Earlier this month Kaytranada released his ‘Intimidated’ EP, a stellar three-track release with guest appearances from H.E.R., Thundercat and rising rapper Mach-Hommy. Here at NME we said it “does what the 29-year-old does best: fuse oozy soul samples with hip-shaking synths over thumping beats”, and the brilliant title track featuring H.E.R. was a must-add to the NME Radio A List this week.
Also in this week’s raft of additions to NME Radio is the excellent latest from Yard Act, FKA twigs and Central Cee‘s new collaboration, and a choice cut from Wolf Alice’s 2021 album ‘Blue Weekend’.
Check out what’s new on NME 1 & 2 below.
On the A List
Kaytranada
‘Intimidated’ featuring H.E.R.
‘Intimidated’ is the title track of Kaytranada’s latest EP, a sweet three-song package that marks his first project since 2019 album ‘Bubba’. This irresistibly smooth tune features the stunning voice of R&B singer H.E.R., who stars alongside fellow guests Thundercat and Mach-Hommy on the EP. – Karen Gwee
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Wolf Alice
‘Delicious Things’
Last week, Wolf Alice released a rendition of ‘Delicious Things’ performed with an orchestra at Abbey Road Studios; and while this isn’t that version, it doesn’t mean it’s any less beautiful. The second track off their 2021 album ‘Blue Weekend’, ‘Delicious Things’ is a lush mood-setter for a gorgeous slow dance at the indie disco, and a must-add to this week’s NME Radio playlist. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List
FKA twigs
‘Measure of a Man’ featuring Central Cee
FKA twigs has dropped her second song of 2021, and it’s another arresting collaboration. After ‘Don’t Judge Me’ with Headie One and Fred Again.., she’s teamed up with Central Cee for ‘Measure of a Man’. Having mastered crystalline delicacy and avant-garde dynamism in her previous work, twigs now delivers a grand, sweeping statement in this cinematic cut. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Girl In Red
‘I’ll Call You Mine’
At NME we’re using the holiday season to revisit a bunch of great albums that were released earlier this year. One of those was ‘if i could make it go quiet’ by Girl In Red, whose penultimate song ‘I’ll Call You Mine’ is a thumping declaration of passion and dedication by a player who’s finally willing to tend to their soft side. “Show me that you really care / Show me that you’rе gonna stay / On my worst days / Hold mе like you’ll never lеavе,” Marie Ulven pleads. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List
Mura Masa
‘2gether’
Mura Masa wields seemingly incompatible sounds – acoustic guitar and digital glitch – to great dramatic effect on his latest shuddering single ‘2gether’, which is set to be the new anthem of struggling long-distance couples everywhere. It hails from a reinvigorated era for Mura Masa: “Feels so good to have taken so much time away from releasing my own music,” he wrote on Instagram of the single, “to get my mind right and my ideas right and come back to such a warm reception.” – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Big Thief
‘Time Escaping’
The wonky rhythms and acoustic oddities of Big Thief’s new single ‘Time Escaping’ bode well for the prolific indie rock band’s upcoming album, the 20-song-long ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’. The LP came together over four sessions, and ‘Time Escaping’ was recorded in the second one at Topanga Canyon, California, with bandleader Adrianne Lenker’s dog in attendance – that’s who she’s addressing when she exclaims “It’s music!” midway through the song. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Yard Act
‘Payday’
Yard Act’s ‘Payday’ is a devilishly catchy post-punk song that’s for fans of both Talking Heads and Sleaford Mods. According to frontman James Smith, “it’s about gentrification, class fetish and how the human brain is so powerful that with enough time and processing power combined it will be able to justify, defend and/or continue to commit the actions of any human being it controls.” – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
‘Blenda’
‘Blenda’ is Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul’s latest single from their upcoming album ‘Topical Dancer’, and the electronic duo’s laconic send-up of racism and xenophobia. Writing ‘Blenda’ “made me gain strength”, Adigéry told NME last week. “It helped [me] go beyond [racism] and not feel victimised, something I’ve felt for a long time.” – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Poppy Ajudha
‘London’s Burning’
Next March Poppy Ajudha releases her anticipated debut album ‘The Power In Us’. It’s led by the intense new single ‘London’s Burning’. Over a soundbed of trip-hop and electronica, she sings about the legacies of imperialism, deadly xenophobia and a country’s self-destruction. – KG
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
The post NME Radio Roundup 29 November 2021: Kaytranada, Wolf Alice, FKA twigs and more appeared first on NME.
