Tracks Tracks: Lizzo ft Cardi B, Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, Katy B and more

Having ascended into the stratosphere off the back of 2019’s ‘Cuz I Love You’, Lizzo’s brand of affirmative, body positive, grab-life-by-the-balls confidence has gained her exactly as many trolls as you’d grimly predict from that description. Her reply? A cheeky, hilarious female anthem of a comeback single that confirms that yes, she is undeniably still 100% that bitch. “They say I should watch the shit I post, oh, goddamn/ Say I’m turnin’ big girls into hoes, oh, goddamn,” she teases before unleashing the punchline: “All the rumors are true.” Recruiting Cardi B - herself no stranger to a healthy splash of online controversy - the following three minutes is a gleeful lyrical kiss-off over wobbling basslines and triumphant brass. There are so many killer lines, it would be rude to isolate one from the others. Just be reassured that THIS is how you do it. (Lisa Wright)

Through the previews that’ve been offered up so far, not only does Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes’ new album ‘Sticky’ sound like a thundering affair, but it’s got one hell of a guest list to boot. While lead single ‘My Town’ featured the charged calls of IDLES frontman Joe Talbot, it’s on the liberating ‘Go Get A Tattoo’ that an altogether more unexpected artist steps up to the plate: the insatiable Lynks. Together, he and Carter work to create a taunting, turbo-charged track that bounces with zealous abandon. “We were born to win, not born to lose,” goes the key call-to-arms; by the end of this juggernaut, you can’t help but believe him. (Sarah Jamieson)

Dropping her first solo single in five years, Katy B has returned with her R&B-influenced track ‘Under My Skin’. The singer-songwriter, who has slowed her musical output since the release of her third album Honey in 2016, makes a memorable return with a tale of hope, perseverance and self-worth. Co-written and produced by P2J, the personal track boasts an up-tempo, electro-tinged instrumentation that’s led by Katy’s melodic vocals and sharpened by P2J’s skills with the drums, while its catchy beats give way to reveal touches of melancholia. (Malvika Padin)

An unreleased offering from the band’s recent ‘Night Network’ sessions - and the first track in a forthcoming series of four Sonic Blew Singles Club releases - ‘Swinging At Shadows’ is proof that it’s often worth returning to the cutting room floor. With only a guitar scratch by way of introduction, the Jarmans’ latest bursts in with the kind of no nonsense melodic clout that The Cribs are masters of: immediately satisfying, with an ‘80s sheen to its chorus that perhaps makes more explicit sense of their previous work with Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins than the pairing did at the time. (Lisa Wright)

Taken from her upcoming album ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’, Courtney Barnett’s mellow new track showcases a subtle, guitar-led instrumentation, underpinned by Barnett’s bold vocals and poignant lyricism. “If something were to happen my dear/ I wouldn’t want the last words you hear to be unkind,” Barnett weaves a heartfelt farewell message on the track. Co-produced with Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, ‘Before You Gotta Go’ is a minimalistic production elevated by intelligent, emotive song writing that gives listeners a glimpse of the depth that can be expected from Barnett’s first record in three years. (Malvika Padin)

Previously British Sea Power, the alt-indie group have figuratively lowered the Union Jack in favour of a less nationalist epithet. Now simply Sea Power, the statement of moving beyond extends into ‘Two Fingers’: a cathartic requiem to friends past and present. Combining stories of Lovecraftian creatures and memories of frontmen Yan and Hamilton Wilkinson’s late father, the track rises with moments of elation, and simmers neatly into a soft, dreamy soundscape. (Alisdair Grice)

Cherry Glazerr might appear to slow it down on the surface of latest tune ‘Soft Drink’, but just because it’s softer doesn’t mean it’s less intense. Led by a silky synth line, ‘Soft Drink’ is
Cherry Glazerr’s most recent step down a moodier path, and it’s maybe the slickest yet. Clementine Creevy’s whispers sit above an instrumental that’s half alt-pop, half shoegaze-punk, put through a wobbly fairground mirror. And the tone might be dark, but the lyrics are dreamy, luxuriously capturing that infatuated feeling of swaying in a moonlit kitchen with someone special. (Ims Taylor)

Tags: Cherry Glazerr, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Katy B, Lizzo, Nao, Sea Power, The Cribs, Listen, Features, Tracks