FKA twigs makes the afters sound like a great idea on Cheap Hotel

There’s loads of music out there, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up.

Rather than letting the algorithm dictate your music taste, you can listen to Rated by THE FACE – a playlist that’s lovingly curated and updated by our (human) editorial team every week.

FKA twigs – Cheap Hotel

After inspiration struck at a techno night in Prague, FKA twigs and her co-producer Koreless crafted a shiny club-pop sound for Eusexua, the most euphoric album of her career. The former FACE cover star has now announced the sequel album Eusexua Afterglow which, as the press release states, expresses the feeling of having ​“left the rave but still feeling the pulse of the music and the euphoria of movement inside you.” Lead track Cheap Hotel is primed for dimly-lit rooms and heavy eyelids, with an alluring trip-hop sway, twigs’ deliriously dreamy vocals mingling with drowsy chopped ​‘n’ screwed-style raps and some gently rippling synths to take the edge off. Go on, pop the mini bar champagne. Everyone will pay you back tomorrow. DR

Yaeji – booboo2 ft. Aliyah’s Interlude & underscores

As Yaeji reminds us in the opening lyrics of this track, a year ago, she released booboo, a hard-hitting, but fun-filled banger that felt drenched in the pink fluorescent light of the club. This year, she’s released its sequel, booboo2, kicking the track up a notch with features from post-hyperpop star underscores and rapper Aliyah’s Interlude, who dropped the summer ear worm IT Girl last year. In comparison to the original, booboo2 feels even more explosive as the bassline gets increasingly chaotic and Aliyah deals out stern warnings in her verse: ​“Please don’t touch me bitch/​I don’t want yo lame ass feeling on this/​don’t call me twin/​I’m not your sis”. TL

Yung Lean & Bladee – Evil World

Yung Lean looked like he was having a great time at Charli xcx and George Daniel’s Sicilian wedding, but the new stuff he’s dropping with Bladee suggests he’s been in a much darker place. One week after their collaborative track Inferno, the Swedish duo have once again hopped on combustion synths courtesy of Drain Gang producer Whitearmour. ​“There’s so much evil and sensitivity inside of me /​I killed the weakest part of me but being weak is honesty,” Lean raps with zombibed drawl. DR

RenzNiro, Dunamis, Grim, Wudini – Real Striker

We’ve been fans of RenzNiro for some time now. The Manchester rapper has close ties with the North West’s experimental scene, where artists like Space Afrika and Rainy Miller emphasise the potency of his poetic bars with their distinctive styles of melancholic ambience. Renz has joined forces with fellow Mancunians Dunamis, Grim and Wudini for the harder-edged 10,000 Hours EP, fusing grime flows with sci-fi synths and glacial trap beats. On the anthemic highlight Real Striker, the MCs flex their regional pride over bass-boosted kick drums, breaking glass noises and synths that whirr like car alarms going off at 3am. If you’re craving a UK rap record which sounds fresh, you’ll want to listen to the whole EP. DR

Jackzebra – Human

On Reddit, Jackzebra has been dubbed ​“the Chinese Bladee”, but anyone who’s listened closely knows that the Chengdu-born artist’s music has its own distinctive character. Testament to his buzz in both the Chinese and Western underground rap worlds, Jackzebra is dropping his forthcoming mixtape Hunched Jack via Surf Gang Records, joining a catalogue that includes xaviersobased, Snow Strippers and SF leader evilgiane. Latest single Human is produced with experimental LA artist James Ferraro and Glasear (Ken Carson, Travis Scott, Pink Pantheress), who conjure up a soundscape that’s simultaneously gritty and profound. I don’t know what Jackzebra is saying in his AutoTuned Mandarin lyrics, but I can feel a deep sense of melancholy. DR

Geese – Cobra

Brooklyn band Geese have just released their third album, Getting Killed, to rapturous reviews. Led by eccentric songwriter Cameron Winter, who’s had a huge year off the back of his debut solo album Heavy Metal, this good fortune has evidently trickled down to Geese, who were already an acclaimed band in their own right. They’re about to embark on a largely sold out headline tour across the US, with their first-ever date at Coachella in the pipeline, too. A stand-out on Getting Killed is Cobra – it features Winter’s unmistakable vocals, a melancholy-yet-upbeat guitar riff offset by the odd sound of a trumpet and pleading lyrics about wanting to wash someone’s feet forever before dancing away into the distance. However strange the subject matter, you can trust Geese to make it sound alluring. JW