Each week, The FADER staff rounds up the songs we can't get enough of. Here they are, in no particular order.
“Fair” – Normani
The wait for Normani’s debut solo album has felt neverending, but it’s with each interim release that the time devoted to perfecting the project feels most worthwhile. On her latest single, “Fair,” Normani opts for an elegant display of raw emotion, spotlighting a stellar vocal performance with a candid take on heartbreak. “Two-hundred days and counting, I know / You’re my favorite still / When I say “I won’t,” tell myself I don’t / But I always will feel the way I feel / You have time to heal, I got time to kill,” she sings, examining healing as an unpredictable and nonlinear process. Throughout “Fair,” Normani leaves room for each confessional lyric to breathe, steeped in dream-like production. For an artist who has clear sights set far beyond what even the general public may see for her, the seemingly sporadic sharing of singles over the past few years has been strategic in incrementally introducing different dimensions of the singer, revealing deeper layers with each release. – LP
"IF THERE’S NO SEAT IN THE SKY (WILL YOU FORGIVE ME???)" — Saya Gray
Saya Gray has spent time in Daniel Caesar's band and working the session musician circuit but the new single "IF THERE’S NO SEAT IN THE SKY (WILL YOU FORGIVE ME???)" suggests that the background won't be her natural setting for much longer. The Japanese-Canadian artist lets loose about a relationship on shaky ground as she sings "This is the last time, this is the last chance for you and I" over Radiohead-esque chords. There's a bite to her delivery that marks out the fact she is no fool, even if there's an element of sentimentality to her offer. Death, romance, and big hooks combine to create something immediately alluring. Gray is the latest addition to the Dirty Hit label (The 1975, Wolf Alice, Rina Sawayama) and will release her debut project 19 Master on June 2. —DR
"Home Maker" – Sudan Archives
My first exposure to the latest single from Sudan Archives was the abbreviated radio edit, but it’s the song’s full version where its depth has enough time to settle in. Brittney Parks, the songwriter and vocalist behind the Sudan Archives alias, blends Neo-soul and jazz into her dedication to a healthy abode and delivers a clear-eyed appreciation of just how difficult that is to achieve. “I know that I’ve been gone / Please don’t fuck with this mode” she sings, her voice thick with the awareness of how valuable the balance she has achieved is. Like all great comebacks, though, she makes it sound effortless. – JD
“Iced Tea” – Joyce Wrice and KAYTRANADA
Joyce Wrice is back with her first single of the new year, following up her debut album Overgrown shared early last year. It was only right that she tapped back in with KAYTRANADA for the effervescent ode to liberation, “Iced Tea.” The percussive track ushers in an overwhelming summer warmth months before the calendar catches up to the R&B singer’s freeing mindset. On the showstealing pre-chorus, Wrice offers up a transformative set of affirmations to live by: “Feel good when you're living like me / Can't fuck with a woman like me / Lemon slice in your sugar iced tea / Feels good when you're living carefree.” – LP
“Let It Fly” — Veeze
Even though Veeze treats rap like a side hobby, he’s easily one of the best rappers to emerge from Detroit in the last few years. Every few months he’ll drop a song on his official YouTube channel, but he has tons of leaks scattered around YouTube on channels that collect Michigan rap leaks. “Let It Fly,” his first song of 2022, is an endless barrage of shit-talking, sneering flexes, and barbed threats. “I hate the strip club, I’m too rich I don’t belong in there,” he sleepily raps. If Veeze could be the best rapper in the world if he wanted to. – BC
"pinky ring" – Joy Orbison
If you have as much as cracked a window open in the last week you'll have heard the rumor that summer is fast approaching and with it comes festival season. Lots of producers and artists are dropping tunes to soundtrack the coming months and while a "Song of the Summer" might be a somewhat dated idea, U.K. producer Joy O might have just cracked it with "Pinky Ring." This isn't a track that will conjure up images of beaches, sun, and general euphoria but "Pinky Ring" has a sense of abandon that only comes along when the days are long and the nights are warm enough that staying at home just isn't an option. The beats hit hard and there's a murk to the atmosphere that feels custom built to make dark dance tents that little bit more alluring. Go on, dive in. You know you want to. —DR
“Moonlight On Vermont” — Black Midi
Black Midi covering Captain Beefheart is either something you’re very into or very against. There is no in-between. 22-year-old Geordie Greep cosplaying as a man who’s been chain-smoking menthols for half a century is a ridiculous proposition, but then again, Beefheart was only 28 when Trout Mask Replica came out, and half of Black Midi’s allure hangs on the tightrope they walk between pompous absurdity and youthful piss-taking. Really, there are few bands better qualified to cover the song. — RH
"Get On" – Brandon Banks
It’s been almost two years since Brandon Banks shared his heartfelt EP Static, but he’s been quietly lending his pen to others, noted by his co-writing credits on “Mountains” from Charlotte Day Wilson’s Alpha. “Get On,” his first release since 2020, is a welcome return. Produced by Lophiile, “Get On” is a tender song about resilience and breaking free of cycles. The arrangement opens simple—cloudy strings and a gentle boom-clack—until its suddenly submerged in an ocean of glossy chords. “They don’t really know just who I am,” he sighs. “They ain’t never seen what we been through / Never set a foot in South Central.” –BC
