New Music Friday - 2/25/22

Welcome to another New Music Friday - This week, we’ve got great new music from Avril Lavigne, Tears for Fears and Fatherson.

So I hope you find something you love this weekend. Here is my featured new music for this week.

Singles of the Week:

“Becoming All Alone” by Regina Spektor

No surprise that the first single from Spektor’s upcoming album is a sweeping, orchestral track with her gorgeous voice winding her lyrics around each note. New York City’s “bars and corner delis” are the backdrop of “Becoming All Alone,” which begins with Spektor narrating a run-in with God. It’s a welcome feeling to be hearing new music from Spektor who last put out something in 2016.

“King” by Florence and the Machine

Speaking of gorgeous voices I missed, Florence Welch (and her Machine) are back with the single “King”. While there are similarities with their previous work, Welch controls her vocals to a more subdued tone (where in the past, her howl would have kicked in by the :30 second spot). The rage and feelings she sings about comes out in a different strength.

Album of the Week:

Black Radio III by Robert Glasper

One of the most powerful voices in music today, for nearly two decades Robert Glasper has been breaking down the walls between jazz, hip hop, and soul, and he does this most directly with Black Radio, a series of guest-filled albums that are equally devoted to all three of those genres.

Loaded with amazing guests (H.E.R., Killer Mike, Q-Tip, just to name a few), Glasper and his band blend the music of these genres with the voices of many generations. It’s music that makes you stop in your tracks. The lyrics are more focused on love than on politics.

"The songs speak about love because a lot of people, I've realized, want the escape. They put on music to escape CNN and Instagram and Facebook and all those things where all you see is all the negativity around us."

Standouts include "Better Than I Imagined" which was released in the summer of 2020 and featuring guest singers H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello, it earned Glasper a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song. Check out the silky smooth cover of Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” with Lalah Hathaway and Common.

This is jazz music for those that say, “I don’t get jazz” - It’s accessibility is undeniable. It’s also one of those albums that you should listen to from start to finish - straight through.

Check out my favorite track “Why We Speak”