and feistiness and it becomes evident that the singer strives to have her way. She lays her cards on the table with her heart beside it on “Always N Forever” with Lil Baby declaring, “I’ll be your woman always.” Even when it’s time to let go, like it is on “RIP,” Mariah drops the hand of her partner knowing that she fought as hard as she could. “And if I told you, ‘The world is yours’ / You’d just wanna go to Mars,” she admits. “But I cannot sell my soul to prove, it should’ve been ours.”

One can imagine that if Ry Ry World is not a place that Mariah The Scientist traverses by herself, it’s one filled with people who might, or should at least, strive to live more like the singer. The singer proudly wears her heart on her sleeve because it’s big enough to take on whatever damage the world might inflict on it. So even with an arrow in her back and through her heart as the album cover depicts, Mariah The Scientist won’t ever change her ways because Ry Ry World continues to spin as long as she stays true to herself.

Ry Ry World is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.

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 Pop Smoke’s posthumous legacy continue to grow and Normani drop a head-turner with Cardi B. 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.

Pop Smoke — “Tell The Vision” Feat. Kanye West and Pusha T

A bit over a year after his first posthumous album — Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon — Pop Smoke is back with another, and Faith, like its predecessor, has a star-packed tracklist. Among the guests are Kanye West and Pusha T, who bring their own flavor to “Tell The Vision,” which Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes “fits right in the drill rap pocket that Pop thrived in before his tragic death.”

Normani and Cardi B — “Wild Side”

Normani’s latest is “Wild Side,” and to help her out, she got the rapper with perhaps the wildest side of them all: Cardi B. The “WAP” rapper turns in another colorfully explicit verse here, which apparently came to be after her first go at it wasn’t quite “nasty” enough.

Willow — “Grow” Feat. Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne

There’s plenty of evidence that Willow’s pop-punk pivot has been an overwhelming success. “Transparent Soul” is a catchy hit that has fared well on the rock charts, while she linked up with two of the genre’s all-time favorites, Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne, on “Grow.”

John Mayer — “Shot In The Dark”

The release of John Mayer’s new album, Sob Rock, saw him continue to pump out the nostalgia via his “Shot In The Dark” video. Of the album, Uproxx’s Steven Hyden notes, “As Sob Rock demonstrates, Mayer remains an eternally tasteful musician with a natural feel for melody and songcraft, and those qualities make his catalogue much more consistent than he’s given credit for. […] Overall, Sob Rock doesn’t feel like a costume. It sounds like John Mayer coming back into himself. ”

Clairo — “Reaper”

Clairo proved herself to be a success with her debut album, but she has entered a new level on her latest, Sling. You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep, and Clairo has good people around her now, as Lorde contributed to multiple songs on the album, including the gentle “Reaper.”

Trippie Redd — “Holy Smokes” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert

Trippie Redd has been one of rap’s most productive figures of the past few years, as he’s dropped at least one new full-length project every year since 2017. He has another, Trip At Knight, arriving in 2021, which he previewed last week with the Lil Uzi Vert-featuring “Holy Smokes.”

Caroline Polachek — “Bunny Is A Rider”

Caroline Polachek had a strong first proper solo outing with 2019’s Pang, and she returned last week with her first original material since then. It was a strong comeback, too, as “Bunny Is A Rider” features yet another catchy Polachek hook, accompanied by groove-driven verses.

Toosii — “Head Over Hills”

Just two months removed from dropping a new project, Thank You For Believing, Toosi is back with more via “Head Over Hills.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes of the single, “The track captures him reflecting on the past and current status of his life as he touches on stereotypes he broke down, the love he found, and many other things that are defined as success in his eyes.”

Conan Gray — “People Watching”

For his latest — “People Watching” — Conan Gray teamed up with a couple of in-demand songwriters: Julia Michaels and Olivia Rodrigo collaborator Dan Nigro. Uproxx’s Caitlin White notes that on the narrative tune, “Gray explores what it feels like to see other people fall in and out of love while remaining outside of the relationship format, safe from the turmoil, but also removed from the intimacy.”

Haim — “Cherry Flavored Stomach Ache”

Haim are putting their mark on the upcoming Netflix film The Last Letter From Your Lover with “Cherry Flavored Stomach Ache,” which Uproxx’s Rachel Brodsky described as “a jangly, Paul Simon-sounding track.” The film’s director, Augustine Frizzell, hand-picked the sisters to pen the track for the movie, and they note of it, “It has a feel that’s both modern and retro and felt like [lead character] Ellie’s world.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Since 2019’s Jesus Is King, there have been rumors upon rumors of new Kanye West albums that are set to drop at some point. Well, it’s time for another West album rumor: Over the weekend, West reportedly hosted a listening party for a new project that’s set to drop soon (as NME notes).

Over the weekend, internet personality Justin Laboy tweeted, “Kanye played his new album for me & [Kevin Durant] last night in Vegas. Man listen! The production is light years ahead of it’s time, and the bars sound like he’s broke & hungry trying to get signed again. Any artist who plan on dropping soon should just push it back.” He then shared a photo from the supposed listening session and added, “ALBUM OF THE YEAR. DONT @ ME.”

He later added that the album is coming out this week, writing, “Kanye West album is really done. When it drops this week, we probably not going to listen to anything else for a while.. Let me go enjoy all the current artist I’m listening to until then. God bless.” As Laboy’s tweets made the rounds, photos from outside of a supposed listening party surfaced.

This news comes days after a video of West and Tyler The Creator working on something together surfaced.