Still waking up from lockdown Christmas 2020? Trapped inside your house (again) because of a terrifying new strain of coronavirus? Feeling like you’ve been mis-sold 2021? Take twenty minutes out for New Music Monday.
This week we’ve got tracks from Black Honey, NAO, Shame, JC Stewart and London Grammar on repeat.
Tune in.
Black Honey – Believer
Brighton band Black Honey returned with their latest banger Believer at the end of the last week, accompanied by a video set in a Mexican village.
Speaking about the track, Izzy B. Phillips of the band said: ‘Believer is a song to accompany your existential crisis. I wanted a religious satire that was eye rolling at all the patriarchal nonsense of spiritual sense of self. I wanna believe in me, the outsider and the underdog. It’s like coming of age, coming out and coming up.’
The track will appear on the band’s upcoming new album, Written & Directed, which is out 19 March. With any luck, Believer is a taste of what’s to come.
NAO – Antidote
East London’s own NAO is kicking 2021 off the right way with her intoxicating new release Antidote, a collaboration with Nigerian artist Adekunle Gold.
Nao says: ‘Antidote’ is the remedy to 2020, it’s a song born out of lockdown which was something that affected everybody’s lives all over the world. Both Adekunle and I had daughters born weeks apart during this time, they lifted our vibrations and we wanted to share that good energy with the rest of the world.’
Antidote follows last year’s Woman, featuring Lianne La Havas.
Shame – Nigel Hitter
The hits just keep on coming from South London band Shame.
Nigel Hitter was premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Annie Mac’s ‘Hottest Record in the World’ and follows previously released singles Alphabet, Water in the Well and Snow Day.
‘Nigel Hitter is one of the vital organs of Drunk Tank Pink,’ frontman Charlie Steen said of the track. ‘A necessary pulse. Focused on daily routine, repetition, and how extraordinary any ordinary task seemed to me after coming home from touring. A world of percussion and joy lies within.’
Drunk Tank Pink is due out 15 January via Dead Oceans.
JC Stewart – Break my Heart
Following on from I Need You To Hate Me last year, Northern Ireland artist JC Stewart has dropped his catchy new single Break My Heart, co-written by Niall Horan.
‘Break My Heart is big, fast and fun,’ says JC. ‘It’s about someone who can catch you so off guard that they can ruin a city for you and tear your life apart. But sometimes that can be addicting.’
Watch the Charlie Sarsfield-directed video below.
London Grammar – Lose Your Head
London Grammar have released their latest single Lose Your Head, lifted from their upcoming album, Californian Soil.
Frontwoman Hannah Reid had this to say about the song in a press release: ‘Lose Your Head’ is about power and control in relationships. The lyrics are quite dark, but I wanted to show the song in an upbeat way.’
The trio, made up of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic 'Dot' Major, are set to release their third studio album in February. It's great to have them back.
