We recommend: The best new global music

Editor’s Note: We’ve pulled together the best new tracks and albums—both international and Indian—that dropped in the last four weeks. Tune into November’s playlist on splainer’s Spotify.

‘Cut the Bridge’ by Linkin Park: They already made a splash in September with the comeback single ‘The Emptiness Machine’, which flows fittingly into this track on the full-length album. It brings forth a long overdue, high-octane energetic vibe that the band last exuded a decade ago, in ‘The Hunting Party’. Welcome back. 

‘São Paulo’ by The Weeknd feat. Anitta: This track is a happy mix of The Weeknd’s electro pop and Anitta’s Brazilian funk. The addictive sound is bound to make you want to move your body on the dance floor!

‘Mohobbat’ by Steel Banglez feat. Afsana Khan & Lojay: Sidhu Moosewala’s longtime producer is finally branching out, making the most of his London base to find common musical ground between Punjabi and Nigerian artists. This R&B-inspired track typifies the richness of such collaborations.   

‘Games’ by Ilham: This low-fi track by the Moroccan-American R&B singer passes all the vibe checks.  

‘Asli Ana’ by zeyne: Paying a nod to her Palestinian-Jordanian heritage, this vocalist fuses lush R&B production with traditional Arabic song structures to create original works like this, that are simply too stunning to pass up.  

‘Break the Mirror’ by Ice Cube feat. Xzibit: Talk about a triumphant throwback! Both rappers had their heyday in the ‘90s, yet this track off of Ice Cube’s new album ‘Man Down’ is an important reminder that hip hop’s boom bap beats can remain insanely catchy and fresh decades later.

‘Related To What’ by The Last Poets feat. Tony Allen: The pioneer of Afrobeat passed away four years ago, but his influence and his drumming remains a key part of the music landscape—including this collaboration with the forefathers of politically charged hip hop. Oozing with creativity, Allen’s drums jive perfectly with the hard-hitting lyricism. 

‘I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All’ by Father John Misty: Now time for some art rock, which this singer-songwriter offers in spades. Featuring pretty guitarwork and soaring strings, this song takes you on an infectious sonic journey that you won’t want to end.

‘Хіба це життя?’ by The Unsleeping: Don’t feel too daunted by the unfamiliar script in the title—this is simply a Ukrainian indie rock band committed to their identity and language. And they bring some pretty killer instrumentation to the table so who can fault them, really?

‘surviving on defiance’ by Poppy: It’s rare to see a public figure make an effective switch from niche YouTuber to a well-established professional musician. But, but, but: with a knack for irresistibly catchy hooks and excellent pop vocals, Poppy has taken the much-maligned genres of nu-metal and metalcore to a new generation of fans. 

‘And Nothing Is Forever’ by The Cure: Here’s another legendary band rolling back the years and showing that they haven’t lost a step. Their exploration of gothic rock in this track is defined by cinematically grandiose buildups before Robert Smith’s crooning vocals hit you like a truck.

‘Saturn Coming Down’ by Tribulation: On the other side of the goth scene is the more Scooby Doo-esque vibe offered by this Swedish metal band that combines chuggy guitar riffs with pirate-sounding ‘Arr, matey!’ harsh vocals. It may appear absolutely comical on paper but trust us, it works so, so well and is tons of fun, in a genre that often takes itself overly seriously.

November 2024’s best albums 

‘The Last Will and Testament’ by Opeth: Throughout the 2010s, these Swedish stalwarts abandoned their signature sound of death-meets-prog metal with '70s-inspired prog rock that, while tons of fun, suffered from extended sequences of derivative self-indulgence. But they ended the decade on an assured note with ‘In Cauda Venenum’. Five years later, they’ve finally married the two eras to create this perfect sequel to ‘Venenum’ that pays a nod to their heyday, thanks to the welcome return of frontman Mikael Akerfeldt’s immaculately distinctive harsh vocals.

‘Small Changes’ by Michael Kiwanuka: Five years on from his groundbreaking self-titled record, the UK’s finest soul-meets-Motown rocker returns with a soundscape that is more neo-soul than the classical feel we’ve come to appreciate from him. From a guitarwork standpoint, the riffs and licks of his best-known work have made way for more noodling, creating a more pensive vibe. Most importantly though, it remains just as emotionally impactful as what came before.

‘GNX’ by Kendrick Lamar: Despite the commercial risks of not having a traditional promotional rollout, surprise-release albums can do a world of good in reinvigorating an artist’s discography—Avenged Sevenfold learned that with ‘The Stage’ in 2016. Similarly, Kendrick Lamar’s last full-length album—2022’s ‘Mr Morale and the Big Steppers’—was a meandering mess. But fresh off his well-publicised diss track beef with Drake, the king of mainstream rap has managed a proper return to form with this random drop called ‘GNX’, bringing back the immediacy, urgency and good ol’ beats and flows that were sorely missed for the better part of seven years.

PS: Standout tracks from each album have been added to splainer’s November 2024 playlist on Spotify!