Listen Tracks: Rico Nasty, Shygirl & slowthai, Matt Maltese and more

With its Urban Dictionary definition stated as “if you have confidence, but aren’t cocky about it”, ‘BDE’ (that’s ‘big dick energy’, duh) is something that South London’s Shygirl has buckets of, and its no more evident than on her newest single. Linking up with slowthai for the track (himself no stranger to a little self confidence), the bass-heavy sex jam sees Shygirl and Ty trading raunchy lines about getting it on: “Read my lips / I need a big dick boy / Ain’t no body slanging it right”. Pairing razor-sharp lines over pulsating backing, if you’re looking for a new millennial mating call that doubles as one to get down to on the dancefloor, look no further. (Elly Watson)

Seven months on since ‘Nightmare Vacation’ arrived in all its snarling glory, Rico Nasty is ready for the next chapter. With a new mixtape, ‘Rx’, set for release later this year, she’s setting the tone with latest track ‘Magic’: an R&B-leaning, sun-soaked jam that sees a softer side to the star. Abandoning her growling vocals in favour of a more delicate approach - though still flowing with bars - ‘Magic’ finds her embracing a new love of good vibes over easy-breezy backing. Describing her forthcoming music to us earlier this year as “happy pills”, this first dose already has us wanting more. (Elly Watson)

Having somehow gone legitimately TikTok viral with a four-year-old track originally penned about Theresa May and Donald Trump bonking at the end of the world, Matt Maltese might seem like a nice boy crooner, but there’s always been a twinkle behind the eye. Though it rings with a familiarly romantic ying-to-my-yang, you-complete-me sentiment, three minutes into the video for ‘Shoe’, you become aware you’re actually watching a grinning, floating head buried up to the neck in sand, personifying a piece of footwear. The introductory cut from third LP ‘Good Morning It’s Now Tomorrow’, Matt’s latest is again perhaps a little weirder than it might first suggest. (Lisa Wright)

When an established band member goes solo, you’re able to truly distinguish once and for all who brings what to the table. And with his first track as Baby Dave, Slaves’ Isaac Holman makes it abundantly clear that all of that band’s particularly British quirks and eccentricities were his. Nodding so gloriously to Damon Albarn’s fondness for homegrown idiosyncrasies that the Blur legend even hopped on to co-produce the track, ‘Too Shy For Tennis’ has more in common with Frank Sidebottom than Frank Carter; a shuffling, endearingly awkward lament on his dating foibles, it’s a world away from the punk thrashes that made his name, and an unexpected delight for it. (Lisa Wright)

Turn back the clock a few years to when Big Red Machine - the project between The National’s Bryce Dessner and Bon Iver’ Justin Vernon - first emerged, and you’d probably never have expected to hear Taylor Swift as one of their guest vocalists. But now, in a post-‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’ world, it’s almost business as usual. Luckily, their collaborative powers are still going strong; ‘Renegade’ is a warm but modern pop offering, which perfectly pairs Taylor’s penchant for unravelling love stories with the detailed, eclectic instrumentation of Big Red Machine’s protagonists. (Sarah Jamieson)

While recent LUMP track ‘Animal’ was a more jarring, electronic-led offering, guided by Laura Marling’s somewhat unexpected staccato vocals, there’s something even more hypnotic about the introduction to ‘We Cannot Resist’, the latest cut to be taken from the duo’s forthcoming second album. Opening with hurried whispers of its title and some rather ominous vocal effects, the track’s funky but fuzzy chorus soon kicks in with a somewhat breezier touch. An intriguing and altogether addictive track, its title is pretty much on the money: its charms are hard to deny. (Sarah Jamieson)

With 53 artists reinterpreting only 12 songs for Metallica’s forthcoming 20th anniversary celebration of their seminal self-titled record, there’s an implicit sense of competition involved in ‘The Metallica Blacklist’. But while Royal Blood, White Reaper and er… Sam Fender (did someone cc him in by mistake?) are all lining up to have a stab at ‘Sad But True’, you can’t imagine anyone topping St. Vincent. Taking the industrial throb of the original and adding a seductive, sleazy twist, it’s the perfect, powerful combination of masculine and feminine energy. With riffs - oh, the riffs. (Lisa Wright)

Tags: LUMP, Matt Maltese, Rico Nasty, Shygirl, slowthai, St. Vincent, Taylor Swift, Listen, Features, Tracks