Every Friday, artists drop anticipated albums, surprise singles, and hyped collaborations. As part of New Music Friday, EW’s music team chooses some of the essential new tunes. From Harry Styles’ anticipated solo debut to Miley Cyrus’ latest stylistic shift, here are the week’s most noteworthy releases.
Harry Styles, Sign of time
The members of One Direction may have begun their careers as teen pop idols, but by their later albums, the boys were channeling arena-rock sounds of decades past in ways that could win over both young fans and their dads. Now, on his time-traveling solo LP, Styles gets to embrace those influences even further via fuzzy stompers like “Kiwi” and folksy numbers like “Meet Me in the Hallway.” Read EW’s full review here. —Nolan Feeney
Miley Cyrus, “Malibu”
Paramore, After Laughter
Paramore almost didn’t last long enough to make this new album, their first since 2013’s self-titled. After bassist Jeremy Davis left in 2015, frontwoman Hayley Williams was close to calling it quits. Instead, the band put their frustrations into the music on After Laughter, a record that channels the ’80s with dancey synths and Blondie-esque bops. Don’t let the sunny sound fool you, though: Those frustrations show up in angst-filled lyrics like “Oh, please, don’t ask me how I’ve been/ Don’t make me play pretend” (“Fake Happy”) that hark back to the type of emo-pop songs that made them a Warped Tour staple after their 2005 debut. —A.B.
Calvin Harris feat. Future & Khalid,“Rollin”
https://youtu.be/BzEzXLxjGhc
Machine Gun Kelly, bloom
The rapper scored his first Top 10 hit last year with the Camila Cabello-assisted “Bad Things,” and he’s stacked this third LP with similar star power: Hailee Seinfeld hops on the uplifting “At My Best,” recent Top-40 ascendant James Arthur helps out on the soulful “Go for Broke,” and Quavo of the ubiquitous rap trio Migos — seriously, these guys are everywhere — —teams up with Ty Dolla $ign on the skittering “Trap Paris.” —N.F.
Fetty Wap, “Aye”
You won’t find much of the “Trap Queen” hitmaker’s distinct wailing here — he prefers to show off his rhyming skills rather than sing on this first taste of his upcoming second album, King Zoo, due this summer. —N.F.
Prince, “Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden”
When it rains, it pours. A deluxe reissue if Prince’s Purple Rain is set to arrive on June 23, and the never-before-released tracks keep coming. Last month, fans learned all about what “Electric Intercourse” is on a previously unheard freaky slow-jam. Now, they’re getting a double-whammy with “Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden,” which is actually two songs in one: The first part features vocals from Lisa of the Revolution, Prince’s backing band during this era, while the second one puts the Purple One front and center. —N.F.
This article was originally published by Billboard
