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 Justin Bieber drop two timeless classics and Kehlani unveil an anticipated 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. Also find our Uproxx HQ Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly with the best new music, at the end of this post.
Justin Bieber — “Honest” Feat. Don Toliver
Justin Bieber dropped what is sure to be his defining song with “I Feel Funny,” which, in all seriousness, was just a joke-rap song and accompanying video he used to tease his real headlining release of the week. That was “Honest,” which sees Bieber leaning into his hip-hop side by teaming up with Don Toliver for the song and its snowy video.
Kehlani — “Everything”
Kehlani has been gradually working her way up the charts with her albums: 2017’s SweetSexySavage peaked at No. 3 while 2020’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t rose to No. 2. Here’s hoping that’s a linear progression and last week’s Blue Water Road finds its way to No. 1. Whatever the outcome, we’ll always have the music, including “Everything,” a smooth tune that sees Kehlani waxing poetic about somebody special.
Future — “Keep It Burning” Feat. Kanye West
As Ye has been keeping his new music mostly exclusive to his Stem Player, fans without one look forward to West’s collaborations with other artists, aka songs they can actually listen to on their preferred streaming platforms. A pair of them popped up last month on Pusha T’s new album and now Ye is back again, this time on Future’s “Keep It Burning,” which arrived shortly after the news of Future’s new album, I Never Liked You.
Angel Olsen — “Big Time”
Angel Olsen has been on a productive tear over the past few years and she’s keeping it alive in 2022 with her recently announced album, Big Time. She shared the title track last week, which Uproxx’s Danielle Chelosky notes feels “weightless and grateful” and “[sways] with a jaunty, country twang and [contains] a wholesome hook: ‘I’m loving you big time.’”
Khalid — “Skyline”
Over the course of his young but already oh-so-prosperous career, Khalid has made friends with experimentation. He’s dipped his toes in a number of genres and aesthetics and he expands again on his latest, “Skyline,” which is the funkiest slice of summery pop he’s produced yet.
Baby Tate — “Dancing Queen”
No, Baby Tate isn’t referencing ABBA (who somehow only just got their first Grammy nomination last year, by the way) on her new song, “Dancing Queen.” The rising Atlanta rapper’s single is definitely about dancing, though, as evidenced by the movement-friendly rhythm of the song and its dance-filled warehouse video.
Arcade Fire — “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)”
A lot has been going on with Arcade Fire lately: They announced a new album in March, Will Butler revealed a few days later he had left the band, the group was a last-minute Coachella addition, and they booked a Saturday Night Live musical guest slot. They did even more a few days ago by dropping a new single, “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid),” a hopeful single that, like “Lightning I, II” before it, sees the band returning to the more anthemic, rock-driven sound that made them famous.
Lil Baby — “Frozen”
This summer is about to be a big one for music and Lil Baby is set to be a major part of that. He’s already bringing a chill to the warm months with “Frozen,” which Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes “presents the Atlanta native as a laser-focused spitter who is determined to stick to his journey in life without letting unnecessary distractions deter him.”
Wilco — “Falling Apart (Right Now)”
Back in Wilco’s early days, the band was firmly known as an alt-country group. While they’ve strayed from that label in the years since then, it’s something they’re more actively embracing again on their newly announced album, Cruel Country. When announcing the project last week, they shared “Falling Apart (Right Now),” a pleasant mid-tempo tune that definitely sees the group leaning more into twang than they have in some time.
The Black Keys — “It Ain’t Over”
Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach have more prime blues-rock on the way with the upcoming Dropout Boogie, from which they shared “It Ain’t Over” a few days ago. They had a neat technical trick up their sleeve for this one, as Carney explained on Twitter, “We built this song around an optigan. Ralph Carney showed me way back in 1996 if you flipped the discs over they played in reverse. After the first two bars of this I flip it into reverse. Thanks uncle Ralph. Miss you.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.