Now Hear This: New music from J Cole, Nicki Minaj, Greentea Peng and Olivia Rodrigo, plus spotlight artists Fable and girlhouse

In her weekly column, music correspondent Roisin O’Connor goes through the best new releases

L-R: Fable and girlhouse (Press)

Three hours’ worth of new music on the playlist this week, and that’s just the good stuff. There’s been a sudden surge in new talent coming through which is very exciting, among the best this week are Brazilian-born, Oxford-based rapper S1lva, rock singer Viia, Ontario musician fanclubwallet, and the UK-based Fable and girlhouse.

Before we get stuck into all that, though, let’s do a recap of the albums that dropped this week. St Vincent’s Seventies-indebted Daddy’s Home got five stars from our critic Helen Brown (read Alexandra Pollard’s interview with her here), while I was a big fan of the The Black Keys and their record of hill country blues covers. Annabel Nugent also reviewed the eclectic new album by Sons of Kemet (you can also read an interview with them by Stephanie Phillips, here). Plus we’ve had a new project dropped by J Cole, titled The Off-Season, while Nicki Minaj has finally made her 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty available on streaming services.

The exquisite Greentea Peng has shared her woozy neo-soul single “Dingaling”, shortly after announcing that her debut album Man Made is landing on 4 June. I love Jorja Smith’s latest project, Be Right Back, which includes the Shaybo collaboration “Bussdown”. Right after her triumph at the Brit Awards on 11 May, Olivia Rodrigo has released another single, the defiant “good 4 u”, ahead of her debut album next week. Laura Mvula is on fire right now, having just dropped “Got Me”, which has proper Michael Jackson “The Way You Make Me Feel” vibes with that juddering hook.

Cautious Clay is back with the tender “Wildfire”, plus there’s a stunning new one, “Love Will Be Reborn”, from Martha Wainwright, and a scuzzy, strutting sizzler from The Howlers, “Lost Without You”. Canadian violinist Sarah Neufeld (best-known for her work with Arcade Fire) has released a new solo album, Detritus, comprised from seven beautifully arranged compositions. I adore “The Top”, where the notes swell and flurry upwards like blossoms caught by a playful gust of wind.

It’s a double bill of spotlight artists this week: Fable and girlhouse.

Fable is a Devon-based singer-songwriter with a mesmerising voice, who’s been producing some really fantastic neo-soul/trip-hop gems. She released her latest single, “Womb”, at the end of April, which leaps from a Portishead/Tricky-style lull into a snarling rock guitar riff. Check out my Q&A with Fable below:

Hi! Tell me about yourself

Hey, my name is Fable, I’m a 25 year old singer/songwriter. Right now, I’m living in my home county of Devon where I’m making music remotely and working a full-time job packing vegetables at a farm. That’s rock n’ roll right now! Music is one of my many loves but the one that incorporates all of them. I signed to Naim last year, a small independent and I’m sitting on an album getting vinyl splinters.

Growing up, playing gigs was a huge part of my teenage years - I bought my first car with the money from a theatre season which I wrote off pretty soon afterwards. When I was 19, I moved to Brighton after meeting my manager, and I started collaborating with other musicians like Trip-Hop collective, Archive, and Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll, who I met down the pub in Hove. Those were my growing years. I’ve been focused yet completely scattered my whole life. I’m all about variety and clashing patterns - I like to think of life as a far-out piece of theatre and I think my eclectic nature comes out in what I create.

– What are the influences and inspirations behind this new music?

I think there’s two edges to it, there’s a jazz influence in the vocal and the latest single, ‘Womb’, has a glossy dub feel. It’s also a formulaic structure that makes it still fit the pop sensibilities too. I wrote the whole album with the super-talented Swedish producer, Jonas Persson. I’ve always loved the ground where artists like Portishead and Radiohead sit. I don’t particularly want to be part of any trend, I just want to incorporate all the music I love into something that makes sense and is meaningful. There’s a nod to understated subtlety, and a cinematic quality to the rest of the album.

– What's on your playlist right now?

Right now I’m listening to a lot of Arlo Parks, like I’m sure everyone is, but she’s truly amazing. Genuine class. A recent track by an artist that really stuck out for me is ‘Collage’ by Lady Blackbird, which is utterly beautiful. Short Paris, from Russia, are also on there, and an amazing track by Aldous Harding called ‘Weight of the Planets’.

– What do you have lined up for the rest of 2021?

Well I guess that depends on whether 2021 behaves itself. It’s been so, so hard not being able to tour – that’s actually my favourite part of the process, where you can really develop the songs into something new and live inside them, along with an audience. Hopefully we’ll be able to get back to that soon – we tentatively have a tour being booked across the UK in late September/early October, which will be the time the album gets released. Honestly, I can’t wait.

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Next up is girlhouse, a Nashville-based artist (originally from Oregon), who just released her self-titled EP. Her music is dreamy and guitar-driven, with some synth scuzz thrown in for good measure.

Check out her Q&A below:

– Hello! Tell me about yourself

My name is Lauren and I live in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m originally from Gresham, Oregon but spent the last 8 years in Los Angeles, California with a brief intermission in Brooklyn, New York. I saw Phoebe Bridgers in a yoga class one time and was too nervous to say hi. I’m lactose intolerant but I love cheese; it’s a toxic relationship.

– What were the influences and inspirations behind your new music?

2020. I was definitely depressed, watching a lot of reality tv and playing animal crossing. I think a lot of inspiration came from being forced to sit in those feelings for a while. I, like everyone, felt like my life was building so much momentum when everything shut down. Having perspective now, I was building towards something that ultimately would not help me grow or make me happy so I’m thankful for that time I had to think about what I really wanted.

– What's on your playlist right now?

A lot of Big Thief, Tanukichan, chloe moriondo. I’m obsessed with Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers like every one else should be on this planet. Edibles and snowboarding videos are a huge part of my nightly routine, a lot of the music I listen to is from thirtytwo and burton videos on YouTube lol

– What do you have lined up for the rest of the year?

Just released my first ep! Plan on putting out another this autumn, maybe late summer? Then getting back into a shitty 5-passenger van and driving around the country I hope!! Thank yewwwww!!!