New Music Friday | Featuring ‘The Weekend’ by Stormzy and Raye

This week’s New Music Friday features the likes of Stormzy and Raye, Blur, Miss Tiny, Beabadoobee and Hozier. With such illustrious names, yes, you guessed it, there’s some real gems.

Stormzy and Raye – The Weekend

South London unites on Stormzy and Raye’s collaboration, the sultry single ‘The Weekend’. The two creative stalwarts last collaborated on Raye’s 2016 track ‘Ambition’, and we’re all glad to see the link-up once more.

Blur – Russian Strings

There’s almost always a timeless gem of a tune on a Blur album. On The Ballad of Darren, the Britpop legend’s latest release, it’s the pensive powerhouse of ‘Russian Strings’. Read our full review of The Ballad of Darren here.

HAIM – Home (From Barbie The Album)

The soundtrack to the new Barbie album inevitably carries a lot of polished pop, following the tired and trusted formula of adding big names to an already recognisable brand. But beyond the realms of predictability there are in fact some strong standalone tunes, with HAIM’s ‘Home’ being one of them – a track that exists, and you’d listen to, regardless of the sparkly new film.

Miss Tiny – River Hands

The debut EP from Miss Tiny, DEN7, arrives today. We had a sense it would sound quality, given Miss Tiny is the project of one of the most sought-after producers Dan Carey and vocalist and drummer Benjamin Romans-Hopcraft – we didn’t know just how good it would sound. Commencing with the moody, sinister ‘River Hands’, somehow it surpasses expectations. Give the full thing a spin.

Hozier – De Selby (Part 2)

On the same day of his sold-out Alexandra Palace show, Hozier drops groove-laden ‘De Selby (Part 2)’. The latest release is the second part of a track which opens the Irish artist’s forthcoming album, Unreal Earth, set for release next month, 18 August.

Beabadoobee – The Way Things Go

Beabadoobee embraces her inner Black Swan in the video for her latest track: the pared-back, tender ‘The Way Things Go’. Just as its title suggests, and indeed like a lot of what Beabadoobee (real name, Beatrice Laus), there’s a soft, c’est la vie attitude that permeates the track.

Big Thief – Vampire Empire

Big Thief hardly put a note wrong on their hefty, one-hour-and-twenty-minute 2022 album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. Their new single ‘Vampire Empire’ picks up where that record left off, with Adrianne Lenker helming a musical beast that seems to breathe in complete unison.

Greta Van Fleet – Runway Blues

“When ‘Runway Blues’ blasts to life,” our review of Greta Van Fleet’s Starcatcher notes, “you’d be excused for thinking you’d accidentally tripped and fallen into a Rock Classics playlist, or stumbled upon one of those wild jam recordings from a long-lost The Doors session.” Well, there are few better ways to kickstart the weekend.

Bruno Major – 18

Bruno Major drops his third album Columbo today; an album that’s as exhilarating as it is tender. Read our full interview with the British singer-songwriter, where he discusses the making of the album, his drunken tweets about Abba and a whole lot more.

Bombay Bicycle Club, Holly Humberstone – Diving

Speaking of a sense of nostalgia, longtime indie stalwarts Bombay Bicycle Club have teamed up with ever-rising singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone. The result makes ‘Diving’ a touch of the old, with a sense of the new and looks ahead to BBC’s forthcoming album My Big Day, due 20 October. And while we’re here, Holly Humberstone has a forthcoming album of her own, too, with Paint My Bedroom Black set to arrive 13 October.