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 music released in the last week.
This week saw Harry Styles’ second post-One Direction album and Anderson .Paak’s band stepping into the spotlight. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Harry Styles — Fine Line
The final days of the year can feel like a desolate time when it comes to new music, but Harry Styles led a surprisingly packed week of fresh material. On Fine Line, he tries a bunch of different things, and does them all pretty well, whether it’s the driving pop of “Adore You” or a pair of six-minute epics, “She” and the title track.
Free Nationals — Free Nationals
Free Nationals have helped Anderson .Paak become one of the best out there, and it turns out that while those two are a perfect match, Free Nationals also pair nicely with other vocalists. They recruited a bunch of them for their debut album, including Mac Miller, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Syd, JID, T.I., and, yes, .Paak.
Dua Lipa — “Future Nostalgia”
So far, Dua Lipa has shown with her recent singles that she really is trying to blend sounds from both past and present on her new album, which has the logical title Future Nostalgia. The title track is a synthesis of this, as there are some clear ’80s pop influences in there, but presented in a way that’s unmistakably modern.
Stormzy — Heavy Is The Head
Stormzy is a, if not the, king of grime, and that’s the role he assumes on Heavy Is The Head. He does this in a number of ways, whether it’s be reflecting on the pressures of success with “Crown,” teaming up with big-timers like Ed Sheeran on “Own It,” or appreciating a legend that came before him on “Wiley Flow.”
Daniel Lopatin — Uncut Gems (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Daniel Lopatin is more widely known as Oneohtrix Point Never, but under his own name, he provided the music for Uncut Gems, the critically acclaimed Adam Sandler film. The movie extends its reach beyond the acting world more than that, as the cast also features The Weeknd and Kevin Garnett.
Hayley Kiyoko — “Runaway”
Kiyoko’s recent singles have a shared theme, of coming to terms with previous toxic relationships and learning from them. The same is true with “Runaway,” a dreamy new track on which she puts herself under scrutiny instead of taking it out on a partner.
Lil Uzi Vert — “Futsal Shuffle 2020”
Given Lil Uzi Vert’s unsure career status as of late, his upcoming album Eternal Atake is highly anticipated. Now he has shared the record’s first single, “Futsal Shuffle 2020,” and he’s not alone on it. The track features samples of Tyler The Creator and even Narduwuar, using audio from one of their famous interviews.
SOB x RBE — “Ain’t Got Time”
The Bay Area rap group is set to return with a new album this week, and when they announced it last week, they shared “Ain’t Got Time.” The Zaytoven-produced single is a promising sign of what’s to come from the productive trio, as Strictly Only Brothers will be their fourth album since February 2018.
Charli XCX and Tommy Genesis — “Bricks”
“Bricks” has actually been floating around in some form for a while now, as it first popped up in the movie Assassination Nation about a year ago. Finally, the Charli XCX and Tommy Genesis track has been released, and it sees Charli going as full-blown hip-hop as she ever has. She has proven herself chameleonic over the course of her career, and this is another high-mark example of that.
Phoebe Bridgers — “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” Feat. Fiona Apple and Matt Berninger
Phoebe Bridgers has started a tradition of releasing a Christmas song every year, and for her third year of doing so, she teamed up with Fiona Apple and The National frontperson Matt Berninger for a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night.” For the unfamiliar, the song features a sung version of the “Silent Night” you’re familiar with, plus a newscaster reading headlines from world news (in this case, Berninger’s script has been updated to reflect 2019 political events).
Some artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. .
