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 Pop Smoke’s posthumous legacy continue to grow and Normani drop a head-turner with Cardi B. 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 Life newsletters.
Pop Smoke — “Tell The Vision” Feat. Kanye West and Pusha T
A bit over a year after his first posthumous album — Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon — Pop Smoke is back with another, and Faith, like its predecessor, has a star-packed tracklist. Among the guests are Kanye West and Pusha T, who bring their own flavor to “Tell The Vision,” which Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes “fits right in the drill rap pocket that Pop thrived in before his tragic death.”
Normani and Cardi B — “Wild Side”
Normani’s latest is “Wild Side,” and to help her out, she got the rapper with perhaps the wildest side of them all: Cardi B. The “WAP” rapper turns in another colorfully explicit verse here, which apparently came to be after her first go at it wasn’t quite “nasty” enough.
Willow — “Grow” Feat. Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne
There’s plenty of evidence that Willow’s pop-punk pivot has been an overwhelming success. “Transparent Soul” is a catchy hit that has fared well on the rock charts, while she linked up with two of the genre’s all-time favorites, Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne, on “Grow.”
John Mayer — “Shot In The Dark”
The release of John Mayer’s new album, Sob Rock, saw him continue to pump out the nostalgia via his “Shot In The Dark” video. Of the album, Uproxx’s Steven Hyden notes, “As Sob Rock demonstrates, Mayer remains an eternally tasteful musician with a natural feel for melody and songcraft, and those qualities make his catalogue much more consistent than he’s given credit for. […] Overall, Sob Rock doesn’t feel like a costume. It sounds like John Mayer coming back into himself. “
Clairo — “Reaper”
Clairo proved herself to be a success with her debut album, but she has entered a new level on her latest, Sling. You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep, and Clairo has good people around her now, as Lorde contributed to multiple songs on the album, including the gentle “Reaper.”
Trippie Redd — “Holy Smokes” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
Trippie Redd has been one of rap’s most productive figures of the past few years, as he’s dropped at least one new full-length project every year since 2017. He has another, Trip At Knight, arriving in 2021, which he previewed last week with the Lil Uzi Vert-featuring “Holy Smokes.”
Caroline Polachek — “Bunny Is A Rider”
Caroline Polachek had a strong first proper solo outing with 2019’s Pang, and she returned last week with her first original material since then. It was a strong comeback, too, as “Bunny Is A Rider” features yet another catchy Polachek hook, accompanied by groove-driven verses.
Toosii — “Head Over Hills”
Just two months removed from dropping a new project, Thank You For Believing, Toosi is back with more via “Head Over Hills.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes of the single, “The track captures him reflecting on the past and current status of his life as he touches on stereotypes he broke down, the love he found, and many other things that are defined as success in his eyes.”
Conan Gray — “People Watching”
For his latest — “People Watching” — Conan Gray teamed up with a couple of in-demand songwriters: Julia Michaels and Olivia Rodrigo collaborator Dan Nigro. Uproxx’s Caitlin White notes that on the narrative tune, “Gray explores what it feels like to see other people fall in and out of love while remaining outside of the relationship format, safe from the turmoil, but also removed from the intimacy.”
Haim — “Cherry Flavored Stomach Ache”
Haim are putting their mark on the upcoming Netflix film The Last Letter From Your Lover with “Cherry Flavored Stomach Ache,” which Uproxx’s Rachel Brodsky described as “a jangly, Paul Simon-sounding track.” The film’s director, Augustine Frizzell, hand-picked the sisters to pen the track for the movie, and they note of it, “It has a feel that’s both modern and retro and felt like [lead character] Ellie’s world.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
