Earlier this month Harry Styles made his long awaited return with ‘As It Was’. The track, which combines contemplative lyrics with indie-flecked instrumentals, got the five-star treatment here at NME, hailed as a tune that’ll: “cement the star’s position as one of the current pop landscapes’ greats”. We’ve added the first taste of Styles’ upcoming album ‘Harry’s House’ to the NME Radio A List this week.
Elsewhere, Wet Leg serve a sneering kiss-off to an ex and Liam Gallagher welcomes peace, joy and love; and we’ve got Dave Bayley of Glass Animals remixing Florence + the Machine, Vince Staples’ stellar storytelling and the statement-making new single from Maggie Rogers.
Here’s everything we’ve added to NME 1 and 2 this week.
On the A List:
Harry Styles
‘As It Was’
The luminous, reflective lead single of Harry Styles’ third solo album ‘As It Was’ is a journey. As NME’s Rhian Daly has noted: “It takes us from the depths of despair and self-medication (‘Harry, you’re no good alone / Why are you sitting at home on the floor? / What kind of pills are you on?’) to embark on new beginnings, even if they are ones still accompanied by the peaks and troughs of life.” – Karen Gwee
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
Wet Leg
‘Ur Mum’
Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album is, as we said in our five-star review: “an instant classic debut that justifies the hype”; and killer new single ‘Ur Mum’ is no exception. On the breakup anthem, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers dole out burn after burn: “When I think about what you’ve become / I feel sorry for your mum… You said that you tried your best / Why’s this such a fucking mess?” They’re not mad, just disappointed. – KG
