New Music Roundup

AlunaGeorge (feat. Popcaan) - I'm In Control

You'd be forgiven for thinking this was actually a new Major Lazer single, but that's likely due to the feature from Popcaan - a Jamaican dancehall artist. I'm In Control pairs the cool R&B and cooing vocals of AlunaGeorge with bouncing dancehall rhythms for a more transatlantic sound than we're used to from the duo. It deserves to be a smash.

I'm In Control is out now.

Meghan Trainor - No

It still beggars belief that Meghan Trainor won an actual Grammy earlier this year. And then No comes along. It's basically a 90s Britney track with a healthy dose of modern pop-R&B that's all about the bass and the chorus hook. Trainor doesn't seem cool enough to pull it off (give it to Ariana, or actual Britney), but as a songwriter she's definitely living up to her potential.

No is out now.

All Saints - One Woman Man

All Saints were always positioned as an edgier alternative to other 90s girl bands, but that continues into this 2016 comeback. It seems One Strike wasn't a one-off. One Woman Man is a power ballad with a thumping beat and cinematic chorus that certainly stands apart from most contemporary pop music. This is one return we should all be getting behind.

One Woman Man is out now. 'Red Flag' is released on April 8th.

Miike Snow - iii

The Swedish-American alt-poppers return with an album of typically well-crafted tracks. Heart Is Full leads the charge - a bombastic concoction of heavy beats, chopped up soul samples and auto-tuned vocals - whilst the likes of the buoyant Genghis Khan and the fizzingly choppy For U prove their Swedish pop credentials. After all, the trio have worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. As bold, playful and inventive as this album is at times though, it can't quite sustain interest across its full length. As a pop album, the hooks don't quite get under the skin like they should - not even a feature from Charli XCX can help with that.

Listen to: Heart is Full, Genghis Khan, For U

'iii' is out now.

Adam Lambert (feat. Laleh) - Welcome To The Show

Kelly Clarkson might steal all the headlines, but Adam Lambert is surely the best actual popstar to arise from American Idol. Last year's 'The Original High' was criminally overlooked by many, but the fittingly titled Welcome To The Show coincides with his upcoming tour which hopefully will reignite interest in his music beyond a literal Ghost Town.

Welcome To The Show is out now.

WSTRN - Come Down

The follow up to In2, Come Down doesn't quite have the same infectious nature as its predecessor, but this remains slick if unoriginal R&B from the BBC Sound Of 2016 nominees.

Come Down is out now.




Mura Masa - What If I Go?

Another Sound Of nominee, Mura Masa is an altogether more exciting prospect. What If I Go? bustles along nicely enough, with some guest vocals from Bonzai and tropical house nodding steel drums, until the chorus kicks in and the young producer chops up his samples into a dizzying kaleidoscope. If you listen carefully, you can hear Jai Paul sobbing into the grave of his career.

What If I Go? is out now.

Alessia Cara - Know It All

And here's one more Sound Of nominee, this time releasing her debut album. Cara belies her youth on opening track Seventeen and breakthrough track Here, on which she confesses to being a bit of a loner at a house party. Yet the latter equally proves her sense of cool and depth of knowledge as she sings over a sample of Isaac Hayes' Ike's Rap II (probably more famous for its use on Portishead's Glory Box). Four Pink Walls follows suit - a hip-hop beat, disc scrubbing and choppy soul production bubbling beneath wide-eyed lyrics that reveal she's "amazed by the limelight". The remains of the album flit inconsistently between the two extremes. There's the doo-wop Outlaws, the uninspiring Wild Things and soppy ballads like Stone and Stars, as well as the biting spark of I'm Yours and the stark metallic production of break-up anthem Overdose. When her maturity catches up to her talent, she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Listen to: Four Pink Walls, I'm Yours, Overdose.

'Know It All' is out now.

Matt Corby - Telluric

'Telluric', meaning earthly, seems like an odd choice of title for the Australian singer-songwriter's debut album when his voice is so heavenly. With a raspy lower register and quiveringly fragile falsetto, his vocals haunt across the eleven songs of the album - the layered harmonies of Monday especially. Yet through the influence of blues, gospel and soul, the earthly nature of his music becomes clear. Belly Side Up provides a woozy opening, Knife Edge creeps with muted guitars, and Oh Oh Oh is hushed and sensual speckled with guitar harmonics. Later tracks like Sooth Lady Wine and Do You No Harm provide a touch of psychedelia - soothing, laidback and oh so Australian. 'Telluric', then, is an album that's both earthly and otherworldly - perfectly suited to that unique voice.

Listen to: Monday, Oh Oh Oh, Sooth Lady Wine.

'Telluric' is out now.

Lukas Graham - Drunk In The Morning

As if that 7 Years song wasn't boring enough, Lukas Graham seem to have morphed into a Maroon 5 covers band. Dire.

Drunk In The Morning is out now.

Iggy Azalea - Team

HAHAHAHA

Team is out now.

ZAYN - BeFoUr

Even if you're not sold on the odd capitalisation, you should be sold on Zayn's sound. It feels like every week a new single comes out, but the album is imminent and BeFoUr is another track exemplary of his slick R&B that'll be riding high in the charts for the rest of the year.

BeFoUr is out now. 'Mind of Mine' is released on March 25th.