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 March’s playlist on splainer’s Spotify.

‘Kismat’ by Bloodywood: Penning an ode to tandoori khaana and collaborating with Babymetal are all good fun, but the real strength of this Dilliwaala outfit is their ability to go beyond the bhangra rap metal gimmick with an innate understanding of syncopated rhythms. This track off their newest record provides that in spades.

‘The Giver’ by Chappell Roan: The Grammy-winning midwest princess’s back with a new song—and it's a lesbian country number! Grab your cowboy boots, hats and get ready to line dance!

‘Azonto Bounce’ by Timbaland: The hip-hop artist and producer is known for 2000s club hits like ‘The Way I Are’ and ‘Give It To Me’. The new song is the opposite of what you would expect from him—it’s an Afrobeat dance song! FYI: The title of the song—‘Azonto’—is a dance and music style from Ghana.

‘Forever Is a Feeling’ by Lucy Dacus: This is the title track from the Virginia singer-songwriter’s newest album. The song is dreamy—like the sense of falling in love and hoping that the feeling will last forever. 

‘Amidinin’ by Takaat: The trio who play with the Nigerian guitarist Mdou Moctar have gotten together for a side project under the name Takaat. The combination results in a fun and upbeat number. 

‘Blade of Grass’ by Lady Gaga: With the box office baggage of ‘Joker 2’ in the rearview mirror, it’s more than just business as usual for this pop star, as she shows off her vocal range in this piano-driven ballad about an intimate conversation with her fiancé. 

‘Run It Up’ by Hanumankind: The internet’s fave desi rapper is back with a beat that’s markedly different from his big hit ‘Big Dawgz’. He may not be channelling his inner Project Pat this time, but the devilish flow and hard-hitting lyricism remain.  

‘Free’ by Little Simz: On her latest single, the London rapper embraces a more chilled-out production, which matches magnificently with her introspective verses. 

‘Brinca (Acuario)’ by Astropical: Up your summer soundtrack with this South American supergroup blending Latin pop, Caribbean rhythms and Afrobeats, with touches of psychedelic synthpop. 

‘Meri of Mercy’ by Coheed and Cambria: The Claudio Sanchez-fronted four-piece is back for more delightful genre-bending blends of progressive rock and melodic pop vocals. Intricate drumming and bright guitarwork mark this track. 

‘Taniwha’ by Alien Weaponry feat. Randy Blythe: This trio of Maori metallers offer thrash-groove riffs and lyrics that focus on colonialism and issues affecting indigenous Kiwis. In this track, the Lamb of God’s English vocals serve as a nice garnish to the Maori meat and potatoes. 

‘Keep Sweet’ by Spiritbox: Does it djent? Hell yeah! With two straight years of Grammy noms, the Canadian band is capitalising on its newfound popularity. This track shines thanks to Courtney LaPlante’s seamless switches between harsh and clean vocals. 

‘Tyrannicide’ by Tiktaalika feat. Daniël de Jongh: The solo project of Haken guitarist Charlie Griffiths features faster-paced tunes compared to his main band’s more contemplative work. Perfect for your workout, either way!

‘Kite (for Refaat Alareer)’ by Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith: And now for a complete change of pace with some instrumental jazz. It’s moving, meditative and a fitting tribute to the Gazan poet killed in an Israeli airstrike. Press play and immerse yourself. 

March 2025’s best albums

‘Foxes in the Snow’ by Jason Isbell: A legend of the Nashville country scene with the occasional acting role (see: ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’), Isbell has made a name for himself by marrying painfully real lyrics with catchy songwriting. This record, however, is largely unplugged without help from any members of his trusty backing band—the 400 Unit. The creative decision lends itself to some truly affecting work, as Isbell addresses the end of his marriage—and starting afresh—on a significant chunk of the record.

‘The Overview’ by Steven Wilson: After three albums’ worth of dabbling into poppy electronica sounds that only sporadically showed brilliance, this industry pioneer is back to embracing the ‘prog’ side of his signature progressive pop genre. While his recent interests in the likes of ABBA, Bollywood melodies, neo-disco and weird sci-fi are still prevalent in this record, Wilson is finally playing into his songwriting strengths again—as opposed to sounding like a tired pastiche. The result? An irresistibly groovy concept album—you can either listen to it as two tracks of 20 minutes each, or broken up into further sections. Our song pick is from the latter:)

‘Lonely People With Power’ by Deafheaven: This Bay Area black metal band burst onto the scene in 2013 with their sophomore release ‘Sunbather’—which remains their most-streamed. They have a penchant for juxtaposing brutal riffage with both clean soothing vocals and harsh screeching, and they’ve never released a poor album. But they went into left field with an entirely shoegaze sound in 2021 with ‘Infinite Granite’—a fun but somewhat derivative experiment. This latest album is a happily cohesive cocktail of the two styles that perhaps they’d been intending to create for so many years. 

PS: Standout tracks from each album have been added to splainer’s March 2025 playlist on Spotify!