10 new great tracks out today on New Music Friday.
1. Jones – Read My Mind
JONES’ recent single ‘Around’ expanded the breadth of her sound, adding the rhythmic grooves of London’s contemporary underground jazz scene to her core pop and soul roots. It was a twist that took her back to Radio 1’s airwaves with repeated plays from tastemaker trio Rickie, Melvin and Charlie who compared it to “The Internet meets Cleo Sol” while further support included BBC Introducing London, Jazz FM and Hoxton Radio.
Next from JONES is her brand new single ‘Read My Mind’, which is out now. It represents the second taste of her eagerly anticipated new EP ‘Blue Sunshine’ which follows next month. Listen HERE. The track is released alongside a stripped-back vocal and guitar performance video, which can be seen below.
2. Katy For Kings – Hard On Myself
Katy For Kings has established a distinct artistic identity for herself via recent tracks such as ‘Middle Ground’ and ‘Impersonator’. Bringing modern pop stylings to the singer-songwriter tradition, her lyrics explore stories and emotions that resonate with her generation – the coming-of-age experiences and challenges that so many young people go through.
“‘Hard on Myself’ is an open letter to anyone who’s struggling with self-confidence or establishing their identity,” says Katy. “It’s also become very apparent to me over the last year that I don’t like feeling like I have to fit into a box to attract or please people. ‘Hard on Myself’ is me coming to terms with that.”
3. Yungblud – Fleabag
The ultimate British rockstar, YUNGBLUD, has released his new single “fleabag” via Locomotion/Polydor Records —listen to it here! YUNGBLUD released the song on the final day of his takeover of Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show. The track was accompanied by a visualizer.
“I wrote ‘fleabag’ in a really dark time of my life, when a lot of people around me had an expectation about what I should be. To tell you the truth it’s about being fucking gutted about people judging me and trying to tear me down. I felt so alienated, I felt so alone,” said YUNGBLUD. “When everybody else has an expectation of what you should be or have their own version of your truth it messes with your brain because you start to think ‘maybe they’re right, maybe they do know what’s best for me, maybe I should change who I am,’ but ultimately I believe to my core – it’s the foundation I built my whole ideology around, that self-expression and the right to be unconditionally yourself is the best thing you can be. Nobody should determine how you express yourself except YOU. You are brilliant, you are beautiful, you are individual just by breathing. This song is a kick back. A kick back against the world, a kick back against my friends, against my family and some of my fanbase. I am who I am, all I want to do is spread love and lead with my heart. I’ve always told people to be themselves, sometimes I have to remember that message myself.”
4. Joe Sugg – Wild Things
TV, West End star and international Youtuber Joe Sugg has today released his new single ‘Wild Things’ out via Canvas Music.
This is the single that nearly never was. ‘Wild Things’ with its hook-filled anthemic choruses, produced by English singer-songwriter Conor Maynard, Byron Langley and additional production from Ray Michael, revs up a story of following your dreams sound tracked by a roaring guitar lead and equally raucous synth. It’s a bold and ambitious debut, shirking the usual ‘soft’ introductions and instead jumping straight in with a song that’s big, ambitious in scope and aimed straight at the heart.
Speaking about the track Joe writes: “I’ve made a few tracks in the past with my really musically talented friends that have been so much fun to make and share with my audience. This is my favourite song I’ve worked on to date and although it was made a long time ago, I’m super proud of it and glad it’s finally going to be enjoyed by others”
5. Del Amitri – All Hail Blind Love
Del Amitri made a triumphant return with their new album ‘Fatal Mistakes’. Emerging to widespread critical acclaim, it debuted at #5, making it their highest charting studio album since ‘Twisted’ back in 1995. Ticket sales for their upcoming UK headline tour are also strong, with many venues now close to selling out.
Building on that resurgent momentum, the band now share their new single ‘All Hail Blind Love’ which is one of the most streamed songs on the album. A reflective, country-tinged ballad, the song has the classic Del Amitri dichotomy of countering a sugar sweet title with scathing, gut-punching lyrics: “Don’t assume we’ve mellowed / We still think of one another as a fraud.”
In an interview with Culture Sonar, Justin Currie said that ‘All Hail Blind Love’ is about “a couple that has been through sour times celebrating their wedding anniversary. That could easily be me and Iain Harvie.”
6. Larkins – This Is Gonna Hurt
Fresh off announcing their hugely anticipated debut album JCOY and dropping the epic lead single “if + when”, Manchester alt-pop act Larkins today unveil a second single from the forthcoming record, the explosive “This Is Gonna Hurt”.
“This Is Gonna Hurt” was made on Josh’s laptop using sample manipulation and iPhone recordings inspired by the work of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver, Big Red Machine). Close friend Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray) also added his writing talents to the song before the track was mixed by Andrew Dawson (Kanye West, Tyler, The Creator). Larkins’ debut album JCOY will be released October 8th, but the band live-streamed a full preview performance of the album for fans on their YouTube channel on 21st July.
7. Cian Ducrot – Chewing Gum
Cian Ducrot has released his newest track, ‘Chewing Gum’ via Darkroom/Interscope. Inspired on a tube ride through London, Cian’s songwriting skills truly shines on the bouncy, sunshine-injected like track while his lyrics break down the end of a relationship; calling it as it is. Released alongside a music video, ‘Chewing Gum’ has been written alongside George Gianluca Cunningham, and producers include M-Phazes (Madonna, Noah Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Zara Larsson).
Listen to ‘Chewing Gum’ HERE
Speaking about the track, Cian says‘‘Chewing Gum’ was an idea that came one day when I was sitting on the tube, listening to a breakup song where the singer slags off the other person. I was so sick of hearing songs do that, so I decided I wanted to write the opposite. I just wanted to make something fun and lighthearted without placing any blame and that’s what we did!”
8. Finn Askew – Adidas
As the latest offering from his forthcoming EP, ‘Adidas’ serves to reveal a different side to the multi-instrumentalist with its rolling guitar riffs and hook heavy chorus, further cementing Finn as one of the most exciting artists emerging UK artists.
“I wanted to make a song where after the first listen the listener would be able to sing back the chorus word for word, I feel like I accomplished that with Adidas! It’s a proper ear worm. It’s also the first song I’ve released with my producer congee! he’s one of my favourite people to work with & this is the first of many bangers we have in the locker! I’m super excited about this song, I wrote it nearly 3 years ago so it’s about time the world heard it!”
9. Bad Sounds – You Move Backwards
Bad Sounds are back with an immersive new offering ‘You Move Backwards’ featuring incredible neo-soul artist Ruti who is very much one to watch.
Over the last year, genre-bending Bad Sounds have perfected the art of collaboration, even during lockdown, when they penned a song with rising neo-soul artist Ruti. Sharing a little more on how the song came to be, the band explained: “We kept writing songs that we thought were really special and really beautiful, and then we’d trample all over that beauty by trying to sing on them ourselves. But it was a HUGE game changer for us when we worked with BROODS on ‘Move Into Me’.
All of a sudden we realised that we could work with other artists we love, and really elevate these songs, turning them into something we always hoped they could be. Then when we met Ruti, we were already fans of hers, but weren’t prepared for how she would transform ‘You Move Backwards’ into something wayyyy better than what we could have imagined. Her enthusiasm and just all around loveliness is truly infectious, and we can’t wait to work with her again asap!”
10. Cheap Cuts –
Reigniting the full-throttle thrills of big beat for the TikTok generation, Cheap Cuts took a giant first step with their debut single ‘Check Your Phone’. Twisted into an art-pop social commentary with anxious spoken word from Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, the track received attention from Dork, Notion, NME and Roc
The shape-shifting conceptual duo – Johnny Harris and Jack Leonard – now heighten the fun factor of their irrepressible productions with their second single ‘You Make Me Wanna Dance’. Like big beat’s crowd-pleasing heyday, the song’s funk-fuelled bass, unrestrained piano and infectious handclaps provide an animated elation, while Dan Caplen provides the chic R&B/pop vocal that helped him make the Rudimental / Macklemore / Jess Glynne hit ‘These Days’ a worldwide smash.
