NME Radio Roundup 10 October 2022: Paramore, LCD Soundsystem & Bicep

10 October, 2022

Paramore

Last week Paramore made their arresting return to the spotlight with ‘This Is Why’, their first single in four years. The jerky new track is our first preview of the trio’s upcoming sixth full-length release of the same name, and leads NME Radio’s A List this week. In NME’s glowing track review, we highlighted that “while ‘This Is Why’ sees the band continuing to break new ground, its unifying energy gives it a familiar freedom”.

Joining ‘This Is Why’ on NME Radio this week are LCD Soundsystem’s fresh comeback single, the latest cut from Bicep, and new offerings from Nia Archives, The Big Moon, Puma Blue, and more.

Check out the newest additions to NME Radio 1 and 2 below:

On the A List:

Paramore

‘This Is Why’

On ‘This Is Why’, Paramore groove their way through paranoia and rage. “If you have an opinion, maybe you should shove it,” Hayley Williams sings in its opening moments, reintroducing the band with a quiet snarl. The track’s simmering angst explodes in gang vocal-led choruses backed by Zac Farro’s furious drumming and stabs of serrated guitars, prompting both cathartic sing-alongs and shameless dancing.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

LCD Soundsystem

‘New Body Rhumba’

LCD Soundsystem are back with the stellar ‘New Body Rhumba’. An invigorating return to form following the moodier sonics of 2017’s excellent ‘American Dream’, the track revolves around the group’s signature juxtaposition of post-punk grind against an irresistibly funky beat.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

Bicep

‘Water (feat. Clara La San)’

Belfast electronic duo Bicep have returned with their latest single, ‘Water’. The banging standalone release finds the duo incorporating chiptune synthesisers into their euphoric sonics. Backed by a brooding, lo-fi synth and a shuffling beat, Clara La San delivers mesmerising vocals that impart a contrasting calm to an otherwise rapturous club anthem.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

On the B List:

Nia Archives

‘Baianá’

NME Award-winning producer Nia Archives has returned with effervescent new single, ‘Baianá’. Building the track upon a striking sample from a tune of the same name by traditional Brazilian choir Barbatuques, it’s sped up and locked within the groove of a lightning-speed jungle break. On it, Nia Archives not only creates a loving tribute to the South American nation, but delivers a unique take on the beloved UK genre.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

The Big Moon

‘This Love’

London indie rockers The Big Moon are back with ‘This Love’, the third preview of their upcoming third record, ‘Here Is Everything’. Tapping on her experiences with pregnancy and motherhood, Juliette Jackson sings simply and poetically of newfound love she’s found for both her newborn and partner: “Sun to the morning / Moon to the night / Song to a blackbird / This love is right”.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

On the C List:

Puma Blue

‘Hounds’

South London singer-songwriter Puma Blue has returned with the intense ‘Hounds’. The slow-burning track begins in pitch darkness, employing little more than a muted trip-hop beat, an ominous, sustaining bass tone and Jacob Allen’s breathy vocals. The song takes its time to build in intensity, slowly but surely growing to incorporate angular guitars and even an agitated, frantic sax solo.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

Bree Runway

‘That Girl’

NME 100 alumni Bree Runway declares her new era with the stellar new single, ‘THAT GIRL’. The track finds the London artist meshing the cavernous atmospherics of techno with her slick lyricism (“Sickening body, it’s unfair / I can pronounce everything I wear”) and a killer hook, and it’s brilliant.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

‘Wolf’

Yeah Yeah Yeahs return with ‘Wolf’, a highlight off their stellar fifth full-length release, ‘Cool It Down’. Invoking Duran Duran, Karen O leans on the metaphor of a wolf to express unadulterated desire, as she pleads: “Don’t leave me now, don’t break the spell / In heaven, lost my taste for hell”. Cinematic strings and a disco beat bring the track to epic heights, before introducing distorted 808s in an unexpected breakdown.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

Maya Hawke

‘Sweet Tooth’

Maya Hawke makes peace with the past on the folksy ‘Sweet Tooth’, a cut taken from her exceptional sophomore record ‘Moss’. With conversational lyrics and an acoustic guitar in hand, Hawke scrubs through memories from broken bones to liking a movie “everybody hated”, embracing every experience – mundane or significant – as part and parcel of life: “I’m grateful for everything you put me through / It’s the only reason I’m any good to talk to”.