mvm.

“There’d Better Be NEW MUSIC:// We see an emphatic New Music Friday with Arctic Monkeys and Architects leading the forefront in swooning lounge music and fresh metal-core tearing.. with a few ample surprises to make up quite a weekend for music listening.

The Car//: Traversing the same sonics as Tranquility in 2018, one of the biggest bands in the world are back with their seventh studio album, The Car, today. Sumptuously glamorous in one line to another, The Car is a soundtrack worthy of any French noir film of any era, which is quite fitting considering Turner recorded the majority of his lyrics at La Frette on the outskirts of Paris. Any new story the Sheffield band produces is exciting, and the observational presence of The Car is no different. If anything, it just makes you want to lean in evermore.

the classic symptoms of a broken spirit//: On the night before the band were expected to drop their tenth studio album, their drummer, Dan Searle took to Instagram to talk about creativity: “we appreciate all the of support and, to be totally honest, i often take it for granted, especially over these last 3 years during which time we’ve played just 16 shows. it has been almost impossible not to become detached from you all, and yet in that period of time we have transformed enormously and asked that you all come with us, should you wish to. of course not everyone will be up for the ride, we know that and we are okay with that.” At such a poignant moment in the bands’ trajectory, the classic symptoms of a broken spirit show a revitalised telling of a band reset of spontaneity and creativity. Spit the bone and doomscrolling are instant stand-outs for me.

hugo//: Conscientious jazz-rap is never an easy feat to excel at. The lyrical ingenuity is just as important as the melting beats accompanying it. It takes a good MC to perfect both and to spiral upwards after three studio albums. Our man Loyle Carner is doing just that. hugo is the next melancholic soundscape as he portrays his angst towards racism, violence and crime. He shares retrospective thoughts on his difficult upbringing, almost as an ode to his newborn he has recently brought into the world.

cleopatrick: they may stylise their band name in lowercase, but are by no means quiet. This duo never seem to get enough attention outside Ontario. It’s about time we change that with their EP release today, DOOM. Raw rock rifled with crunchy guitar and explosive kickbacks, it’s dirty, smelly and goes hard.

Taylor Swift: Taylor’s new work in four years moves away from the piano- and guitar-led sound of her reflective lockdown diptych Folklore and Evermore into electronic-rich pop. The songs are themed around “13 sleepless nights scattered” throughout her life.

Stumpwork: A juicy hand-picking of delicate alternatives, Dry Cleaning are your favourite 4-piece from South London. Especially now, considering their sophomore album is out today as they traipse the same stomping grounds (tip-toe may be more appropriate) as corduroy-trousers Porridge Radio and tweed-jacket Honeyglaze. Amongst a lurid pube-infested bar of soap, Stumpwork features stand-outs Gary Ashby and No Decent Shoes For Rain. Give it a try, let me know what you think.

In the hotly-contested list below, we also get to share an IDLES eerie remix to Florence’s Heaven Is Here, another meaty one from You Me At Six, a full work from Witch Fever and a partnership with Frank Carter and Jamie T on new fast-blast, Drugs.

mvm.