Last week two of pop’s brightest young stars, Griff and Sigrid, teamed up for collaborative single ‘Head On Fire’. The duo first connected virtually during the pandemic, later meeting in person and recording this feel-good anthem. A rush of pure euphoria, it was a must add to this week’s NME Radio A List.
Also new to the NME Radio playlists we’ve got seasoned veterans proving their vitality in new releases from Muse and Bonobo, exciting collaborations from Jordan Stephens and Miraa May, and FKA twigs and Rema, and pithy post-punk from recent NME cover stars Yard Act.
Here’s what we’ve added to NME 1 & 2 this week:
On the A List:
Griff & Sigrid
‘Head On Fire’
If you’ve ever had your world rocked by an all-consuming crush, you’ll know just what Griff and Sigrid mean on ‘Head On Fire’. The duo team up for a luminous pop song about “that feeling when you meet someone who just flips everything upside down and you can’t focus on anything else but that person”. Dive headfirst into the infatuation – Griff and Sigrid have your back. – Karen Gwee
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Yard Act
‘Pour Another’
When you’re on a strobing dancefloor, where the tunes are banging and the drinks are flowing, it’s easy to forget the world and all its cruelties. Yard Act know that all too well. ‘Pour Another’, from excellent new album ‘The Overload’, is about “that point in the night when you don’t want to let go of the moment you’re in, when everything is perfect and everyone is your new best friend,” frontman James Smith has said. “Those moments fade, because nothing stays as it was. You’re woken with a bang and you have to face the truth.” – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
Muse
‘Won’t Stand Down’
2023 will mark 20 years since Muse dropped the blistering ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. Have they released anything that hits as hard as that song? Well, try new single ‘Won’t Stand Down’ on for size. It takes some time to get there, but stick with it – you’ll be richly rewarded. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
The Rills
‘Do It Differently’
Lincoln indie trio and newly minted NME 100 members The Rills are determined to prove that they ‘Do It Differently’. It’s the title track of their new EP, out May 6, and is about “acknowledging your uniqueness and using it to push against a world that tries to pigeonhole you”. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Jordan Stephens
‘Big Bad Mood’ featuring Miraa May
If you’re in a ‘Big Bad Mood’, Jordan Stephens’ latest single will airlift you out of it instantly. Stephens and guest vocalist Miraa May float over an infectious beat by Joe Hertz, coming together in a head-turning preview of his debut solo album ‘Let Me Die Inside of You’. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List:
Earl Sweatshirt
‘Titanic’
In recent years, Earl Sweatshirt has embraced increasingly off-kilter and experimental sonics; but his pen has remained sharp, as evidenced by ‘Titanic’ from his latest album ‘SICK!’. Over a beat by Black Noi$e and between sly ad libs, Earl delivers bars that land like sucker punches: “Hometown hold me down like a rock / So you know how I gotta skip it… Mask on like a supervillain / Daniel, who you in the den with? Lion”. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Bonobo
‘Closer’
‘Closer’ is not quite textbook Bonobo, but it showcases the adventurousness of Simon Green’s latest record ‘Fragments’. The restless track “appear[s] to evoke that of a newcomer finding their feet, not that of a name as established as his own,” wrote Thomas Smith in NME’s review of the album. “The innovation and risk suits him.” – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Metronomy
‘Things Will Be Fine’
Metronomy are hitting pause on coy indie electronica and exploring more straightforward, heart-on-sleeve material for their new album ‘Small World’, if latest single ‘Things Will Be Fine’ is any indication. It’s a song about reassurance, trust and optimism. Expect more sunniness from Metronomy come February 18, when they release their seventh studio album. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
FKA twigs
‘Jealousy’ featuring Rema
FKA twigs’ new mixtape ‘CAPRISONGS’ finds the avant pop artist rediscovering her joie de vivre. Young Nigerian star Rema brings twigs into his Afrobeats sphere on this track, which twigs has described as the “soul” of the project. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Astrid
‘Through The Darkness Of Your Life’
Scottish indie duo Astrid are back with the jangly single ‘Through The Darkness Of Your Life’. It’s inspired by frontman Charlie Clark’s pandemic rereading of occult literature, books about the power of positive thinking and lectures by Alan Watts, Ram Das and more. It’s a song, he says, “in some ways about getting older and using past experiences and knowledge gained to really start applying it to your life”. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
The post NME Radio Roundup 24 January 2022: Griff & Sigrid, Yard Act, Muse and more appeared first on NME.
