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 Lorde’s long-awaited return and the omnipresent Young Thug making an appearance. 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.
Lorde — “Big Star”
Lorde takes her time between albums, but after four years, Solar Power is here. Aside from singles like the title track and “Stoned At The Nail Salon,” the release is led by highlights like the subtle-but-moving “Big Star,” an emotional ode to Lorde’s late dog, Pearl.
Young Thug — “Tick Tock”
After some collaborative projects in recent days, Thug is back to taking center stage, as he did last week with “Tick Tock.” The rapper embraces a new song on the track, putting his spin on some modern trends by delivering a track with heavy pop and rock influences.
Ed Sheeran — “Visiting Hours”
Back in March, Ed Sheeran made an appearance at the funeral of Australian music industry icon Michael Gudinski and sang a new song he wrote for his late friend, “Visiting Hours.” He broke down into tears at the end of the song, and he brings much of that emotion to the studio version of the track, which he dropped last week. Sheeran wasn’t alone on that recording, as he was joined by a couple of Gudinski’s other friends, Kylie Minogue and Jimmy Barnes.
DVSN and Ty Dolla Sign — “Memories”
Ty Dolla Sign and DVSN had two of last year’s better R&B albums, so the two coming together on a project ought to be something special. Well, we’ll get the chance to find out if that’s the case, as they’re indeed making a joint album. They shared a look at it last week with “Memories,” of which Uproxx’s Aaron Williams effused, “Do you want extensive talkbox use? Check. A classic R&B sample (Silk’s 1992 hit ‘Freak Me’) courtesy of Nineteen85? Check. Were you looking to see glittery halters adorning the denizens of a grown-and-sexy club party in the video, a la millennial-era videos from the likes of Maxwell, Usher, Tyrese, and others? Yep, DVSN and Ty give you that, too.”
Skrillex, Justin Bieber, and Don Toliver — “Don’t Go”
Skrillex hasn’t dropped an album since 2015, but that doesn’t mean he’s been doing nothing. He drops new stuff from time to time, including some high profile collaborations, the latest being the Justin Bieber- and Don Toliver-featuring cut “Don’t Go.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes that on the track, Bieber and Toliver “go back and forth with verses that plead for their lover’s continued presence over feel-good production from Skrillex and Harv.”
James Blake — “Life Is Not The Same”
Blake is towards the start of the promotional cycle of his album Friends That Break Your Heart, and he continued it last week with the eerie and yearning “Life Is Not The Same.” Blake says the track is about being content with yourself: “The song is about finding peace with who you are and where you’re at regardless of how well other people seem to be doing. Comparison really is the thief of joy.”
Deafheaven — “Shellstar”
Deafheaven in 2021 isn’t the same band (in terms of sound) that you remember, as they’re going with a less hardcore sound these days. Their new album, Infinite Granite, is more shoegaze and post-rock than it is hardcore, and singer George Clarke has embraced the cleaner side of his vocals. The album kicks off with the dreamy and epic “Shellstar” and stays the delightfully atmospheric course from there.
Phoebe Bridgers — “Kyoto (Bartees Strange Remix)”
Of his “Kyoto” remix, Bartees Strange said, “I wanted to find a way to make this song hit in a completely different way, but still retain some of the big and small moments that make the song special to me.” The way he did that was basically turn his “remix” into a cover, which is more of a soaring indie-rock epic than the original.
Remi Wolf — “Grumpy Old Man”
Wolf is a pop up-and-comer to keep an eye on, and there’s about to be plenty to watch, as their album Juno is dropping this fall. She dropped a pair of new songs last week, “Grumpy Old Man” and “Quiet On Set,” which, as Uproxx’s Carolyn Droke put it, offer “a preview of the gritty and funk-forward sound expected from her debut effort.”
Jaden — “Summer”
We’re in the thick of summer, and Jaden went ahead and dropped a theme song for the season, which is of course titled “Summer.” Jaden’s take on the warm season is a relaxed one, perfect for driving around with the windows down on a chill weekend.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.