New music releases: Ariana Grande, AJ Tracey, Cass McCombs and spotlight artist Jimi Somewhere

In her weekly column, music correspondent Roisin O'Connor goes through the best releases of the week

Norwegian artist Jimi Somewhere

I’ve spent most of today obsessing over Ariana Grande’s new album, thank u, next, as I imagine thousands of others have. The pop star’s fifth album is a big step-up on Sweetener, released just six months ago. There are tender moments, like on “ghostin'” where Grande seems to profess guilt at missing the late rapper Mac Miller while she was with her then-fiancee, Pete Davidson. But on other tracks, like “break up with your girlfriend, I'm bored”, she is unapologetically assertive. Thank u, Ari.

AJ Tracey’s self-titled debut is another winner. I speak about this in more detail in the review, here, but I feel the need to state again just how impressively varied the record is, and how far the west London MC has come in the space of just a few years.

Those are the two biggest releases of the week, but I hope people don’t miss Cass McComb’s sublime record, Tip of the Sphere. There are two tracks from that album on our Spotify playlist this week: the previously released “Estrella”, which is a thoughtful tribute to the late Mexican artist Juan Gabriel, and the wildly different “American Canyon Sutra”, which opens on stuttering electronic beats and a menacing guitar twang.

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UK rock band The Amazons are back with their new single “Mother” – a rousing rebuttal to a social media age that tells us how to think, feel and behave. There’s a thunderous effort from Irish band Otherkin, who have made a big transition from post-punk to full-blown rock on “Tombstone”. Also making a return is MARINA (previously Marina and the Diamonds), with “Handmade Heaven”. I’ve really missed that voice.

ÁINE’s “Blue Valentine” has strong Adele vibes thanks to the Irish singer-songwriter’s repackaging of romantic clichés into an unforgiving rebuke towards a former lover. Lucy Rose takes a different approach on the heartbroken “Solo(w)” from her forthcoming album No Words Left, with a soft jazz piano and husky vocal delivery that channels Nancy Sinatra and Norah Jones.

My spotlight artist this week is Norwegian artist Jimi Somewhere, who is sure to be a solid addition to the flourishing group of emo-inspired artists who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves. He’s just released “1st Place”, with a slurred delivery and introspective guitar line that nods to the darkly emotive songs of Lil Peep.

Listen to the song on our Now Hear This playlist and check out my Q&A, below:

Hi Jimi Somewhere, how are you? I've been to Oslo before but never Hokksund, what's it like living there?

Hello! I'm good, thank you. Hokksund is kind of boring. It’s just a really small city where nothing much happens. I moved out when I was 16 and went to a boarding school a couple of hours away. I never returned to Hokksund, and now I live in Oslo, which is great, but it's so cold right now. I keep wishing that I was anywhere else with temperatures above 0 degrees.

When did you start making your own music, and when did you decide to go and record it in LA?

I've written songs all my life. Ever since elementary school. I used to play in different bands and enter talent competitions with my songs. But I met my producer Milo Orchis in eighth grade, and we started really working, primarily because he knew his way around a DAW.

We decided pretty early on that we wanted to go out to Los Angeles for as long as possible, right when we finished high school. It always seemed like the place to be for music. So, after high school we worked for about 6 months in different day jobs, and then moved over there last March!

What about Spike Jonze's work influences your music?

I just love the way his movies make me feel. «Her» is my favourite movie ever and it makes me so emotional every time I watch it. To be able to write something like that, that resonates and strikes a nerve with people is so special. That’s what I’m trying to do with my music. Also the way Spike rose from making skateboard films into winning an Oscar is the most impressive and inspirational stuff ever. It makes me feel like I can do anything.

What else do you have lined up for this year?

I have an EP coming out in April called «Ponyboy». I’ve been working on that for a long time, and it's so exciting seeing it finally be released. I also hope to tour a lot and release a lot of music and art. I'm sitting on so much stuff. It's gonna be fun!