Dear listeners,
One of the best arena shows I saw last year was a Brooklyn stop of Nine Inch Nails’ Peel It Back Tour, a visually striking, high-energy set that featured contributions from the German producer and D.J. Boys Noize. Now the two have released a collaborative album under the cheeky moniker Nine Inch Noize, featuring the reimagined versions of the Nine Inch Nails songs they have been playing live (including at this year’s Coachella). I, for one, am very happy to finally have a recorded version of the clubby remix of “Closer” that they played on tour; it’s going on my workout playlist, stat.
It’s also on today’s Amplifier playlist, which is a seven-track compilation of some recent releases that I’ve been enjoying. There’s a bit of something for everyone here: You’ll hear from some R&B divas (Raye and Jill Scott), indie-folk experimentalists (Wendy Eisenberg and My New Band Believe) and, in the final third, a few tracks of the sort of glitchy, brooding electro-pop that will put you in the correct state of mind to experience the industrial adrenaline rush of Nine Inch Noize.
My whole existence is flawed,
Lindsay
Listen along while you read.
1. Raye featuring Al Green: “Goodbye Henry”
Though Raye has been big in the U.K. for a few years now — in 2024, she won more Brit Awards in a single ceremony than any other artist in history — she only recently broke through on this side of the pond with her soulful smash “Where Is My Husband!” Last month, she released her second album “This Music May Contain Hope.,” a wildly ambitious, gloriously theatrical LP chock-full of old-soul razzle-dazzle. (It has all but convinced me that Raye will be tapped for a Bond theme song in the next few years, and that she’ll probably win an Oscar for it.) One of my favorite tracks is this mid-tempo blast of meta-melancholy (“This is a sad song, though it feels happy,” Raye warns us upfront) that features a verse from a very special guest, the one and only Reverend Al Green.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2. Jill Scott featuring Tierra Whack: “Norf Side”
Here’s another dynamic duo: the R&B eminence Jill Scott and the hip-hop innovator Tierra Whack, who both proudly represent North Philadelphia on this cut from Scott’s latest LP, “To Whom It May Concern.” Though the album came out in February, I’ve found myself returning to it quite a bit in the past few weeks; I really appreciate its lived-in wisdom and positivity. Whack scores extra Philly points here for rhyming “hoagie” with “rigatoni.”
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
3. My New Band Believe: “In the Blink of an Eye”
The virtuosic experimental rock band Black Midi has been on an indefinite hiatus for the past two years, leaving its members free to pursue other projects. Cameron Picton, one of the group’s former lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists, started a project last year called My New Band Believe and released a self-titled debut album earlier this month. As on this ornately arranged and frantically picked track, My New Band Believe often sounds to me like Destroyer might if Dan Bejar played a 36-string acoustic guitar, something I did not realize I needed in my musical life until right now.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. Wendy Eisenberg: “Meaning Business”
While we’re on the subject of guitar virtuosos valiantly attempting to compress their sprawling talents into folk songs that teem with kinetic energy, Wendy Eisenberg has a new self-titled album out, too. “I don’t see the little kid that grew so fast, and I really miss her,” Eisenberg sings on this ruminative pastoral that contemplates the curious nature of time.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
5. underscores: “Tell Me (U Want It)”
This shapeshifting, irresistibly catchy leadoff track from “U,” the latest album from underscores, the pop experimentalist April Harper Grey, considers the elusive nature of desire: “I get what I want and then find out right after I get it, I don’t even want it,” Grey sings amid rhythmic glitches and crystalline synths.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
6. Slayyyter: “Yes Goddd”
For the first few listens, I was not sure if I could ever get on board with the 29-year-old pop provocateur Slayyyter’s latest album, “Worst Girl in America”: I am old enough to revere the sacred texts of what people now call “indie sleaze” (I mean, I just called it music!) and am automatically skeptical of any of its next-generation revivalists. But I must admit that this song goes hard, and that I especially like the part in the middle where it sounds like a blown-out stereo blasting Daft Punk in a room with a bunch of cheap strobe lights. I am commandeering the aux cord at your next house party and putting this on.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
7. Nine Inch Nails & Boys Noize: “Closer (Nine Inch Noize Version)”
The original version of “Closer,” from Nine Inch Nails’ classic 1994 album “The Downward Spiral,” is basically a perfect song, so I appreciate that this remix isn’t a radical reimagining — it ain’t broke, so why fix it? But I love the steely synths at the top of the track, the corrosive zaps, and the crispness of Trent Reznor’s vocals. Most of all though, I love that it helps me keep the memory of an awesome concert alive.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
The Amplifier Playlist
“7 New Songs You Need to Know Now” track list Track 1: Raye featuring Al Green, “Goodbye Henry” Track 2: Jill Scott featuring Tierra Whack, “Norf Side” Track 3: My New Band Believe, “In the Blink of an Eye” Track 4: Wendy Eisenberg, “Meaning Business” Track 5: underscores, “Tell Me (U Want It)” Track 6: Slayyyter, “Yes Goddd” Track 7: Nine Inch Nails & Boys Noize, “Closer (Nine Inch Noize Version)”
Read past editions of the newsletter here.
If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here.
Have feedback? Ideas for a playlist? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].
Lindsay Zoladz is a pop music critic for The Times and writes the music newsletter The Amplifier.
The post 7 New Songs You Should Hear Now appeared first on New York Times.
