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 a long-awaited track from Lil Nas X and a long-dormant one from Taylor Swift. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Lil Nas X has been teasing his debut album for months and months now, and last week, we got one step closer to it thanks to the new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” He shared a wild video for the track (which drew some comparisons to FKA Twigs) and also noted that his much awaited album is finally dropping this summer.
Taylor Swift — “You All Over Me (From The Vault)” Feat. Maren Morris
As part of her quest to re-record her old albums, Swift is unearthing previously unheard material, of which she noted, “One thing I’ve been loving about these From The Vault songs is that they’ve never been heard, so I can experiment, play, and even include some of my favorite artists.” So, that allowed her to get Maren Morris to sing backing vocals on her new/old country ballad, “You All Over Me (From The Vault).”
Rod Wave — SoulFly
Rod Wave has had quite the ascent since his 2019 single “Heart On Ice” achieved TikTok fame. His 2020 album Pray 4 Love peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and now he’s hoping for continued success with his latest release, SoulFly. He got a bit of help from Polo G on “Richer,” but beyond that guest spot, Wave eschews features and goes about his 19-track album alone.
Serpentwithfeet — Deacon
Serpentwithfeet tackled love from various perspectives on the singles he released leading up to his new album (like the Nao collaboration “Heart Storm“), and now Deacon is here. The artist previously said his goal was to make music that was “a lot softer, a lot more gentle than my previous work,” “something that felt very sensuous,” and “something that felt calm and restrained.”
Beabadoobee — “Last Night On Earth”
Beabadoobee and The 1975 are labelmates over at Dirty Hit, and now the two are linking up on a collaborative project. That would be Our Extended Play, which is out at some point this summer. Beabadoobee said lead single “Last Night On Earth” is “about all the things I would have done had I known we were going into a lockdown and the world was going to change the way it has.”
Vic Mensa — I Tape EP
Ahead of his new EP, Mensa told Uproxx about how punk music, and specifically Rage Against The Machine, is a major influence on him: “One of my biggest inspirations is Rage Against The Machine. Just one of the greatest groups. Rap is punk in a lot of ways. I mean, it’s a counter-culture depiction of working-class realities. They share the fact that generations before them denied the musical value of either one. Rappers are undoubtedly the new rock stars. What categorizes the rock stars? Newspaper headlines, the drugs, and the dying young. I don’t see a distinction between the two. I mention Rage Against The Machine because Zack de la Rocha is literally just one of the best rappers to me.”
Brockhampton — “Buzzcut” Feat. Danny Brown
It’s been about two years since Brockhampton’s last full-length project, Ginger, but they announced last week that a new one, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, is on the way in April. That news was preceded by a fresh track, the Danny Brown-featuring “Buzzcut,” which was accompanied by a trippy and chaotic video.
Justin Bieber — Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)
Bieber is only a couple weeks removed from releasing his Justice album, but he’s already back with more material on his “Triple Chucks Deluxe” edition of the record. He worked in an eclectic mix of new collaborators on the five fresh tracks, as he secured features from Quavo, DaBaby, Jaden Smith, Lil Uzi Vert, and Tori Kelly (the latter of whom, like Bieber, is managed by Scooter Braun).
Shelley — “Cooking With Grease”
Shelley is at the start of a new era, as the rapper/singer recently changed his name yet again (he used to be DRAM, in case you didn’t hear the news). On recent singles, he has had a running theme of a program called Shelley Show and he continues that in the video for “Cooking With Grease,” a slow and soulful tune that puts Shelley’s vocal abilities front and center.
Mannequin Pussy — “Control”
The members of Mannequin Pussy didn’t get to spend much time together in 2020, but once they felt it was safe to do so, they reconvened and hit the studio. The result was the upcoming EP Perfect, which they teased last week with the dynamic and exciting single “Control.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
