Editors' Picks

When it comes to soul, the genre has been shaped into its modern form by artists such as Sam Smith and Daniel Caesar. However, it’s grown incredibly distant from its roots to an almost indistinguishable degree, but that doesn’t mean that old soul like our grandparents used to enjoy is dead and gone. In fact, Leon Bridges might be the largest force in keeping that energy alive to this day, and he does a better job than ever in his newest single with Keite Young, Like a Ship.

The Melvins played a big part in the development of grunge and sludge metal in the 1980s and early 1990s, and now in their fifth decade together, the veteran rockers are still going strong. Working With God is their 24th album (not including split records) and, though they’ve been through all sorts of personnel changes over the years, this new release finds them back in their original 1983 lineup of Buzz Osborne (vocals / guitars), Dale Crover (bass), and Mike Dillard (drums).

Zara Larsson is emphatically fierce in her latest single, ‘Look What You’ve Done.’ The infectious melody will immediately grasp you and immerse you within its celebratory but slightly wistful atmosphere. Zara has had a lot of success in embedding eighties-themed disco-pop sounds into her tracks, where she usually pairs a modern verve with an intoxicating, devil-may-care attitude.

Geordie rockers Maximo Park threw caution to the wind with their last album Risk To Exist, an angry, acerbic record that took aim at Brexit and Trumpism and marked a significant lyrical shift from frontman Paul Smith. The album was accompanied by a zine that included a contribution from political commentator Owen Jones, and essays from Smith. For fans and critics alike, it was a dramatic transformation from the band that burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s with the swaggering, indie dance pomp of Graffiti and their debut album A Certain Trigger.

American singer and songwriter Madison Beer got her break aged just thirteen when Justin Bieber tweeted a link to Beer’s YouTube cover of Etta James’s At Last, then signed her to Island Records. Her first single Melodies was then released in 2013 (the video featured a cameo from Bieber himself), and Beer began work on her debut album, reported at the time to have pop and R&B influences.

Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III – known by his stage name Aloe Blacc – is a man of many talents. As a musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, he’s worked on a wide variety of projects. He topped the UK charts with his singles I Need A Dollar and The Man, and wrote and performed vocals on Avicii’s Wake Me Up, which topped the charts in 22 countries, and has amassed almost 1,250,000,000 streams on Spotify. Alongside fellow US record producer Exile, Blacc also forms the hip hop duo Emanon.

Fans of NOFX might be a little bit confused by the opening notes of their fourteenth studio record Single Album. Not only did the edgy, palm muted guitar that opens the album take five years to arrive (for such a prolific band, the long wait since their last album First Ditch Effort dropped in 2016 seems cavernous) but yes, no matter how many times you listen to it, there’s no escaping the fact that that’s the riff from Bryan Adams’ Summer Of 69…

Davy has always found ways to push the envelope when it comes to musical innovations. He has always refused to stick to one genre, or rather to let himself be boxed in to labels. With each new track, it seems to get harder and harder to describe his music other than to simply say “It’s Davy”. It’ll be Okay, his newest single, is by far the most ambitious of his recent releases.

The Hold Steady are one of those bands that seem to have been around forever, a bonafide part of the fabric of American music. But despite their reliable, dependable name, and penchant for telling Springsteen-esque tales of life in the USA, they’re also not afraid of mixing things up. From the concept album debut of Almost Killed Me right up to their latest and eighth studio album Open Door Policy, which they’re sprinkled with a healthy dose of brass.

When you think of charity, you think positive, right? The feeling of hope and grace are undoubtedly positive, and the group Midlife did a wonderful job capturing pure joy in its most wholesome form with their newest charity-single Rude Girl #doingitforlaura. 

Jessy Rose takes us on a captivating journey of rebirth and reflection in his debut solo single “Set Free.” The single is pop perfection, with a crisp and warm production that sets the stage for the artist to express his most piercing vulnerabilities all while remaining emotionally accessible and personable. 

Glasgow post-rock outfit Mogwai carved out a name for themselves in the 1990s and early 2000s with their expansive, idiosyncratic soundscapes and intense live performances. Their early collections, including the likes of Mogwai Young Team and Happy Songs For Happy People, remain immensely well loved by a loyal following who have grown with the band over the years.

In what might be the most interesting blend of genres, Jealous by Mahalia, featuring Rico Nasty, is an interesting tune through and through, and both plays into what works in modern music and what’s so beautiful about Mahalia’s musicality.

London-based four-piece Django Django have long been a difficult band to label. Mixing electro and rock elements, with an art house aesthetic and an indie foundation, they’ve consistently turned out big, melodic tunes across their three albums to date, even if the edges have blurred between genres throughout their back catalogue.

Hailing from the Armagh-Monaghan border, Dani Larkin is an emerging singer-songwriter and folk musician with a reputation as one of Ireland’s brightest new folk talents. Taking inspiration from the folktales she was raised with and fusing elements of traditional melodies and rhythms from around the world in a seamless and timeless tradition, she was awarded the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Artist in Residence in 2019.

With the sudden rise of pop punk, it’s no wonder artists finally embrace their inner emo in the midst of this resurgence. The Eulogy of You and Me is just about as pop-punk as it gets, with a more modern edge, but using all the same tropes and sounds that make the genre so beloved.

More than twenty years on from the release of White Ladder, David Gray’s fourth studio album which spawned the hit singles Babylon, Please Forgive Me, Sail Away, and This Year’s Love, songs that made their creator a superstar, it remains one of the biggest UK albums of the 21st century. Incredibly, it stayed in the UK top 100 for close to three years, has sold in excess of seven million copies, and is the UK’s 26th best-selling album of all time. 

Fresh from being unmasked as the Robin on Saturday night TV sensation The Masked Singer, Aston Merrygold has dropped his new solo single Overboard, a smooth and sultry R&B meets pop affair with a little bit of a seafaring feel, and not just when it comes to the name of the track. 

Musicians making the transition to the big screen has always been a tricky path to walk. For every Lady Gaga dazzling in A Star Is Born, there’s a Vanilla Ice doing… well, whatever it was that he did in Cool As Ice (which if you haven’t seen, you’re in for a treat). 

R&B as a whole has been ever so lenient on hip-hop, and that’s not a bad thing. There’s something about the mystifying and accessibility found within it that blends ever-so beautifully with the genre that gave birth to so many, hip-hop included. Relapse, the newest song by singer Gallant is a contradiction to that, by bringing in the beauty of mid-90s R&B blended with the soul of modern neo-soul all together in a crystal-clear composition.

Manchester goth pop outfit Pale Waves formed in 2014 and were signed by Dirty Hit in 2017, releasing their debut single There’s A Honey to critical acclaim. The following year they placed fifth in the BBC Sound of 2018 poll, and claimed the NME Under the Radar Award at the NME Awards. Their debut album My Mind Makes Noises charted in the UK Albums Chart top ten, and everything seemed to be falling into place for the band. 

It's very rare for metalcore acts from the golden age of the genre to stay bound within their boxes. Groups either stray off in completely different directions, or suffer a bit more tragic fate. Architects have managed to both progress their sound over the years, while keeping the energy and aggression they exuded when they first start thrashing in the mid 2000s. Their newest single, Meteor, is very much proof of that.

After years spent carving out a name for themselves in the underground dance scene, Northern Irish electronic duo Bicep came crashing into the mainstream with their 2017 self-titled debut album, an unexpected top 20 hit in the UK albums chart. It was a long way to come from their origins with the FeelMyBicep blog which was a staple of the house scene in the late 2000s, but it was no less than the pair deserved.

Hailing from a small village in Somerset, Finn Askew is an eclectic and experimental young songwriter and performer. Having discovered his love for music as a youngster when he stumbled upon his parent’s CD collection, which included some giants such as Nirvana and The Smiths, Askew started writing and recording his own songs, fusing influences that span pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop, and indie.

On June 25th 2009, the world lost the greatest entertainer of all time, the king of pop Michael Jackson. His legacy, especially that of which he built in the 80s, still resonates in modern pop to this day. 

Hailing from the quiet Sydney suburb of Lindfield in the land down under, psychedelic indie rock troubadours The Lazy Eyes have been turning heads in their homeland, and winning over fans and critics alike with their spacey live shows and their intricate, layered tracks, despite the fact that all four of them are still in their teenage years.

It takes a lot of guts to blend the old and the new when it comes to producing a song – on one end, you’re limited by used ideas, and on the other you’re seeking innovation. But every now and then, you have artists like Chet Faker that come around with a song such as Get High, that perfectly blends the two ideologies together in one sweet musical smoothie.

Demi Lovato and Sam Fischer’s latest collaboration ‘What Other People Say’ treads through familiar territory in classic pop fashion. Lovato has built a reputation of powering each and every song with her dramatic, euphoric, and oft over-the-top vocals, and she does so again to great effect.

Raveena is the perfect mix of pop, jazz, and hip hop, and always has been. Tweety, her newest single, is a wonderful continuation of that sound, heading in all those directions more so than ever before. The song opens in a beautiful major-sounding progression, filled with other jazz treasures and classic chord progressions, all finished with the lustrous sounds of a Fender Rhodes.

There’s no disputing that Foo Fighters are one of, if not, the biggest bands in the world these days. From their beginnings as a side project of the former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl has steered the good ship Foo Fighters into the rich and deep waters of astounding commercial success. And their new offering – Medicine At Midnight – is certainly an economical record, coming in at a very streamlined nine tracks.

Norii’s single ‘Exocoetidae’ is a dreamy, starry-eyed adventure through time and space that fully captures the wonder of a curious artist. The San Diego-based singer and songwriter thoughtfully leans into her mythical interests and has crafted an intricate and impassioned melody, complete with electrifying production and stellar vocal work. At first listen, Norii’s soft, stirring vocal stylings would immediately draw comparisons to Ariana Grande, but upon further exploration, you’d realize that Norii has carved out her own spectacular niche with her fairytale-woven themes, a far cry from the hits populating the top 40 in contemporary music. 

Tones and I’s collaboration with Jonas Blue on a remix of ‘Fly Away’ is an infectious, impassioned track headed straight for the dance floor. The Australian singer-songwriter has been flying high for the past two years or so since her international hit ‘Dance For Me.’ She’s been following up on her breakout success by delving inwards and crafting pieces that represent the full range of vocal and songwriting talents. ‘Fly Away’ was one such ballad that touched upon the electronic dance pulse but also incorporated some lovely gospel magic. 

We’ve been big fans of Arlo Parks and her delicate, soft-pop sound for some time now, and we’re not alone: the Londoner has already appeared on the front cover of NME and been named BBC Introducing Artist Of The Year. Oh, and did we mention Michelle Obama is a fan? Not bad support for a singer and songwriter who, until last week, was yet to drop her first album.

Canadian folk outfit The Weather Station have evolved over the years from the solo recordings of frontwoman Tamara Lindeman to the full band outfit they are today, a lineup that now includes two drummers and a saxophonist, as well a string section, synths and clarinet. However, one constant since their debut album The Line was released back in 2009 has been the quality of Lindeman’s songwriting, and on Ignorance, their fifth full-length studio offering, it’s that that remains central to all they do well.

London post-punk four-piece Goat Girl were regulars at Brixton’s The Windmill in their early days, gigging alongside acts like Fat White Family and Shame and carving out a name for themselves as proponents of edgy, enticing and dangerous music that didn’t pull any punches. Two days after the UK’s Brexit referendum, they signed a deal with Rough Trade, unleashed a flurry of singles, and the hype began to grow.

Let me set a scene for you: it’s a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon, and you’re on your fourth coffee of the day, yet you just can’t feel energized.

Rising UK R&B star James Vickery has turned his attention to a deeply relatable subject with his new single Somewhere, Out There. Vickery, who is set to release his debut album later this year, has just dropped his new track, and it’s a sweet and tender take on the pain lockdown has caused, particularly for lovers forced to seperate.

There are very few voices in folk and jazz that sound quite as soulful as MARO’s. Her breathy tone will smooth the roughest stones, and calm the anxious with a simple melody. When her voice introduced itself amidst a low four-count bass drum coupled with small, low-maintenance guitar strums, my lips curled gently in a smile. The band and MARO make beautiful harmonies, even when those are just an octave apart. Every moment of this song feels right.

Born in Hampshire, but now based in London, twenty-two-year-old singer-songwriter Delilah Montagu dazzled with her In Gold EP in 2019, earning a multitude of rave reviews and mountains of online streams. A collaboration with David Guetta and Black Coffee (Drive) only added to her momentum, and she’s been roundly tipped for breakthrough success in 2021 by the likes of The Line of Best Fit, Notion and Clash.

Funk is a genre that’s never truly died, though definitely not as prominent in the mainstream as it used to be. Rather, its manifested itself in various shapes, either through disco, or the rise of dance-pop in the mid 2010’s, but regardless its essence has remained in music since its inception in the early 60’s.

You don’t sell over 35 million records worldwide across an almost thirty-year career without occasionally re-inventing yourself, and Weezer – the pop rockers led by the enigmatic figure of Rivers Cuomo – are no exception.

Trends in music are inevitable; musical fashion makes its rounds all year long, and artists all across the globe are going to try to capitalize on what’s trending. In the last few years, there’s been a sudden uproar in jazz, mostly found in lo-fi hip-hop and neo-soul. The latter has especially found a home in popular R&B, but has slowly died down in the last months. So, when I heard the beautiful extended chords played by a luscious Stratocaster that opens up Bring Me Back My Smile, I couldn’t help but to feel hopeful in neo-soul’s life in pop music.

When it comes to EDM, there are very few artists that can come to the kind of standard Alan Walker has established for himself. He always manages to find ways to both keep him within the confines of the genres, but also imploding within it and breaking boundaries left and right. With his newest song, Sorry, featuring the talents of ISAK on vocals, the producer not only meets the expectations one might have from an Alan Walker track, but propels those further on to the stratosphere.

Ben Howard has always been an absolute legend in the folk sound. His arrangements, intertwined with his eloquent guitar playing and soulful singing, have always been a source of warmth in cold fields.

British singer-songwriter and former BBC Sound of 2016 nominee Billie Marten has revealed details of her upcoming third studio album, Flora Fauna, and dropped the release’s lead single, Garden Of Eden, this week.

Musician, filmmaker, and master of the macabre, Rob Zombie, has gifted us all with another taste of his forthcoming studio album, “The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy.” The second single to drop, “The Eternal Struggles of the Howling Man,” has everything we have come to know and love from Zombie and more. That dark, groovy vibe that seems to pervade all his music is keenly felt here, with lyrics that wow and give you that real horror movie feel.

Rhye aren’t a band with a straightforward origin story. Their debut 2013 album Woman was years in the making and was released with the identities of its creators unknown. Only later were they revealed to be Canadian singer and performer Mike Milosh and Dutch multi-instrumentalist Robin Hannibal. From these secretive beginnings, the band have evolved into a freeform musical collective revolving around Milosh following the departure of Hannibal in 2017.

American singer-songwriter Maggie Lindemann specialises in skillfully riding the fine line between pop and rock, bringing the best of both worlds into an engaging, entertaining and highly marketable mix of music and performance. Having released a string of singles since her breakthrough effort Knocking On Your Heart in 2015, including the UK top ten hit Pretty Girl in 2016, Lindemann is now back with her first-ever EP, titled Paranoia.

Jordan Mackampa released his debut album Foreigner last year to critical acclaim. The singer-songwriter, who was raised Coventry, is based in London, and draws on his Congolese roots to create his deeply poetic songs delivered in his distinctive rich vocals, delivered a deeply personal affair with his debut full-length offering, with songs covering topics such as his childhood, his journey into adulthood, and falling in and out of love.

Artist collaborations tend to be exciting adventures for fans, especially when two different genres collide. So, when legendary metal guitarist Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden paired up with rock guitarist Richie Kotzen, we were in for a treat. Now, for those who are of the belief that metal, and rock are not that far apart, guess again. There is a cornucopia of differences, but the two styles have a way of blending so beautifully together you can be forgiven for thinking they are cut from the same cloth.

Swedish singer and songwriter Anna Leone dropped her debut EP Wandered Away in 2018, a beautiful record that was plugged by the likes of BBC Music and Spotify, and has gone on to clock up over eighteen million streams online. That EP included her breakthrough track My Soul I, which took her music to the next level. Now the Stockholm-born artist has returned with her new single Once, produced by Paul Butler.

It’s not that often a debut album as hyped as Right Now rolls around. But then it’s not often you get an artist like Willie Jones. He is unquestionably one of the rising stars of the current country scene, someone of whom Rolling Stone magazine said he “seems an awful lot like the future of country music.” And with his unique blend of styles that merge hip hop and country, they might just be right.

The future didn’t look particularly bright for Cambridge rockers Lonely The Brave when their frontman and founding member David Jakes left in 2018, citing mental health reasons. For a brief period it appeared the entire future of the band was in doubt, before they dispelled their fans’ fears, recruiting Jack Bennett, who had been recording and performing music under his Grumble Bee moniker, in his place.

In the years since Catatonia stormed the charts, lead singer and frontwoman Cerys Matthews has turned her attention to all sorts of creative endeavours. With the titles of radio DJ, author, TV presented, festival organiser, musician, singer, and not forgetting an MBE, to her name, Matthews clearly has plenty of passions and interests to pursue. But with her latest project – a twelve track album titled We Come From The Sun – Matthews is embracing a medium with which she has long been fascinated: poetry.

Following the release of his acclaimed new album Songs For The Drunk And Broken Hearted, (check out our review here) Passenger – otherwise known as Mike Rosenberg – has now shared Sword From The Stone (Gingerbread Mix), a special single version of the album’s opening track produced by Ed Sheeran and Joe Rubel and mixed by Spike Stent.

Nottingham-born indie starlet Jake Bugg signalled something of a change in direction when he dropped his single All I Need last autumn. Gone was the bluesy, Dylan-inspired indie folk of his early work, replaced instead with a soulful, savvy, and slick feel more reminiscent of some of his contemporaries. Which isn’t in any way to detract from the track, which felt then like the logical progression for Bugg who, at just 26 years of age, is still naturally evolving with his music.

South London punk upstarts Shame can lay claim to one of the best debut albums of the last few years. Songs Of Praise, released in 2018 to almost universal critical acclaim, was a storming, dizzying, and infectious cocktail – a genuinely exciting, sit-up-and-take notice offering from a band brimming with confidence, even if they were still trying to figure things out behind the scenes.

Cousins Jonathan Capeci and Joey Beretta grew up and played in a series of bands together around Philadelphia throughout their teenage years, but it wasn’t until the duo relocated to Nashville to pursue success with their band at the time, Dinner And A Suit, that they began to attract wider attention. Dinner And A Suit ultimately disbanded, but undeterred, Capeci and Beretta formed a new group with friends Stephen Cunsolo and Nicholas Sainato, and signed a deal with Interscope Records in 2016.

Formed in New York City in 2008, hard rockers The Pretty Reckless made a big impression with their debut album, 2010’s Light Me Up. It spawned a series of singles before the band dropped the follow-up Going To Hell in 2014. That album’s third single, Messed Up World, was something of a breakthrough track for the band, charting as it did at number one in Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart. The group’s third studio album, Who You Selling For, dropped in 2016, and was also a commercial success.

Throughout 2020, as the nation contended with lockdown, Northern Irish singer-songwriter JC Stewart was busy releasing a flurry of storming singles including I Need You To Hate Me, When The Light Hits The Room, and the pulsating Too Many Nights with 220 Kid. All these tracks added to the hype surrounding Stewart, who really started to turn heads with his 2019 ballad Bones.

JP Saxe and Maren Morris have just premiered 'Line By Line' via live broadcast. Prior to the video release, both discussed aspects of writing the song and the various ideas behind it. Maren explained this was her first Youtube video premiere of this kind, with both taking questions on a split screen layout.

Jared Leto, most famous for his acting and work with his band Thirty Seconds to Mars, has again turned his hand to directing, once again with stunning results. Many would remember his 2012 documentary “Artifact,” (directed under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins) which so cleverly captured the state of the modern music industry. The film was adored by critics and fans alike, earning a standing ovation and People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary.

Dublin-based four-piece Post-Party only formed in late 2018, but are already winning over fans and attracting interest with their highly energetic live shows and ear for an up-tempo, fun and radio-friendly tune. On first listen, they’re most obviously comparable to the likes of Blossoms and Circa Waves, serving up as they do jangly guitar-driven numbers that can’t help but put a smile on your face.

Passenger – otherwise known as Michael Rosenberg – became an overnight sensation with his 2012 single Let Her Go, which was nominated for the Brit Award for British Single of the Year in 2014, and received the British Academy’s Ivor Novello Award for most performed work. It also went to number one in no fewer than sixteen countries – it was, in every sense, a smash hit record.

Mamas Gun didn’t let a global pandemic stop them from getting into their groove in their dashing online concert ‘The Tin Pan Sessions.’ The lockdown had forced all musicians to go into “hiding” in a sense; they couldn’t perform in concerts, they couldn’t shoot music videos, they couldn’t go to venues and give the people some live jams. But in crisis emerges resilience, as this British soul band partnered up with Tin Pan Studio to produce a live concert with each of the band members performing from their respective homes. 

Gabrielle Aplin navigates trust and infatuation in her new single ‘When The Lights Go Out.’ The English singer-songwriter is only twenty-eight and has already carved her a niche for herself. She thrives in low-key, subdued musical spaces, where she can freely express her vulnerabilities through melancholic sounds and stripped-back vocals.

London-based singer-songwriter AJ Wander made plenty of people sit up and take notice when he dropped his powerful single Time Out back in November, and he’s not taking his foot off the gas. Just a few weeks later, and the talented young performer has followed up with his latest effort Way We Walk.

American indie-pop outfit Foster The People are the brainchild of singer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist Mark Foster, and have been through a few lineup changes over the years since they founded in Los Angeles in 2009. They’ve been through a few different sounds too, regularly mixing elements of dance, pop, indie, rock and psychedelia on their three albums to date (Torches in 2011, 2014’s Supermodel, and Sacred Hearts Club, released three years ago).

Australian electro duo The Avalanches dropped their second album Wildflower in 2016, and so, by most yardsticks, the four-year wait for their newly released third album We Will Always Love You would be quite a long one. But when you consider that the group took sixteen years to release the follow up to their widely lauded debut Since I Left You, it becomes clear that they’re now positively motoring along, by their own standards.

London-based singer-songwriter Sody has been impressing with her sublimely rich vocals and ability to craft raw, honest pop songs since she dropped her debut release Wasted Youth back in 2016. Still a teenager, Sody (otherwise known as Sophie Dyson) is already clocking up almost two and a half million monthly listens on Spotify and has collaborated with the likes of Cavetown on her work to date.

Burrows, the long-awaited debut for Leeds-based trio Caro, is a beguiling beast. They’re a gloriously diverse band, skipping merrily from psychedelic electro to introspective folk and back again with a seemingly reckless abandon, and that makes Burrows a fantastically rewarding listen. For the uninitiated though, it’s a record that might take a while to settle into. But when you do, it’s an absolute delight, like passing through the wardrobe door into a musical Narnia, albeit a very troubled one.

Singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, global superstar – there’s plenty of labels you could attach to James Blake. But throughout his glittering career, which has so far featured a Mercury Prize win (and a further nomination), a Grammy Award (and five further nominations) and three Brit Award nominations, as well as projects working with everyone from Bon Iver to Beyonce, he’s never shied away from changing things up.

One Cure for Man has just dropped another gorgeous new single, following on from his May 2020 release, “Haunted.” Also known as James Parkinson, One Cure for Man is once again showing his amazing ability to take inspiration from the most heartbreaking losses, to teach and encourage us, through his apt and eloquent lyrics and catchy musical style.

After founding as a four-piece in 2009, indie hip-hop outfit Twenty One Pilots were reduced to the duo of vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun when fellow founding members Nick Thomas and Chris Salih departed in 2011. That might have derailed lesser bands, but Twenty One Pilots refocused, and have enjoyed a huge amount of success over the last decade or so in this guise.