Kendrick, Calvin, Selena and the rest of #NewMusicFriday

Last week's New Music Friday was so underwhelming I didn't bother writing a post (memo to Zayn and Drake: stop mumbling). This week, however, things have turned around completely. There's stonking new tunes from Kendrick Lamar, Selena Gomez and Oh Wonder, to mention just a few. Scroll down for the best - and worst - of the week's new releases.

Kendrick Lamar - Humble
"Wicked or weakness, you gotta see this," raps Kendrick on this, the first proper single from his fourth album. He's not wrong.

The track, which attacks some of hip-hop's most tiresome tropes (bragging about money, improbably proportioned video girls) while asserting Kendrick's position as the best rapper in the game. "Sit down, bitch, be humble," he says, while sitting in Jesus' position at The Last Supper. Well, quite.




A Tribe Called Quest - Dis Generation
The best track on ATCQ's recent album (it samples Pass The Dutchie!!) gets a proper single release, with a gorgeous black-and-white video that shows Q-Tip, Jarobi and Busta Rhymes trading lines, and dancing whenever the voice of the late Phife Dawg pops up. Brilliant stuff.




Calvin Harris - Heatwave (ft Pharrell, Ariana Grande and Young Thug)
Less than the sum of its parts, this star-studded single feels a bit aimless - but the loping groove and Ariana's sugar-sweet B chorus provide enough highlights to keep your attention.




Bleachers - Don't Take The Money
Jack Antonoff helped Lorde put together her new album, and she's repaid the favour by co-writing this single for his band, Bleachers (she also sings backing vocals, deep, deep down in the mix). Radio 1 are going to be all over this one.




Selena Gomez - Only You
A hauntingly sombre cover of the Yazoo classic, taken from the soundtrack to the new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. I like this a lot.




Kwaye - Cool Kids
I was amazed to discover this caramel-smooth soul jam emanated from London - but there it is, Kwaye is a 22-year-old, Zimbabwe-born, London-based singer-songwriter. His debut video is a celebration and declaration of diversity. Highly recommended.




British Sea Power - International Space Station
British Sea Power said their sixth album (out today) would be their most musically direct record - and they certainly keep that promise. International Space Station is my personal highlight, with a soaring chorus and what can only be described as an indie musician's version of a cheerleader chant in the middle 8.




Becky Hill - Rude Love
Written with MNEK, this is a distinctly odd and deliberately obtuse pop single. Naturally, it is quite excellent.




Oh Wonder - Ultralife
A welcome return for DIY alt-pop duo Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West. Their doubled-up vocals are instantly recognisable on this joyous, uplifting single. Not a massive progression from their debut, but just different enough to raise interest for the new album.




Alt-J - In Cold Blood
Intricate but accessible; awkward but danceable. Alt-J at their best. Will sound great in a field near you this summer.




Billie Eilish - Bored
Another scene-grabbing slice of pop melodrama from the precociously talented teenager. An ode to boredom that manages to be anything but.




Vanessa White - Running Wild
The former Saturday has had her attempts at launching a solo career frustrated by legal problems with her old management. But with those hurdles overcome, she's back with EP2 (three years after EP1), which further exemplifies her deft touch with a classic R&B harmony. Beguiling stuff.



Catherine McGrath - When I'm Older
Imagine if Natalie Imbruglia did a country makeover of Torn, and you have a good idea of how Catherine McGrath's new single sounds. The 19-year-old, who hails from the rural outskirts of Belfast (NB: All the outskirts of Belfast are rural), grew up surrounded by music - her parents run the Fiddler's Green Festival - and cites Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift as her influences.

This song captures the joys of youth ("these are going to be the good old days some day"), with an earnest, uplifting acoustic strum. A total breath of fresh air.



Mary J Blige - Love Yourself (feat Kanye West)
After flirting with UK house on her last album, Mary J Blige's latest sees her retreating to safe ground. You've heard a hundred variations of this song before.





Cheat Codes - No Promises (feat Demi Lovato)
Totally generic Primark pop.



The Chainsmokers - The One
Not the one.

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Robbie goes EDM and 10 other songs you may have missed

A semi-regular round-up of songs that I didn't have time to blog about this week because I was pushing swings and watching In The Night Garden. Quality guaranteed.

1) Avicii ft Robbie Williams - The Days
The first lead single from Avicii's second album Stories, this is excellent - like ELO remixed by, well, Avicii.

It was accidentally uploaded to the Swedish DJ's YouTube channel for a couple of hours earlier this week. But it stuck around long enough for people to grab the audio and upload it elsewhere. Et voila.




2) Odesza - Say My Name (RAC Mix)
The original version of Say My Name is pleasant enough but RAC - as they so often do - track down the song's sweet spot and exploit it ruthlessly. This is brilliant.






3) Aretha Franklin - Rolling In The Deep (The Aretha Version)
The parenthesised subtitle is audacious, but if anyone's earned the right to plant a flag in Adele's song and declare it their own, it's Ms Franklin. (Although, with the greatest r-e-s-p-e-c-t, the original is about 20 times better).





4) Kendrick Lamar - i
Over in America, the hip-hop heads are having a heated debate about Kendrick Lamar's new single, accusing the so-called "Savior (Saviour) of hip-hop" of selling out. Why? Because the song is a radio-friendly, Isley Brother-sampling, freewheeling juggernaut of positivity.

To which I say: Your loss.




5) Pharrell Williams - It Girl
In a further effort to rehabilitate his image, Pharrell spends this video chatting up a pre-teen manga character with unfeasibly large breasts. Oh, hang on...






6) Billie Black - I Don't Need Another Lover
Nineteen-year-old Londoner Billie Black really impresses on this slinky soul track. Her voice will remind you of Jessie Ware, but that's not a criticism. This is pure pleasure.






7) Becky Hill - Losing
The voice behind Oliver Helden's Gecko (Overdrive) and Rudimental's Powerless, and a former contestant on The Voice-although-we-don't-talk-about-that, Becky Hill is one to watch for 2015. This MNEK-produced single is further proof that she possesses a healthy serving of special sauce.





8) Clean Bandit - Real Love (ft Jess Glynne)
A fantastic treat from the Clean Bandit crew - a new, unreleased track with Rather Be vocalist Jess Glynne. Their Facebook page says its a co-release, suggesting its from Jess's forthcoming solo album, but Clean Bandit get top billing. How odd.

Real Love is one of those songs that tricks you into thinking it's going to be a lighters-aloft ballad before exploding like a bejewelled kitten. And we all love bejwelled kittens, right?





9) Chromeo - Old 45s
The lyrics are an ode to the singles of your youth, and the video stars Haim and Napoleon Dynamite. I couldn't resist.




10) Ben Howard - Hideaway (Kiesza cover)
I'm not usually a fan of the "slow down a dance song and reveal untold depths" school of Live Lounge covers, because dance songs always have untold depths and only music snobs think otherwise. But this beautiful, solemn take on Kiesza's future classic is so beautiful it gets a free pass.

That's this week's pick. What was your favourite? Let me know in the comments or on the Twitter "sphere".

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Back in business: What did I miss?

HELLO THERE EVERYONE!

As you can see, I'm back from the Caribbean - where the sun was shiny, the sea was wavy, and the music was Corinne Bailey Rae-y (seriously, there seems to be a law requiring all bands to play Put Your Records On at least twice during their set).

I missed the Grammys and I missed the Super Bowl - but I did manage to catch Prince's appearance on New Girl, where he proved his acting "chops" hadn't improved since Under The Cherry Moon *frowny face emoticon*.


We've only just got back to the UK, so I haven't had time to catch up on all the exciting Conor Maynard and Laura Mvula announcements clogging up my inbox, but here's a quick rundown of the videos I've prioritised to watch on YouTube tonight.

1) Kylie Minogue - Into The Blue
Controversially shot in 4:3, aspect ratio fans.




2) Rudimental ft Becky Hill - Powerless
Becky Hill was on the first series of The Voice, you know.




3) Shakira ft Rihanna - Can't Remember To Forget You
The song doesn't get any better but [insert sexist comment about Shakira's bottom here].




4) Foster The People - Coming Of Age
It's like a three-minute John Hughes movie, only with new music on top. What sophistry is this?




5) Villagers - Occupy Your Mind
Recorded with James Ford (Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys) this song was premiered last week as a gesture of solidarity with Russia's gay population ahead of the Winter Olympics.




6) St Vincent - Digital Witness
Still disorientating, still brilliant.




7) 5 Seconds of Silence - She Looks So Perfect
It's like McBusted split up, fell down a rabbit hole, landed in Australia 10 years younger and started all over again.




8) Klaxons - There Is No Other Time
"A return to form" - every music journalist, everywhere.




9) MØ - Don't Wanna Dance
Who doesn't love a music video set in a scrap yard? Nobody, that's who.



10) The Pierces - Kings
If Tim Burton drew a girl group it would look like Allison and Catherine Pierce. Later this year, they'll be following up 2010's achingly beautiful goth-pop album You & I... and this is the first bite of their newly-plucked forbidden fruit. Yummy.


11) Prince - PretzelBodyLogic (preview)
Apparently he's playing Shepherd's Bush again tonight (Monday)... Anyone care to confirm?

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