- Words Liam Cattermole
New Music Friday is here and Notion Now has all the tracks you need to be adding to your playlists over the next seven days.
‘Strangers’ by Lewis Capaldi
Releasing five new songs to guide us into 2024, Lewis Capaldi returned to social media after a six-month hiatus to announce an extended edition of his second album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent. ‘Strangers’ is our pick of the bunch, as the Scotsman narrates a simultaneous tale of loneliness and companionship.
‘Wasted Youth’ by goddard., Cat Burns
Cutting through the noise in 2023 with ‘messy in heaven’, goddard. is the DnB producer on the tip of everyone’s tongue. On ‘Wasted Youth’, a rambunctious jump-up jam, the selector enlists picture-perfect popstar Cat Burns for an elegant feature.
‘Trench P (London City)’ by Potter Payper
Billing up an analysis of London life today, and his place within it, Potter Payper’s showing no signs of slowing down in 2024. ‘Trench P (London City)’ hits the ground running, righteously announcing his return to the spotlight and the realness he carries proudly on his shoulders.
‘Caesar on a TV Screen’ by The Last Dinner Party
‘Caeser on a TV Screen’ is an empowering new single from indie five-piece, The Last Dinner Party. Referencing Shakespeare’s famous play and all its theatrical glory, the song starts dulcetly before revving into a triumphant chorus with anthemic potential. The track precedes their debut album, Prelude To Ecstasy.
‘Tracy Beaker’ by SL
Croydon wordsmith SL maintains his idiosyncratic clarity on the new single, ‘Tracy Beaker’. Packing promiscuous bars into three minutes of stylish UK rap, he tells his closest rivals to ‘bog off’ with a similar snarl to the track’s namesake.
‘wherever u r’ by UMI, V of BTS
American neo-soul star UMI links up with BTS’s V for the chart-topping new single, ‘wherever u r’. Stripped back to an acoustic guitar loop, tip-toeing percussion and mellifluent harmonies, the track transports you to a place of welcomed post-2023 serenity.
‘Good INtentions’ by 24kGoldn
Threading melodic flows through breezy boom bap production, 24kGoldn once again proves his versatility on, ‘Good INtentions’. The viral ‘Mood’ rapper relays the peaks and pits of his journey to pop stardom with amicable honesty.
‘Skims’ by D-Block Europe
Young Adz and Dirtbike can do little wrong at the moment. The UK rap-rockstars, who go by the name D-Block Europe, have been at the fore of British music for years, headlining Wireless and releasing a slew of successful mixtapes. ‘Skims’ is their latest single, referencing Kim Kardashian’s popular underwear brand over a typically intergalactic beat.
‘Cry Baby’ by Brad stank, Lord Apex
Liverpudlian jazz serenader Brad stank wants us to take a moment for ourselves on ‘Cry Baby’, his latest single to feature west London rapper Lord Apex. Hazy and hypnotic, the track seduces you into a romantic world, filled with subtle psychedelia and blissful euphoria.
‘Ezekiel’s Wheel’ by Erick The Architect, George Clinton
If you said you saw this one coming, quite frankly, you were either lying or count yourself as one of Erick The Architect’s best buds. Stepping correctly into 2024, the Flatbush Zombies member enlists Parliament Funkadelic don George Clinton for a future-facing funk feature on ‘Ezekiel’s Wheel’, empowering his diaristic storytelling.