Expensive listeners,
It’s Lindsay’s editor, Caryn, right here to kick off a spherical of visitor newsletters with round 19 minutes of upbeat music from March. (In case you missed Friday’s publication celebrating The Amplifier’s second birthday, a reminder that Lindsay shall be taking a couple of months away to work on a guide. The Amp will nonetheless arrive each Tuesday.)
I’ve most likely talked about this earlier than, however I sequence the Friday Playlists that present the uncooked materials for these month-to-month entries spotlighting new music, and certainly one of my massive challenges is tempo: With the critics Jon Pareles and Lindsay selecting so many various kinds of tracks, folding them right into a coherent combine will not be all the time a cinch.
So I’m dishonest somewhat at the moment, selecting a collection of songs at what I’ll name “strolling in Manhattan” tempo. (Regardless of the Google Maps estimate is, I can beat it.) This rundown may present some fast strolling music, or possibly soundtrack a cycle on the treadmill accompanied by some spirited air guitar-ing. Both means, belief that this six-pack of songs is a worthy addition to your 2025 assortment.
Hear alongside when you learn.
1. J Noa and Lowlight: “Traficando Rap”
The Dominican rapper J Noa spits at breakneck velocity in Spanish, and it’s numerous enjoyable making an attempt to maintain up together with her. This monitor, on which she pairs together with her producer Lowlight, incorporates boasts evaluating her rhymes to different addictive substances over horn blasts that, as Jon Pareles wrote, “hark again to Sugar Hill Gang’s ‘Apache’ and its supply, the Unimaginable Bongo Band’s model of ‘Apache.’” The 19-year-old sounds daring and gleeful, “la-la-la”ing alongside to a head-spinner of a beat.
▶ Hear on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2. Chappell Roan: “The Giver”
Chappell Roan debuted this music on “Saturday Evening Reside” final fall and formally launched it a couple of weeks in the past, in a second when queer nation is line dancing into the highlight (see: Julien Baker & Torres’s “Ship a Prayer My Method,” due subsequent month). Roan’s vocals simply glide as much as her excessive register and again as she delivers one other winky monitor about her sexual prowess, this time with a kicky fiddle line offering some punch.
▶ Hear on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
3. Lizzo: “Love in Actual Life”
Lizzo doing Strokes cosplay? Channeling Prince? Over a basic ’80s bop of a beat? It’s all occurring, and it’s most likely going to get caught in your head.
▶ Hear on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. Illuminati Hotties: “777”
The ’90s are alive and properly and residing inside this music that was written and produced by Sarah Tudzin (who performs as Illuminati Hotties) and Melina Duterte (a.okay.a. Jay Som). The title refers to a successful jackpot spin, and the lyrics hint the giddy exploration part of a brand new relationship over a deliciously fuzzy backdrop. Shoegaze revival, you’ve got a brand new entrant.
▶ Hear on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
5. The Ophelias: “Salome”
The aforementioned Julien Baker is the producer of this hypnotic, driving monitor by the Ohio quartet the Ophelias. The biblical determine Salome was a princess who obtained the top of John the Baptist and later married her cousin and have become a queen. “I need your head on a stake / I need your head on a platter,” the band sings right here, later admitting, “Possibly this was a mistake.” Whoops!
▶ Hear on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
6. Takaat: “Amidinin”
The guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, the bassist and producer Mikey Coltun and the drummer Souleymane Ibrahim again up Mdou Moctar, the scorching African guitarist whose album “Funeral for Justice” arrived final yr. In case you’ve seen the band dwell, it’s arduous to take your eyes off that locked-in rhythm part. Their very own EP is coming subsequent month, and this single is a swirling, satisfying first style.
▶ Hear on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
The Amplifier Playlist
“6 (Up-tempo) New Songs You Ought to Hear Now” monitor record
Monitor 1: J Noa and Lowlight, “Traficando Rap”
Monitor 2: Chappell Roan, “The Giver”
Monitor 3: Lizzo, “Love in Actual Life”
Monitor 4: Illuminati Hotties, “777”
Monitor 5: The Ophelias, “Salome”
Monitor 6: Takaat, “Amidinin”
