New Music Drops: Charli xcx, Madison Beer and two members of The Beatles

Charli xcx — “Rock Music”

It would be crazy to look back and say you missed the “Brat” era entirely. The neon green and graphic design alone made it impossible to ignore. Then there was the infamous “Apple” dance that completely took over online.

During tour, the singer had the green stage backdrop gradually wither into brown by the end. It naturally raised the question: where do you even go after “Brat”? The next chapter almost has to reinvent the conversation again. At the very least, she’s clearly trying to push things forward.

“I think the dancefloor is dead/So now we’re making rock music,” she sings. You can tell instantly from the first few seconds that this is not rock music... the song succeeds more as a playful tongue-in-cheek exercise, which the singer has always been good at. If anything really holds the song back, it’s that it’s under two minutes and gone in a flash.

Madison Beer — “Lovergirl”

The deluxe edition of “Locket” from Madison Beer adds three new songs and an extended take on the “Locket Theme.” We agree she deserves way more recognition than she gets.

Since the original album came out in January, we’ve had a long stretch to really sit with “Locket.” One recurring pattern we can recognize is that she’s trying to fall in love. On “Lovergirl” she basically admits it outright. The song has a very Britney Spears-style pop feel, something with the DNA of “Circus” and “Out from Under” notably. One thing worth highlighting is Beer’s voice, which feels positively angelic.

Kesha — “Origami”

Keshia is back with her first new track since her last album. We’re not sure how to cite this because the album was literally called “.”

This song gets as cheeky as it can. “Let's get experimental/Turn me into your pretzel/We can do a little do-si-do/Take me to Tokyo,” she sings. It comes across less like a song and more like a staged performance from Kesha, with moments like the moaning scream before the chorus break demanding your full attention.

The outro is a lot of fun and feels quintessentially Kesha. We know her for club-ready bangers and that’s the standard she’s set.

MUNA — “Eastside Girls”

MUNA may have delivered our favorite release this week; you might recognize them from their collab with Phoebe Bridgers (who is rumored to be making a surprise appearance at The Liberty in New Mexico today???).

The track begins with “I heard Sarah's leavin' you for New York City” and this figure of Sara returns in verse two, which we think is pretty creative. The bridge builds by listing an array of city-related imagery, which feels chaotic initially, but you come to understand the pattern.

A good ‘80s feel is always going to win us over.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — “Home to Us”

Bittersweet, and honestly a little unbelievable to say, two members of The Beatles returned to the studio for this track. The song is featured on McCartney’s upcoming album “The Boys of Dungeon Lane.”

A complete world is painted in the span of one verse. “The lady on the hill was drinking brandy/Eating caviar, the perfect host/My mum was in the kitchen washing dishes in the sink/And then she burnt the toast,” McCartney sings. And it’s like a shake of the head and a skipped-step beat.

While it’s not the final track on the album, it carries a sense of resolution like it is. The two come to accept their hometown purely on the basis that it’s where they’re from.

So it’s safe to say… home is where the heart is.

—Dawson Therre

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