NME Radio Roundup 5 December 2022: Metallica, Stormzy, J. Maya and more
Last week, thrash metal icons Metallica took the world by surprise with not one, but three major announcements: an upcoming studio album, a colossal world tour spanning Europe and North America, and a high-octane lead single to herald the veterans’ new era. ‘Lux Æterna’ is our first taste of ‘72 Seasons’, which drops in April 2023.
“72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves,” expressed frontman James Hetfield about the album’s intriguing title in a statement. “Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”
As the set-up for what might be a nostalgic release for the quartet, ‘Lux Æterna’ leads this week’s additions to NME Radio, alongside other fresh tunes including highlights from Stormzy’s intimate new record and the debut EP from American singer-songwriter J. Maya.
Check out the newest additions to NME Radio 1 and 2 below:
On the A List:
Metallica
‘Lux Æterna’
Metallica are back to bring the lightning on ‘Lux Æterna’, the lead single off their upcoming eleventh studio album ‘72 Seasons’. The pummelling track sees the legends flexing their prowess for riffage, kicking off with a catchy James Hetfield riff which tightly interlocks with the punch of Lars Ulrich’s double kick drum groove. It’s a killer return to form in more ways than one: the single’s ‘80s thrash chug is guaranteed to satiate fans of the band’s early sound, while the chorus’ anthemic chant of “full speed or nothing” directly references the album that started it all. – Eli Ordonez
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Stormzy
‘Need You’
Stormzy is caught between moving on and making up on ‘Need You’, a highlight off his stellar third album ‘This Is What I Mean’. Atop breezy Afrobeat production, the Croydon MC waxes poetic about the transitional phase between a relationship at its demise and what comes after: “You see my new girl, she’s firebabeing / You don’t care much and I ain’t hatin’ / You said you need time, but I ain’t waitin’”. The track belongs as much to rising Def Jam singer-songwriter tendai as Stormzy, occupying half the track with a verse and hook delivered with silky precision. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the B List:
J. Maya
‘Three Specters’
Bay Area singer-songwriter J. Maya wrestles with the past, present and future on ‘Three Specters’, taken off her latest EP, ‘Poetic Licence’. The former pun champion lays aside her humour for an earnest meditation on the darker workings of the mind against a modest arrangement led by scratchy acoustic guitars: “The past is a presence, the future is pretend / And the present is a pastor, trying to make it all make sense”. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Supershy
‘Don’t Let Go’
Supershy – also known as Tom Misch’s house music side project – sets fire to the dancefloor on his latest cut, ‘Don’t Let Go’. The track marks the first Supershy cut featuring the funk-pop wunderkind’s vocals, this time caked in spacey ambience atop bouncy, four-on-the-floor beats. Misch juxtaposes dreamy atmospheres and acidic synthesisers with the cool composure he exudes under his own name. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
On the C List:
Caity Baser
‘Kiss You’
Brighton-based singer-songwriter Caity Baser is lovestruck on her peppy new single ‘Kiss You’. With wit and disarming honesty, the 20-year-old wears her heart on her sleeve about the sensations that come with being infatuated against kaleidoscopic pop-rock: “I hope you know that you’re so slow / Even when you get the green light, though / Do you need a map in some direction, to find my lips?” – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Mac Wetha, Biig Piig and Lord Apex
‘Don’t You Go Falling In Love’
Dirty Hit producer Mac Wetha teams up with West London artists Biig Piig and Lord Apex on the vibey new track ‘Don’t You Go Falling In Love’. Built on a buttery combination of warm, subdued instrumentation and a steady backbeat, the latter two vocalists weave a lovelorn tale of longing, with Lord Apex providing a downcast verse and Biig Piig grounding the song in a simple refrain (“Don’t you go falling in love with someone / I need you all alone”) – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Lana Lubany
‘Clones’
London-based singer-songwriter Lana Lubany gets nostalgic on her groovy new single, ‘CLONES’. Serving a catchy bilingual hook against a snappy beat reminiscent of Timbaland’s mid-2000s Justin Timberlake productions and classical guitar licks, it’s another stellar cut from the rising talent. – EO
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
The post NME Radio Roundup 5 December 2022: Metallica, Stormzy, J. Maya and more appeared first on NME.
NME
NME
