Listen Tracks: Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Killer Mike and more

Their first new material since the tragic loss of drummer Taylor Hawkins, and the first preview of the bands eleventh studio album, ‘But Here We Are’, ‘Rescued’ is a fiery, defiant track that opens discussion surrounding everything from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance. Full of the passion that fuelled Foo Fighters’ debut injected with three decades of maturity and depth, ‘Rescued’ is the sound of a band using music as a catharsis, honouring Taylor in the way that works for them: continuing to release music. (Katie Macbeth)

Lifted from a new ‘complete edition’ of her 2022 album ‘Dance Fever’, ‘Mermaids’ sees Florence pair brooding, dance-infused instrumentals with her delicate vocals. Teased on Instagram with a video of her laying in a bath wearing a mermaid’s tail and vampire fangs, the track makes reference to messy nights out: “You haven’t seen nothing / until you’ve seen an English girl drink” and combines it with picturesque mythical imagery, like mermaids with ‘sharp teeth’ who appear late at night to drink, dance and “Sacrifice a human heart”. A casual Friday night. (Katie Macbeth)

We’ve got to know Killer Mike quite well in the decade that he and El-P have come to dominated speakers and stages worldwide as Run The Jewels, thanks to not only his on-stage persona, but off stage too, whether it’s as TV talk show host, political activist or even barbershop owner. Forthcoming solo album ‘Michael’ is, according to the rapper himself, the Logan to RTJ’s X-Men. Which would explain El-P’s cameo. But where their collective output fires fast, ‘Don’t Let The Devil’ centres on a suitably choral hook and looped beat that’s almost soothing, the Sunday to the “Sunday service” its lyrics reference. (Bella Martin)

If there was anyone still questioning Hayley Williams’ proclamation that Bloc Party were the “number one reference” for Paramore going into latest album ‘This Is Why’, mere seconds of ‘High Life’ should unquestionably prove her case. With a disco groove, handclaps galore and an almost tropical guitar line, it could easily be slotted behind their current tourmates’ last two records thanks to its funky bassline and that propulsive rhythm that’s been a Bloc Party constant for over two decades now. (Emma Swann)

It’s little surprise that Dream Wife say ‘Orbit’ was inspired by post-lockdown times: it’s bursting with fun. Taking all the dancefloor-filling exuberance of mid-‘00s indie discos - they cite New Young Pony Club and Yeah Yeah Yeahs but you can add CSS and The Rapture for good measure - and replacing the James Murphy-style post-punk rigidity for something more punkish and chaotic, it’s a joy of a track, where infectious chorus meets insatiable need to dance - with just the right amount of dark tension bubbling underneath. (Bella Martin)

Call us cynical, yes, but all too often when an artist that’s known for noise decides to ‘explore’ sonically, it all too often leads to them abandoning what made them so exciting in the first place. With the three singles that Alicia Bognanno has released from Bully’s fourth album, ‘Lucky For You’, however, she’s managed the opposite: the layers may be both more numerous and varied in texture, but there’s an impeccable use of the quiet-loud dynamic: for every even vaguely hushed tone, there’s an even louder, more searing one. And while ‘Hard To Love’ adds cues from UK indie of yore - see its baggy beat and occasional curious similarity to The Soup Dragons’ 1990 recording of ‘I’m Free’ - to her grunge-heavy palette, it’s also case in point. Where its verses sit in what at first seems like an overabundance of space, the chorus invades with a startle, by the end its clarrion call of the song’s name a cathartic scream. (Emma Swann)

Chaos prevails in ‘Undergrowth’. Written from the perspective of being reincarnated as a bedside table, Squid’s latest feels like a dozen different songs all squirming on top of each other, walking on an unsteady tightrope between laid back and manic; with dubby bass grooving underneath idiosyncratic, scatterbrained guitars and brass that cacophonously screech, bleep and gurgle at random intervals. It’s frenetic and unpredictable, stopping and starting like a car in serious need of some roadside assistance. It’s also accompanied by a trippy visualiser and its very own video game, further capturing the sonic pandemonium the song embodies. (Rebecca Kesteven)

Given both Paul Epworth’s past as a go-to remixer and his and Arlo Parks’ productive working relationship (“Paul is just a wizard” she says, in reference to the pair producing three songs in five days for her forthcoming record) it’s perhaps surprising they’ve not yet created something dancefloor-ready. Sure, ‘Blades’ isn’t full four-to-the-floor energy - it’s still unmistakeably Arlo, after all - but there’s a definite vibe to proceedings that lends itself to the pre-party, or to paraphrase another pop queen, after the afterparty. (Bella Martin)

MUNA’s journey began with a DIY pop sound that could devastate the toughest of hearts, eventually hardening into assertive synthpop that took said devastation and manipulated it into boundless catharsis. Newest track ‘One That Got Away’ - the first new music since 2022’s self-titled third record, and performed for the first time at Coachella - is quintessential MUNA, and amalgamates their history. An illegitimate child of ‘About U’, ‘Saves the World’ and that third album, ‘One That Got Away’ encourages post-break-up confidence through the tried-and- tested MUNA soundscape and throwback Janet Jackson pop. In fitting anywhere within their discography, ‘One That Got Away’ solidifies MUNA as event music: highly anticipated, undeniably on brand and always absolutely massive. (Otis Robinson)

Few artists are able to capture such romance and intimacy as Puma Blue. ‘Pretty’ feels like a delicate caress, a sonic cocoon where you can bask safely in the beauty of Allen’s honey-like voice. Yet, within this comfort, there also lies a real vulnerability. The heart of the song is an exploration of body image - feeling ugly even when someone who loves you tells you otherwise - and this relationship between beauty and ugliness is reflected in the dissonance between the loveliness of the song’s melody and the harsher, more jarring, synth textures that buzz in the bridge. (Rebecca Kesteven)

The Japanese House has really nailed making dance music to cry to. ‘Sad to Breathe’ begins by holding its own breath, soft piano intertwined with Amber Bain’s quiet lilts, then slowly breathes out, small bursts of electronica blooming into beautifully bold explosions. Amber leans comfortably into her pop sensibilities, the song gorgeously upbeat beneath searing sighs of “It’s sad to breathe the air when you’re not there”. It’s dreamy and hazy; The Japanese House is still here, and still breathing. (Mia Smith)

Underlining her knack for slipping witheringly relatable one-liners into deceptively swoonsome country-pop, ‘Whatever’s Inconvenient’ finds CMAT introducing Album Two with a soap opera in four-and-a-half minutes. Fleshed out with string flourishes for added drama, the Dubliner’s hyper-expressive vocal is the perfect vehicle for a romantic tale as old as time: ie a fuckboy with a mullet, out to ruin her life. (Lisa Wright)

Tags: Arlo Parks, Listen, Features, Tracks