Welcome to Happy Mag’s Best New Music. Every Friday we’ll highlight the best new releases from the past week.
It’s been quite the week for the music world: the “greatest album of all time” on Rate Your Music has been dethroned, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its nominees for the year, metal pioneer Ozzy Osbourne announced his retirement from music, Lil Yachty shocked everyone with his latest album (something I’ll touch on later in the piece), and amongst it all we got some great new releases from artists near and far.
This week I’ve got a couple of new releases from Sydney locals, a sequel track to one of the most memed rap songs ever, Yachty’s aforementioned musical about-face that’s gotten everyone talking, a slice of the Skrillex renaissance and much more to share with you; so without further ado let’s just into this week’s best new music!
Blessed’s new single Heya
First up is the incredible new track from Ghanaian-Australian artist BLESSED. Heya is a stunning afrobeat-inspired track that explores the dichotomy between man and nature in a way that’s as catchy as it is creative, and is my favourite new release of the week.
Little Green’s debut album Little Star
The debut album from Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Little Green is a gorgeous, tender and healing journey through ten finely crafted tracks. With intimate, ASMR-like production, Little Star is a must-listen for fans of tender indie-folk music.
Manning’s new single Hearts on Fire
With its effortlessly catchy opening hook, the latest single from Manning is one of those tracks that gets instantly stuck in your head. With rhythmic hits of fingerpicked guitar, bouncy, playful production, and a soaring chorus, this infectious indie-pop track may just be the Sydney-based artist’s best release to date.
Skrillex and Nai Barghouti’s new single Xena
Skrillex has been on a real hot streak recently with singles Rumble, Way Back, Leave Me Like This, and Real Spring, and the Grammy-winning producer’s latest single Xena only further cements the feeling that we’re in a Skrillex renaissance. Enlisting celebrated Palestinian vocalist Nai Barghouti for the track, the hyper-percussive Xena feels fast, fresh, and fun.
Trippie Redd and Lil B’s new single SWAG LIKE OHIO Pt. 2
SWAG LIKE OHIO 2 BABY! More than a decade after the legendary original Swag Like Ohio, alt-rap pioneer Lil B the Based God has teamed up with Trippie Redd for a sequel to the meme-famous track. The new version is exactly what fans of Lil B and irreverent trap rap could hope for.
Lil Yachty’s new album Let’s Start Here.
Finally today, we have the new release that’s had everyone in the music nerddom talking this week. Lil Yachty’s latest record is a bold sonic shift from the American artist’s usual “SoundCloud rap” sound into expansive and ambitious psych-rock soundscapes. Whether the album truly sticks the landing after Yachty’s ambitious musical jump is hotly debated, but what’s undeniable is that the release is one that needs to be experienced by everyone at least once.
