Late last month, Beyoncé unleashed her dazzling seventh studio album ‘Renaissance’ on the world. NME‘s four-star review of the house-inflected record praised the singer for how “she’s still able to push herself and delve into new sonics, styles and ethos” after all these years.
The record’s glittery disco romp ‘CUFF IT’ is one of the top additions to the NME Radio playlist this week, which also includes the latest single from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs’ first new album in 10 years, a choice cut from Maggie Rogers’ new LP, and fresh tunes from The 1975, Kaytranada and more.
Check out the full additions to NME Radio 1 and 2 below.
On the A List
Beyoncé
‘CUFF IT’
Beyoncé makes some towering promises on ‘CUFF IT’, but they are by no means empty. The superstar sounds as confident as ever, dreaming up a night of unapologetic hedonism at the club while beckoning us to come and join the fun. Employing an intoxicating mix of disco beats, thumping bass, Nile Rodgers guitars and playful backing vocals, this banger is guaranteed to light up parties for a long while to come.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
‘Never Seen You Dance’
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (AKA London producer and DJ Orlando Higginbottom) returns with ‘Never Seen You Dance’, the fifth preview of his upcoming second album ‘When The Lights Go’, his first LP in 10 years. The kaleidoscopic track sees Higginbottom’s smooth vocals float atop a bubbly bassline and a peppy piano-based hook, further whetting the appetite for the album’s arrival in September.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List
Maggie Rogers
‘Shatter’
Taken from her recently released second album ‘Surrender’, Rogers finds a cathartic release on ‘Shatter’: “And I’ve got all this anger trapped so deep inside / That started burning the summer my heroes died.” The track channels the energy of her vocals to create a life-affirming, triumphant atmosphere through distorted guitars, upbeat rhythms and ’80s synths.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
The 1975
‘Happiness’
With ‘Happiness’ The 1975 opt for a looser, funkier vibe than what their previous single – the uptight and folky ‘Part Of The Band’ – suggested about what to expect from their upcoming album, ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’. This breezy new track finds them bringing back punchy rhythms and funky undertones reminiscent of their earliest singles, while frontman Matty Healy pines for connection through the song’s hook: “Show me your love, why don’t you?”
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Eva Lazarus
‘Lessons’ (feat. Kofi Stone)
Bristol newcomer Eva Lazarus brings us her conscious new single ‘Lessons’, a timely ode to responsibility in an increasingly watchful world. Against jazzy chords and a bouncy hip-hop beat, Eva reminds us that “most of the time, a pretty lie’s an option for [us] to protect [our] pride.” Birmingham rapper Kofi Stone then hammers that message home, warning us to “never take the shortcut / ‘Cos you don’t want it quick.”
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Sad Night Dynamite
‘What Does That Make Me?’
Genre-hopping duo Sad Night Dynamite‘s spacious latest single bounces with a relaxed ease, vocally jumping between passionate belting and glum auto-tuned rapping that’s brought together by a repetitive vocal hook. With past form for delivering left-field bangers, we’re curious to hear what else the Gorillaz-approved act have in store.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Kaytranada
‘Twin Flame’ (feat. Anderson .Paak)
The Montreal producer’s latest refreshing team-up with Anderson .Paak brings the former’s signature bouncy brand of house music together with the latter’s casual bars, which are delivered with an effortlessness only he can muster. Here’s hoping that the party-starting ‘Twin Flame’ isn’t a one-off from the pair.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List
Rosalía
‘DESPECHÁ’
The flamenco-influenced ‘DESPECHÁ’, which has arrived five months on from the release of the Spanish star’s third studio album ‘Motomami’, features a relentless beat and conga flourishes which create a summery vibe alongside Rosalia‘s rapid-fire bars. “There are many ways to be ‘DESPECHÁ’,” she recently explained. “In this theme, it is from the freeness or the craziness, moving without reservations or regrets.”
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Stella Donnelly
‘How Was Your Day?’
Western Australian singer/songwriter Stella Donnelly‘s latest preview of her upcoming second album ‘Flood’ sees her delivering stream-of-consciousness lyrics about the struggles of maintaining relational vulnerability: “A polite conversation about unclaimed mail / Felt like a deadly lit candle left up in a room.” In an accompanying statement, Donnelly explained that the verses are “fragments of what two people talk about when they both know they need to have a real talk, but neither wants to be the one to bring it up”.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
DOMi & JD BECK
‘Moon’ (feat. Herbie Hancock)
Viral jazz fusion duo DOMi & JD BECK are firing on all cylinders on this cut from their debut album ‘NOT TiGHT’. The Anderson .Paak-signed prodigies furnish the track with as much flash as they can cram in the space of four minutes: a skittering backbeat, busy basslines, constantly shifting chord progressions, and the presence of jazz legend Herbie Hancock on piano and vocals. A thrilling ride that will leave you breathless.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
CLAMM
‘Something New’
Melbourne punks CLAMM have returned with the agitated third single from their upcoming album ‘Care’. Through shouted vocals, frontman Jack Summers searches for significance with increasing desperation: “Well, I’ve been looking for the answer / But I’m running out of time.” With buzzing guitars and even wailing saxophones, the chaotic clatter gives way to a cathartic release.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Cariss Auburn
‘50%’
‘50%’ places the Wolverhampton native’s silky vocals front and centre over an energetic beat as she bemoans uncommitted romantic partners: “All my girls are tired of it / Love talk, yeah I’m so sick of / Is it just meant to be 50%?”
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music