The best new tracks, picked by our staff

Want to keep up with the best new music?

Listen to this weekly playlist, lovingly curated by THE FACE’s editorial team.

Lil Yachty – Say Something

You’ve got to hand it to Lil Yachty – it’s impossible to predict what he’ll do next. The once-divisive bubblegum trap artist recently became an unlikely investor in Michigan’s gritty rap scene. Last year, he accidentally had the world wailing about taking the wock to Poland, then he popped up as a key producer on Drake and 21 Savage’s chart-dominating album Her Loss. Lil Boat’s new album Let’s Start Here is his biggest curveball yet; a psychedelic odyssey featuring smooth spacefunk jams like Say Something. DR

Avalon Emerson – Sandrail Silhouette

When THE FACE profiled Avalon Emerson during the depths of the pandemic, the renowned DJ expressed a desire to make song-based indie-pop. Sandrail Silhouette, with its shimmering guitar chords, delicate vocals and eloquent strings, is the manifestation of this. There will be more of this good stuff on the album Avalon Emerson & The Charm, which will arrive via Emerson’s new label Another Dove. DR

Rosalía – LLYLM

Hot off the heels of stunning the world with her Motomami tour, Rosalía keeps the buzz going with this lovestruck single, which is partially sung in English. DR

Rudda — St John

The newest release from South East London label Dancing Family Records blends 2‑step garage with breaks. There’s a subtly melancholic tone to Rudda’s track, but it sounds ready to warm up dancefloors towards a state of euphoria. JW

slowthai — Selfish

Switching genres is a common theme in this week’s playlist round up. Slowthai has gone punk on Selfish, an abrasive ode to independence of thought that sneers at the ickiness of clout chasing. To make the video, the British rapper live-streamed himself for 24 hours locked inside a mirrored room – an exercise in patience and self-reflection, apparently. All this bodes well for the Northampton artist’s upcoming album, UGLY (a playful acronym for ​“U gotta love yourself”), which is out on 3^rd March. JW