This week’s new music includes a cut off Blur’s forthcoming surprise album; something old, something new from Lana Del Rey; a new track ahead of a new album from the Pretenders; a biting breakup track from Australia’s Alex Lahey; a Minnesota-flavored song from Remi Wolf; and a cover of revered Minnesota band Low by North Carolina’s Sylvan Esso.

Blur, “The Narcissist”

Damon Albarn seems to have been prolific during the pandemic — not only did he release his own solo record, but he reunited Gorillaz and released one of their best albums to date, and (somehow) he also found time to reunite Blur. The ‘90s band will be releasing their first album in eight years, The Ballad of Darren. Albarn calls it “an aftershock record, reflection and comment on where we find ourselves now.”

Lana Del Rey, “Say Yes To Heaven”

The new Lana Del Rey song is apparently an old Lana Del Rey song. Going back to 2012 and her Ultraviolence sessions comes “Say Yes to Heaven.” The meditation-like song gained attention recently after it was leaked online, so Del Rey went with it and released the song officially.

Remi Wolf, “Prescription”

It seems like Remi Wolf has purified herself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka, because there are some serious Minneapolis sounds going on in her new song, “Prescription.” The slow jam shows off Wolf’s vocals in a fast and loose fashion that she hasn’t put down on a record previously. 

Alex Lahey, “You’ll Never Get Your Money Back”

Aussie artist Alex Lahey has a killer breakup song in “You’ll Never Get Your Money Back.” It’s a freeing garage rocker about the joy of leaving someone in the dust and escaping from a stuck situation. 

The Pretenders, “Let the Sun Come In”

A new album is due out from The Pretenders in September called Relentless. The band’s 12th album is “a snapshot of where the band are in 2023.” Frontwoman Chrissie Hynde described the album title as, “the life of the artist. You never retire. You become relentless.” The song “Let The Sun Come In” explores that idea further with lines that say, “You don’t have to fade to black.”

Sylvan Esso, “Will The Night” (Low cover)

A cover song of Duluth, Minnesota, band Low is on the list this week. Married duo Sylvan Esso traveled to New York to record five songs with a group of friends, including a string quartet, at Jimi Hendrix’s famed Electric Lady studio. Included in that session was a cover of Low’s “Will The Night.” The slow waltz is heavy with emotion from a band who “are huge fans of Low and were so sad to hear about Mimi passing” and called the song “beautiful and simple and timeless, a light in the darkness.”

Playlist