New Music Friday: Oct 14th, 2022.
With a new album from The 1975, the comeback of punk music, and upcoming releases from Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and the Arctic Monkeys, 2014 is back. These are my favorite releases this week.
The 1975 - Being Funny in a Foreign Language
The fifth album by the British pop-rock band is reminiscent of their previous music, but the lyrics scream 2022. With lines such as, “It was poorly handled/ The day we both got canceled/ Because I'm a racist and you're some kind of slag” and “You see, I can't sleep 'cause the American Dream/ Has been buying up all of my self-esteem/ While QAnon created a legitimate scene/ But it was just some bloke in the Philippine,” the 1975 blends their old sound with new problems. Producer Jack Antonoff’s touch is apparent on the album, and many of the more upbeat tracks are reminiscent of his own band, Bleachers. I recommend giving the album a listen, notably tracks “Looking for Somebody (To Love)” and “Wintering.”
Louis Tomlinson - “Out of My System”
Louis Tomlinson, former One Direction member and current solo artist, brings back punk rock in my most anticipated track this week. As the second single off of his upcoming sophomore album, “Faith in the Future,” “Out of My System” perfects the sound that Tomlinson has hoped to achieve with his music, turning away from the guitar-driven songs of his debut album Walls and the pop songs of One Direction in favor of a rougher, more dimensional sound. Tomlinson himself says that the track was inspired by “Dancing Shoes” and “Teddy Picker,” both by the Arctic Monkeys. If you like those tracks, I recommend giving “Out of My System” a listen, and look out for Tomlinson’s album on November 11th.
Girl in Red - “October Passed Me By”
I had the opportunity to hear a snippet of this track at Girl in Red’s concert in Phoenix, Arizona on September 25th. Girl in Red, born Marie Ulven Ringheim, prefaced the song by explaining that she considered it a sequel to her 2018 hit “We Fell in Love in October.” The track combines the sound of Ringheim’s older music with her more current and more aggressive vocals (think of something similar to a mix between “midnight love” and “Did You Come?” and also something softer like “i need to be alone.”) Produced by Aaron Dessner, member of the National and Big Red Machine and co-writer of Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” and “Evermore,” “October Passed Me By” is worth the listen.
Hozier - “Swan Upon Leda”
While this track wasn’t actually released this week, it did come out in the last seven days. It marks the first song released by Hozier since his sophomore album “Wasteland, Baby” was released in 2019 (I am purposely excluding “Tell It To My Heart,” a MEDUSA song featuring Hozier, from this narrative) and offers a glimpse into Hozier’s still unnamed junior album. He explained in an Instagram post that he hopes to offer solidarity to women in the United States following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as well as to those in Iran who are currently fighting for civil liberties following the unjust murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by Iranian authorities.
Other notable releases this week include:
M.I.A - “Mata”
Tove Lo - “Dirt Femme”
Noah Kahn - “Stick Season”
Joshua Basset - “SHE SAID HE SAID SHE SAID”
Blake Rose - “Dizzy”
Pink Sweat$ ft. Boogie Wit da Hoodie - “Lay Up N’ Chill”
Alexander 23 ft. Kenny Beats - “ill”