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 Kanye West finally releasing his new album, and the return of Selena Gomez. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Kanye West — Jesus Is King
Jesus Is King was supposed to be out a month ago, but the latest from Kanye West fell victim to more than one of the rapper’s infamous delays. It was finally released, though, and he wasn’t kidding about all this gospel music talk. Spiritual influences are all over the album, and Kanye is apparently going to double down on that come Christmas, when he plans to release a Sunday Service album called Jesus Is Born.
Lizzo — “Good As Hell (Remix)” Feat. Ariana Grande
Lizzo has a way of breathing new life into old songs. Her current smash hit, “Truth Hurts,” was first released in 2017. Now another song of hers, “Good As Hell,” is gaining traction, and that one originally came out in 2016. Nothing about it sounds stale, though, especially with the addition of Ariana Grande to a new remix.
Rex Orange County — Pony
2018 apparently wasn’t the best year for Rex Orange County in his personal life, but he appears to be doing better now, and it shows in his new music. Although he addresses some negative feelings on the record, it comes from a place of confidence and/or understanding, which results in a thoroughly compelling album.
The 1975 — “Frail State Of Mind”
On “People,” The 1975 seemed to suggest that their upcoming album, Notes On A Conditional Form, would be an outright rocker. It turns out that won’t be the case entirely, though, as proven with “Frail State Of Mind,” a less frenetic track that could be seen as a sort of successor to “Tootimetootimetootime.”
Selena Gomez — “Lose You To Love Me” and “Look At Her Now”
Selena Gomez previously suggested that a new era for her would be beginning soon, and she kicked it off in a big way last week. She began by sharing the emotional ballad “Lose You To Love Me,” and the next day, she unexpectedly returned with a quick second single, the more upbeat “Look At Her Now.” The songs are pretty different from each other, which ought to be a sign that one of pop’s finest talents has something great cooking.
King Princess — Cheap Queen
In a time when surprise album releases aren’t uncommon, it’s felt like King Princess’ Cheap Queen has been a long time coming: The title track was released as the album’s lead single six months ago in May. The wait was worth it, though, as Cheap Queen contains some of the year’s finest queer pop (and just pop in general, really), like “Hit The Back,” which King Princess describes as “the anthem for bottoms everywhere.”
Read our review of Cheap Queen here.
Coldplay — “Orphan” and “Arabesque”
Chris Martin and company are in the midst of the longest between-album gaps of their career since releasing A Head Full Of Dreams in 2015, but that’s going to end soon. The band recently announced their upcoming album and quickly dropped a pair of new songs: “Arabesque” is both a bit of a throwback and a funky step forward, while “Orphans” is a stadium-filling rock tune their fans will love to see in concert.
Cigarettes After Sex — Cry
Texas dream-pop group Cigarettes After Sex released their self-titled debut album two years ago and immediately began working on their next album. Now, Cry is here, and on it, the band occupies a dreamy space that many try to reach, but that few do. It’s a thrillingly serene and immersive album, thanks to its expansive sonic atmospheres and Greg Gonzalez’s androgynous vocals.
Anna Meredith — Fibs
Over the course of Anna Meredith’s career, she has done everything from serve as the composer-in-residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to create the score for Bo Burnham’s film Eighth Grade. She’s also tremendous in the traditional album format, as she shows on tracks like “Inhale Exhale,” a song about living life as a more reserved type of person.
Read our Indie Mixtape 20 interview with Meredith here.
Tnght — “Dollaz”
For a group that really hasn’t released a lot of material, Tnght has built up a lot of esteem for themselves. The duo only has a 2012 EP to their name, but now they’ve created anticipation for their new one, II, with “Dollaz,” a frenetic and thumping new single. If nothing else, the song’s kind of creepy video is a real treat.
Some artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. .
