As we pass the halfway point of March, we’re treated to a solid week of new music from across the landscape. Charli XCX has her latest leading the pack and is one of the first big pop records of the year. Rosalía, however, is also here with her newest record as well, so if you’re looking to dance away the weekend, you’re in luck. There is also the latest record from Yumi Zouma which can serve as a delightful come down or for more reserved moments.
Sonic Youth have been hard at work ever since they broke up. In the decade since they disbanded, they’ve released an exceptional amount of archive material capturing live performances from their storied career. This week, they’re back with an album of unreleased, mostly instrumental jams from the early 2000s.
Arcade Fire started teasing fans about a new album by mailing postcards to their royal collective over the past few weeks and on Thursday, they dropped the lead single(s) “Lightning I, II” and announced that their sixth record, WE, will be out in May.
Thom Yorke returned with a new standalone single, the piano driven “5.17” and then shared a new one from his new group with Jonny Greenwood and Tim Skinner. The new track from The Smile is a long lost Radiohead track that has been reworked, but still feels deeply indebted to two-thirds of the group’s past.
Last year, Hovvdy released a great record called True Love and this week they followed it up with a single track called “Everything” which is an excellent b-side of bright, guitar-pop.
The Reds, Pinks and Purples continue their incredible streak with two new tunes, “What is a Friend?” and “Is it your or is it them?” The second has an ‘80s melody reminiscent of a rough Smiths demo with Donaldson’s saddened lyrics fitting the vibe with classic self doubt and sorrow.
Finally, the London collective KOKOROKO has announced their long-awaited debut LP. It’s called Could We Be More? and it features the new song “We Give Thanks.” The album is out this summer
Albums:
Charli XCX | CRASH
Sonic Youth | In/Out/In
Rosalía | MOTOMAMI
Yumi Zouma | Present Tense
Portico Quartet | Next Stop EP
Songs:
Arcade Fire | “Lightning I, II”
The Smile | “Skrting On the Surface”
Normani | “Fair”
The Reds, Pinks and Purples | “Is it you or is it them?”
KOKOROKO | “We Give Thanks”
King Princess | “For My Friends”
MUNA | “Anything But Me”
Hovvdy | “Everything”
Ducks Ltd. | “Head On” (ft Illuminati Hotties) [Jesus and Mary Chain cover]
Thom Yorke | “5.17”
Dawn Richard | “Pressure” [Afriqua remix]
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2022) here!