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 new music this week.
This week saw Paramore drop a much-hyped new album and Lizzo link up with a star for a new remix. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Flash newsletters.
Paramore — “Running Out Of Time”
Hayley Williams recently explained how the new This Is Why cut is inspired by Taylor Swift, saying, “I remember when we were 19 and I was closer with Taylor Swift at that point because we both lived in Nashville and we’re both experiencing our own versions of real success for the first time. I went over to hang out. […] I wish that I was the person that felt like I had all my sh*t together and I was like, ‘Oh, I had some extra time, so I’m just popping by with some flowers.’ That kind of thing, that is my idealized self.”
Lizzo — “Special” Feat. SZA
Lizzo and SZA were two of the biggest stars of 2022 and that’s remaining true here in 2023. They have compatible musical styles, too, which is unequivocally true on the new SZA-featuring remix of Lizzo’s “Special.” The song’s original lush charm is fully intact, just now with SZA fearlessly shutting haters down in a new opening verse.
Dove Cameron and Khalid — “We Go Down Together”
Speaking of collaborations, Cameron and Khalid came through with “We Go Down Together” last week. Cameron described the personal single as “like a little distilled love letter in a bottle” and continued, “A song about a timeless love, the kind of love that makes you feel like you might be the only two people left on earth, and you wouldn’t even notice.”
Tove Lo — “Borderline”
While Tove Lo’s latest single is feature-free, she didn’t go about it alone, as Dua Lipa is listed among the “Borderline” co-writers. That collaboration worked to great effect, as Uproxx’s Flisadam Pointer describes the “emotionally alarming new single” as “a tale of a romance you’ll spend years and thousands of dollars of therapy recovering from.”
The Kid LAROI — “Kids Are Growing Up (Part 1)”
LAROI is a global star, which makes it easy to forget that he’s only 19 years old. Like many young people his age, he’s in a transitional part of his life, which he addresses on “Kids Are Growing Up (Part 1).” On the tracks, he raps about listening to his favorite musicians speak about life and now experiencing those same things himself.
Daniel Caesar — “Let Me Go”
After going pretty quiet for a few years, Caesar has been productive the past couple weeks. His latest is “Let Me Go,” of which Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez notes, “The song’s instrumental is equal parts dreamy and hypnotic, as Caesar’s vocals shine through, creating a saccharine air amid tambourines and sultry guitars.”
Central Cee — “Me And You”
It turns out that apparently, a lot of songs are about love and relationships. Well, just in time for Valentine’s Day, Central Cee offers an addition to the lovey-dovey oeuvre with “Me And You,” in which he lays out the benefits of being romantically linked to somebody like him.
Smino — “Smi Myself And I”
Beyoncé is on top of the world right now after her historic Grammy Awards showing, and she’s on Smino’s mind, too, as he just sampled her on “Smi Myself And I.” The track borrows from Bey’s “Me Myself And I,” and while it’s only two minutes long, it still delivers plenty of Smino’s signature wordplay.
Indigo De Souza — “Younger & Dumber”
Saddle Creek favorite De Souza just kicked off the promo cycle for her newly announced album, All Of This Will End, last week with lead single “Younger & Dumber.” Uproxx’s Danielle Chelosky says of the “sprawling” new song, “The song is as thoughtful and stunning as her material usually is; she proves her maturity more than ever, reflecting on her younger self.”
Bartees Strange — “Tisched Off”
Bartees has ascended rapidly in recent years, but on new single “Tisched Off,” he looks back at his halcyon days. It’s a tongue-in-cheek dig at his up-and-coming contemporaries at the time, who had greater resources to devote to their craft than he did (“Tisched” is a reference to NYU’s Tisch School Of The Arts).
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
