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 the culmination of Adele’s comeback and Cardi B show up on a terrific new project. 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.
Adele — “Woman Like Me”
Adele has been forthcoming about the fact that her new album 30 is often about her divorce and the life events that followed. No song on the LP makes that more clear than “Woman Like Me,” which sees the singer addressing an early failed post-divorce relationship. She sings on the track, “Complacency is the worst trait to have, are you crazy? / You ain’t never had, ain’t never had a woman like me / It is so sad a man like you could be so lazy / Consistency is the gift to give for free and it is key / to ever keep, to ever keep a woman like me.”
Saweetie — “Icy Chain”
Saweetie achieved a major career milestone this past weekend when she made her first Saturday Night Live appearance. Ahead of the show, though, she figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a shiny new song to perform on the program, so she dropped “Icy Chain,” a Memphis trap-inspired look at how to secure some iced-out neckwear.
Cardi B — “Bet It”
Halle Berry did something pretty great with her her movie Bruised: Only female artists are included on its soundtrack. Cardi B came through with a new track for the occasion, “Bet It.” Uproxx’s Aaron Williams notes of the song, “Backed by a classic Canción melódica sample from Spanish singer Camilo Cortés, Cardi showcases a polished flow that suggests that she’s been hitting the gym as hard as Halle’s main character Jackie Justice in the film itself.”
Rico Nasty — “Money” Feat. Flo Milli
Rico Nasty established herself as one of hip-hop’s brightest up-and-comers with last year’s Nightmare Vacation, and now she’ back to building her clout up even further with “Money.” Uproxx’s Aaron Williams describes the Flo Milli collaboration as having “a hyperactive call-and-response anthem with big jock jam energy.”
100 Gecs — “Mememe”
Music’s most delightful head-scratchers just wrapped up a tour (save for a couple of December dates), but before they ended that run of dates, the duo dropped “Mememe.” The egocentrically-titled track is yet another example of how well the group is able to balance genre-spanning absurdity with songwriting that’s undeniably catchy, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the eclectic package in which it’s delivered.
FKA Twigs — “Measure Of A Man” Feat. Central Cee
FKA Twigs might have a “deep, emotional, and honest” mixtape coming at the end of this year. Whether or not that comes to fruition, she did give fans at least some new music to wrap up 2021: She linked up with UK rapper Central Cee for a track called “Measure Of A Man,” which is understandably cinematic given that it’s set to appear in the upcoming spy thriller The King’s Man.
French Montana and Doja Cat — “Handstand” Feat. Saweetie
It had been a minute since fans heard from French Montana in terms of new albums, as his latest was 2019’s Montana. He changed that last week, though, with his latest full-length, They Got Amnesia. The “they” in the album title surely isn’t referring to Montana’s peers in hip-hop, because they certainly remember who he is when the signed on to collaborate for the album. One such highlight comes as Montana links up with Doja Cat and Saweetie on the upbeat “Handstand.”
Saba — “Stop That”
Chicago favorite Saba is approaching the release of Few Good Things, which is highly anticipated given that it’s going to be his first LP in nearly four years. He previewed the effort last week with “Stop That,” the song’s title being a message to himself as he works to not let his insecurities get the best of him.
Petey — “Perfect Teeth”
Petey offered one of this year’s indie highlights with his stellar debut album Lean Into Life, and he leaned into life even more last week by adding a new song, “Perfect Teeth,” to the tracklist. It’s an intimate tune compared to the album’s more boisterous moments, as it’s mainly carried by piano, acoustic guitar, and Petey singing about, as he put it, “accepting a dissociative state as a new normal and just going with it.”
Big Thief — “Time Escaping”
Big news for Big Thief fans: The band has a big album (it has 20 tracks) with a big name (Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You) that’s set to drop in February. They offered a look at it last week with “Time Escaping,” a rhythmic and psychedelic effort from the ever-productive group.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.