The 1975 are back with a brand new single, ‘Part of the Band’, the first preview of their forthcoming fifth album, ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’. Matty Healy and co. have been beating the drum of anticipation for a month now, unveiling posters, billboards and then finally revealing the album’s title and tracklist on June 28; and the first track taken from the record is an exciting glimpse of what’s to come. Fusing cinematic strings with Jack Antonoff’s distinctive production and the band’s trademark earworm hooks, it was a must-add to this week’s NME Radio playlist.
Also new to NME Radio this week we’ve got SG Lewis’ dance floor heater in ‘Something About Your Love’, and Rina Sawayama’s euphoric single ‘Catch Me in the Air’.
Check out the rest of the new tracks on NME 1 and 2 below:
On the A List:
The 1975
‘Part of the Band’
The 1975 have shared the first song from their forthcoming album, ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’, in ‘Part of the Band’ – which is quieter and more relaxed compared to their guitar and electronic-laden tracks from 2020’s ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’.
In our four-star review of the track, Ali Shutler wrote: “The new song takes the midwestern emo of ‘Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America’ and blends it with the dreamy synths of ‘The Birthday Party’ with a touch of the communal optimism found on Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ thrown in for good measure. These influences are just passing glances, though, as The 1975 continue to reinvent themselves and carve their own path forward.” – Sabiq Rafid
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
SG Lewis
‘Something About Your Love’
‘Something About Your Love’ is a dancefloor smasher. Following on from his debut album ‘times’, an infectious synth melody carries the track, supported by a pulsating backbeat while SG Lewis’ honeyed vocals float above the slick production. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Rina Sawayama
‘Catch Me in the Air’
“I was afraid, but you put the wings on me / Feet on the edge, feet on the edge / So, catch me in the air,” sings Rina Sawayama on her soaring, euphoric single ‘Catch Me in the Air’. It’s the second taste of her forthcoming second album, ‘Hold The Girl’, and will put you in an ultimate feel-good headspace to conquer all the hard days ahead. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
easy life & BENEE
‘OTT’
‘OTT’, an abbreviation for “Over The Top”, is easy life’s brand new single featuring New Zealander BENEE. It’s a light and breezy number, perfect for slow afternoons with nothing on the agenda. Speaking about creating the song, easy life frontman Murray Matravers had nothing but praise for their collaborator: “BENEE crushed it – her voice is like water and she’s a real queen of melody,” – we’re inclined to agree. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Momma
‘Motorbike’
‘Motorbike’ is taken from Momma’s latest album, ‘Household Name’ which arrived on July 1. Raucous guitars fill up the spaces as Allegra Weingarten sings about romantic escapism: “You can take me anywhere you like / Your motorbike will wake up this whole town / For one night / Baby we could disappear / You told me if I’m down to ride / Your motorbike will take us away from here.” – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List:
Bring Me The Horizon
‘sTraNgeRs’
Bring Me The Horizon’s latest single, ‘Strangers’, dives deep into different struggles that everyone goes through on a daily basis – while also acting as a call to come together and help each other. As Oli Sykes shared in a statement: “Everyone is recovering from something and I’m so aware that so many people struggle daily with differing traumas, and just wanted to stress that they’re not in this alone… and we’re a community here to help each other.” – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Alvvays
‘Pharmacist’
Canadian dream-pop quintet Alvvays are back after a five-year wait with ‘Pharmacist’, the first single released from their upcoming album ‘Blue Rev’. Filled with dreamy guitars and fuzzy reverb trails, it’s everything you’d want from an Alvvays comeback. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Tiësto & Charli XCX
‘Hot In It’
EDM heavyweight Tiësto has teamed up with pop hero Charli XCX for summer anthem, ‘Hot In It’. “I knew from the second I heard Charli’s cut on the song that it was going to be a smash,” Tiësto revealed in a statement, and what a smash it is.
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Lava La Rue
‘Don’t Come Back’
‘Don’t Come Back’ is a smooth and silky track about a love that’s waned to a point of no return. “Don’t come back / Don’t come back to me baby / It’s all bad, and we can’t be together / It started easy, it happened naturally / It’s all bad, no we can’t be together,” Lava La Rue sings. The three-minute track is the artist’s latest cut off their upcoming EP, ‘Hi-Fidelity’. – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Willow Kayne
‘White City’
Willow Kayne’s ‘White City’ was birthed from a “diary entry” about London that she journaled in 2021. In an Instagram post, she shared: “It’s crazy to see history/communities being knocked down and replaced with these gigantic skyscrapers that nobody can afford to live in. Having the two extremes of wealth and poverty right on the same street, not just in White City but everywhere here it seems.” – SR
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Want to listen to NME Radio? Here’s how you can.
The post NME Radio Roundup 11 July 2022: The 1975, SG Lewis and Rina Sawayama appeared first on NME.
