It’s New Music Friday, which means there’s loads of new songs out. Here are the highlights of the day’s new tracks.
See the New Music section for full selection of tracks and albums featured this week.
Nialler9 Weekly Playlist:
1.
Peggy Gou
I Go
It’s hard to deny the payoff at the end of this excellent tune. I want to dance to this in public.
“When I was a teenager in Korea, we didn’t have rave culture like there was in the UK. “I Go” is a tribute to that era, my own reimagination of the sounds I grew up loving. The lyrics are inspired by a note I wrote on my phone in 2019, staring at myself in the mirror of an airport toilet – I looked so exhausted but there was no way I wasn’t going to keep going! “I Go” is basically me motivating myself, finding courage and returning to a feeling of innocence. I hope people feel the same sense of positivity when they hear it.”
2.
Self Esteem
Prioritise Pleasure
Self Esteem’s ‘So It All The Time’ was a gorgeous spoken word track announcing a new era for the songwriter Rebecca Taylor but ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ is a whole other sonic level.
3.
LOAH
Your World
Loah has an EP coming where the artist takes 1920s poems and sets them to songs. I premiered the Eva Gore Booth song recently, and this version of Douglas Johnson’s poem has got so much power and beauty in it.
4.
Damon Albarn
Polaris
Damon Albarn is rocking a mullet and has a new album on the way. ‘Polaris’ is a lush track from the forthcoming LP The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows. The album was originally intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland but was further developed over lockdown.
Albarn is playing the NCH next February.
5.
Angel Olsen
Gloria
Angel Olsen tackles the Laura Branigan classic on an EP of ’80s covers out on August 20th.
You can also look forward to covers of ‘Eyes Without A Face’ (Billy Idol), ‘Safety Dance’ (Men Without Hats), ‘If You Leave’ (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) and ‘Forever Young’ (Alphaville)
6.
Dave
Clash (ft. Stormzy)
Two big boys in UK rap link up. The tune announces Dave’s new album We’re All Alone In This Together out July 23rd.
7.
Orla Gartland
You’re Not Special Babe
Orla is great. Listen to Orla. This is from the debut album Woman on the Internet
out 20th August.
“Growing up is weird and my twenties feel like chaos. ‘You’re Not Special, Babe’ is a coming-of-age song written to remind myself that everyone goes through all of it; good times, bad times, strange times, dizzying highs & extreme lows. The title sounds mean but it’s really meant to be a comforting message!
Gigs?
Thursday 16th December – Academy, Dublin
Friday 17th December – Dolans, Limerick
Saturday 18th December – Cyprus Avenue, Cork
8.
Jungle
Romeo feat. Bas
Nice to hear Jungle do something a bit different for sure, but the hook on this track is certainly driven by their trademark vocal sound.
9.
Jack Name & Aoife Nessa Frances
Watching the Willows Burn
Aoife Nessa Frances’ first music post debut album Land Of No Junction is this collaboration with Los Angeles Mexican Summer artist Jack Name. ‘Watching the Willows Burn’ was a remote conversation between LA and Clare, with Frances writing the melody and vocals.
“A lot of our conversations drifted into topics like mysticism and ancient history. We imagined a struggle between a peaceful group of moon worshipping people and maniacal totalitarian warlords. That sent us down a stream which eventually led to the different things willows can symbolise. It’s interesting how they can stand for purity and nourishment and also grief and death. So what does it mean to watch them burn in the dark? Perhaps a rebirth, whether healing or destroying, depends on who’s watching.”
Jack & Aoife
Oh also, some good news is that work is well underway on Aoife Nessa Frances’ second album.
10.
Priya Ragu
Kamali
Raguwavy’ is the term that the Sri Lankan Swiss R&B electro pop artist has coined for her own music. ‘Kamali’ is a song inspired by a short film of the same name:
‘Kamali’ is inspired by the short film of the same name. It explores the story of Suganthi, a single mother living in a small village in India. She was raised in a culture in which gender roles are clearly structured, and as a result she stayed at home until she was old enough to marry. Physically and mentally abused by her husband, she escaped to create a better future for her children. Her daughter, Kamali, is devoted to skateboarding, a passion which Suganthi actively encourages despite the opposition of the villagers. Gradually, Kamali’s talent is nurtured, giving her a world of opportunities that would’ve been unimaginable to her mother when she was a child.
“A few years ago someone sent me the link to the short movie ‘Kamali’ and I was immediately inspired. I was so moved by her story that I sent it to Japhna straight away and told him to watch it. A day later he called me up saying how he wrote a song with tears in his eyes… ‘Kamali’. In so many ways I could relate to this little girl. Growing up, we look at the world with curiosity and envision infinite possibilities without any limitation. For a lot of us, these possibilities and dreams get blurry by the way the roles of men and women are dealt out. It is culturally rooted in ancient traditions where we are only good enough to become wives and mothers…where our life’s purpose is to fulfill our duties of raising our children and taking care of the household. This still exists! I want to speak to all the Kamalis in the world to think bigger than that, to look further than that.If we can birth life, imagine what we can create if we are fully off the leash?! With this song I want to be another crack in the cycle, so that one day we can fully break it together”. says Priya.
It’s from a forthcoming mixtape called damnshestamil, out September 3rd.
11.
Peyton
What Did I Do?
Stones Throw artist Peyton drops a new track from the forthcoming album PSA out July 23rd.
12.
Billie Eilish
NDA
I definitely prefer the sonically darker side of Billie Eilish’s work.
Happier Than Ever is out on July 30th.
Nialler9 Weekly Playlist:
