Last week, The 1975 released the brand new track ‘I’m In Love With You’, the third preview of their upcoming fifth studio album, ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’. The release closely follows their triumphant return to the Reading stage, where they sought to offer themselves “at their very best” – as the title of their upcoming tour suggests – and exceedingly delivered.
Delivered alongside a monochromatic, Buster Keaton-inspired music video involving dancing, vaudeville face paint and a cheeky Phoebe Bridgers cameo, the groovy new track proves that the band are not quite finished producing your favourite new party anthems.
‘I’m In Love With You’ is our latest addition to the NME Radio A List, alongside other new releases including the Ezra Koenig-featuring single off Phoenix’s upcoming album, a clubby new preview of Shygirl’s next full-length release, and the latest jams from beabadoobee, Biig Piig, Porij, and more.
Check out the newest additions to NME Radio 1 and 2 below:
On the A List:
The 1975
‘I’m In Love With You’
The 1975 are ready for love on their new single, ‘I’m In Love With You’. As with last month’s ‘Happiness’, the nostalgic new track finds the foursome playing once again to their strengths in irresistible fashion. While there aren’t any blazing saxophone solos this time around, the same ‘80s-inflected energy that made us first fall in love with them is on full display on ‘I’m In Love With You’.
Set to a driving tempo, gentle acoustic guitars and call-and-response vocals take centre stage as frontman Matty Healy conveys his simple message of affection as if it were the most disarmingly vulnerable confession he could make, taking time to draw out the build towards the track’s declarative chorus: “I feel like I can loosen my lips / I can summarise it for you / It’s simple and it goes like this / I’m in love with you” – Eli Ordonez
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
Phoenix
‘Tonight (feat. Ezra Koenig)’
French indie icons Phoenix have returned with ‘Tonight’, the second preview of their upcoming seventh full-length album ‘Alpha Zulu’. The track finds the group flaunting their prowess in new wave romanticism, with Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig in tow, making the collaboration feel like a miniature revival of indie rock in the glorious 2000s.
Against a start-stop bassline, hazy synthesisers and booming programmed beats, Thomas Mars pleads for a love interest’s attention (“What if I was the answer to your prayer? / Yeah, you need a little candor, need a little candor”) in his distinct, slinky delivery before lamenting his loneliness with support from Koenig’s harmonies: “I’ve played all the games / And lost almost everything / Now I talk to myself and it’s quite surprising” – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Shygirl
‘Nike’
South London pop adventurer Shygirl returns with ‘Nike’, the fourth single off her upcoming full-length debut, ‘Nymph’. The raunchy new track is a masterclass in minimalism, revolving around cavernous production of bass hits and sound effects. With nonchalant vocal delivery, Shygirl delivers typically direct and slick lyrics, in another stellar cut from the innovating artist. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Beabadoobee
‘The Perfect Pair’
Beabadoobee ponders a strained relationship on ‘The Perfect Pair’, taken from her July album ‘Beatopia’. The bossa nova-tinged confessional sees her exchanging the ‘90s-alt guitars of her debut ‘Fake It Flowers’ for a dramatic mix of weeping strings and a jazzy beat. Beabadoobee amplifies the irony of the track’s title as she expounds on a couple’s communication breakdown: “If I told you, you’d know how to go and break my heart in two / ‘Cause I would anyways, we’d end up like always / You know me, you better show me that you could say it to my face”
In NME’s four-star review of ‘Beatopia’, we highlighted that “its creator embraces not only the vibrant colours of their own imagination, but the magic of letting the world in to see.” – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Biig Piig
‘Kerosene’
Irish alt-pop newcomer Biig Piig sets the dancefloor ablaze with her new single, ‘Kerosene’. The infectious number toes the line between release and restraint, as the production toggles between a hazy, subdued warble and a euphoric, four-on-the-floor bounce. Describing the track as her “own hot girl summer anthem”, Jess Smyth lays it out for a lover who’s making the first move: “He’s pouring gasoline / Two steps ahead of me / I told him, “Baby please / Come set it all alight” – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Porij
‘Outlines’
Manchester alternative dance quartet Porij return with their latest single, ‘Outlines’, off their EP of the same name. The chilled-out track finds vocalist Eggy’s delicate vocals floating atop offbeat, yet minimal production consisting of a spare drum machine arrangement, drill-adjacent bass stabs and fluctuating synthesisers – a certainly intriguing introduction to an EP by an equally intriguing new act. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Sports Team
‘Dig!’
Sports Team have returned with the fifth preview of their upcoming second LP, ‘Gulp!’. The uptight single maintains tension throughout the track, which mostly revolves around one chord and lead vocalist Alex Rice’s monotonous vocal delivery. As the tune progresses, the tension escalates as Rice’s vocals grow increasingly agitated, finally reaching a peak as the track closes in an ecstatic, shouty finale. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List:
YUNGBLUD
‘Tissues’
YUNGBLUD has returned with ‘Tissues’, from his latest self-titled full-length. The peppy track aims for a breezy atmosphere, with its sample of The Cure’s ‘Close To Me’ and steady acoustic guitars. As usual, Dominic Harrison’s signature vocal delivery injects the track with a contagious energy, as he sings about the tension between falling in love and the impermanence of romance: “Can’t keep holding my breath, God forbid / You leave me like all the rest did / I’m in love again / And tomorrow I’ll be sad” – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Kali Uchis
‘NO HAY LEY’
Kali Uchis has returned with her latest stellar single, ‘NO HAY LEY’. Delivering a hearty slice of quintessential house goodness, Uchis’ seductive vocals are given ample room to shine, with stacks of vocal harmonies backing herself in the track’s hooky, wordless refrain, which is certain to occupy some of your headspace for a little while. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
The Big Moon
‘Trouble’
London indie rock quartet The Big Moon return with their uplifting new single, ‘Trouble’, the second preview of their upcoming full-length release, ‘Here Is Everything’. Against a rootsy backing consisting of a steady beat and subdued guitars, singer Juliette Jackson reflects upon early motherhood, reframing what initially seemed gruelling as life-changing and positive.
Speaking about the new track, Jackson stated, “Birth is traumatic, however, you do it, and for me, the early months of motherhood were even more traumatising… I’ve found a way of reframing my memory of that period. You can forget, you can remember it differently, you can heal, you can live.”
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
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The post NME Radio Roundup 12 September 2022: The 1975, Phoenix and Shygirl appeared first on NME.
