New Music Friday Roundup – 15/02/19

What a varied New Music Friday we have for you this week! Two artists who you never would have imagined collaborating have now released a song together, while some huge bands have released new tracks and there’s some nice new pop to get your teeth into as well.

Want to find out more? Then keep reading.

Biffy Clyro – ‘Modern Love’

Biffy have taken a Bowie classic and completely ripped it apart. Recorded for the Howard Stern tribute to David Bowie, the Scottish rockers have gone back to their angry, shouty roots and done a new version of ‘Modern Love’. But it’s so completely unrecognisable from the original that it could easily be a completely different song.

You might often come across YouTube videos covering calm pop songs with heavy, screamo riffs, and that’s the sort of thing we’re talking about here. Squeaking at such a pitch that nearly only dogs can hear it, before launching into a chorus where you finally get to recognise the voice of lead singer Simon Neil, prepare yourself for this track.

Avril Lavigne & Nicki Minaj – ‘Dumb Blonde’

What a combo. It’s very Avril and then very Nicki, fulfilling the criteria needed for the song. The song features on Avril’s new album Head Above Water which is released today, but ‘Dumb Blonde’ stands out from the rest of the LP as a huge, energetic pop track.

It begins with an army drumbeat before introducing Avril’s vocals over some strong pop production. The tune will definitely get stuck in your head, as will the lyrics I ain’t no dumb blonde / I ain’t no stupid Barbie Doll.

The song continues as you would expect, but then Nicki Minaj’s solo comes in and it moves from a pulsating, pop track to a minimal, hip hop beat with a rap. The army drumbeats are back in the limelight, before the huge pop sound comes back in for the end of the track.

It’ll be in the charts next week, for sure.

Foals – ‘On The Luna’

Our second glimpse at new Foals music ahead of their two albums this year, ‘On The Luna’ takes them right back to their roots. Yannis’ high pitched vocal and the arrangement of the lead guitars, with an electronic sound enveloping it all, could have been a B-side form Antidotes.

The group have announced some intimate shows next month in Edinburgh, London and Manchester, ahead of their tour this summer and huge festival appearances (including a return to Oxford for Truck Festival). Expect a couple more tracks soon too, given that the first part of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost will be released in March also.

Jessie Ware – ‘Adore You’

This is Jessie Ware at her best – just her voice with no distractions from hundreds of layers of instruments and no pop pressure getting in the way. ‘Adore You’ sounds like a Disclosure collaboration, but they haven’t had anything to do with the track (as far as we know).

Setting the mood for a late-night walk through the big city, Jessie voice flows around your head while the soft yet effective electronic beat messes with your head. Think of it as a psycho thriller converted into music.

It’s our first new music from Jessie Ware this year, and only the second new track of her’s since 2017’s Glasshouse was released.

Hozier – ‘Dinner & Diatribes’

‘Dinner & Diatribes’ is the lead track from a new-ish EP from Hozier, which compiles some highlights of his new stuff from recent times. It will probably be the last bit of new music we hear from him before the new album is out next month, so take it all in.

‘Dinner & Diatribes’ gives Hozier the perfect platform to show off what he can do with his voice. It creates a dreamlike setting (helped by the lyrics ‘That’s the kind of love I’ve been dreaming of’) and is coupled with the backing female vocals which featured so prominently on his Nina Cried Power EP.

We can’t wait for his new album. He also announced some tours dates recently, so get tickets for that before they go!

Kygo & Valerie Broussard – ‘Think About You’

Relatively new artist Valerie Broussard features on Kygo‘s latest offering. It’s a very Kygo track; the producer knows what works so can allow more time to show off the skill of whoever he’s working with.

Valerie’s voices sounds similar to Sigrid and the track is extremely radio friendly for the current market. It’s got the pop beats, the piano melodies and the emotional lyrics. If there was a competition to see who could put together the best track including all the key elements, Kygo would almost certainly win.

Stereophonics – ‘Chaos From The Top Down’

To begin with, it could be new Oasis. If you read into the lyrics then it’s quite a deep, depressing story, with Stereophonics telling NME that it follows a 15-year-old boy who’s about to die. It also tears apart everything that’s wrong with society at the moment, as per their belief that music is a method through which we become informed or provoked.

But don’t worry, the band don’t want to go down the dark, depressing route. This track is just a snippet of what could become reality if we’re not careful. Enjoy.

Catfish and the Bottlemen – ‘Fluctuate’

New Catfish and the Bottlemen album The Balance comes out in April, and ‘Fluctuate’ is our next new piece of music from it. As one of the rockiest tracks that the group have done, it sounds similar to Circa Waves‘ Different Creatures album.

While recent release ‘Longshot’ is a more observatory track, ‘Fluctuate’ almost provides a sequel, refusing to give in with a desire to take control. In terms of the track listing on their new album, the group seem to be released music in order – ‘Fluctuate’ is the second song on the album, and ‘Longshot’ is the first.