New Music Friday | Featuring ‘Praising You’ by Rita Ora (feat. Fatboy Slim)

This week’s New Music Friday includes tunes from Rita Ora, Foo Fighters, Everything But The Girl, Songer, Alfa Mist and more. Bring on the weekend.

Rita Ora (feat. Fatboy Slim) – Praising You

“I been gone for a minute / Been low key with my business,” Rita Ora calls out on her latest track ‘Praising You’, which interpolates Fatboy Slim’s track of a club classic of a similar name. Well, Rita fans needn’t be worried anymore about where the pop star’s at, as the singer has announced brand-new, forthcoming album You & I, set for release on 14 July.

Foo Fighters – Rescued

Also returning to the fore, albeit in much more difficult circumstances following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins a year ago, are Foo Fighters. The iconic, Dave Grohl-led outfit have an album announcement of their own too, with But Here We Are set for release on 2 June. Judging by the qualities of its lead single, it will no doubt embody introspection and grief, but that won’t stop it from sounding as hefty an raucous as the US rock legends have always been.

Everything But The Girl – Lost

The remarkable thing about Everything But The Girl’s new album, Fuse, is that it sees the duo refusing to play it safe by sticking to what they know. In some senses, such a view does them a disservice; Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have always had a pioneering quality to them, with their 90s albums still sounding fresh today. ‘Lost’ doesn’t deny age either, as Thorn laments on the loss of her mother. Read our full, five star review of Fuse here.

Songer – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

There’s a line on ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, from SONGER’s latest album SKALA that our reviewer has picked up on: “I never grew up in no grime scene / Had James Morrison playing on headphones”. It’s a bar that epitomises the relatively atypical manner in which the Reading MC grew accustomed to rap. Not that any of that’s stopped him from today releasing one of his most cohesive projects to date.

Blawan – Toast

Having frequently served up some of the most curious, layered productions over the years, Blawan this week dropped ‘Toast’ – as part of the announcement of brand-new EP Dismantled into Juice, set for release on 17 May via XL Recordings. It’ll be the DJ and producer’s first EP since 2021’s terrific Woke Up Right Handed.

Alfa Mist – Foreword

He never puts a foot wrong, Alfa Mist. The opening track to his brand-new album Variables, out today is a delight – and for jazz fans, it borders the divine. ‘Foreword’ is more than just a first chapter to this new record, it’s a head-spinning smorgasbord of sax and keys. The full-length album arrives with an equally impressive full-length video.

CHINCHILLA – Little Gone Girl

CHINCHILLA decided to go independent last year, and the success of her track ‘Little Gone Girl’ on TikTok has proven something of a vindication over that decision. A track that touches on the subject of “feminine rage”, as the London-based artist told us, videos that include it have been viewed in the millions.

Enter Shikari – A Kiss For The Whole World x

That little kiss dropped at the end of the opening, very-nearly-titular track on Enter Shikari’s new record says a lot. Having questioned more than ever whether they’d continue as a band during the pandemic, the thing that pulled that through was really the fans – and that little ‘x’ is for them, a kiss for them all. And if you think I’m being soppy, you’ll get a sense of just how genuinely frontman Rou Reynolds cares about the Enter Shikari brigade in our interview, which you can read here.

Miles Kane – Troubled Son

One of the best music stories to have come from last year (at least by my reckoning) was when Miles Kane turned his attention to branded hot sauce. Now The Last Shadow Puppets singer is focussing back on his music (not that there’s anything wrong with a bit of spicy condiment), and this week shared ‘Troubled Son’ as the lead single of forthcoming album, One Man Band, set for release on 4 August.

Lana Lubany – On My Way

UK-based Palestinian and American artist Lana Lubany shares mesmeric new track ‘On My Way’ this week – the latest offering from her concept project The Holy Land, set for release on 12 May. Set among a twirling of synths, it’s a luscious teaser to the full-length project.