Justice and Angèle know 'What You Want'

01:30 |

Friday 27 February

Good morning everybody! I think my team is about to get banned from our local music quiz; we won for the fourth time last night and everyone hates us. Hey, it's not our fault we can remember all of the women named in "Mambo No 5" by Lou Bega (go on, try and do it).

Anyway, it's Brits Week and the ceremony is happening tomorrow in Manchester for the first time in its history – a big deal, and it's bound to be a fun one so yes, I'm a little bit sad that I won't be there in person this year. Still, I'll be following along from home and you'll be able to read my coverage as per on the Indy website.

Hopefully you caught Louis' wonderful interview with Emmylou Harris last week; he's a cover star again this Sunday, now talking to indie-rock musician Snail Mail, who's back with her excellent third album Ricochet. Also, the latest episode of Good Vibrations is out, starring the legend Craig Leon, who produced albums by bands including the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Suicide, The Fall… He's a great chat, so tune in!

Other bits: Helen Brown really loved the new Gorillaz album, The Mountain, and I love the new one from Mitski (her eighth!), Nothing's About to Happen To Me, it's really sublime.

My colleague Ash has been raving about Kezia Gill's show at Islington Assembly Hall the other night as part of her All on Red Tour, in support of her album of the same name: "The show was a triumph in every aspect and proved once again that British country music can come with as much soul and perspective as any homegrown Nashville talent," he says. "And as far as British country artists, Kezia Gill is the one to watch."

Finally, other favourite new music this week: Justice with Angèle on "What You Want", SO GOOD, really dark and heady, plus there's an excellent music video out later this morning to go with. I adore "On the Dash" from South Summit, that's a summer vibe if there ever was one, and "Time" from the golden-voiced James Emmanuel.

Then we've got "Nightingale Lane", the breathtaking new single from RAYE, "Something Real" by The Guest List, "Empathy" from new band Bathing Suits (I heard their gig on Wednesday went down a storm), "Disney Princess" from Melanie Martinez, "How I Get" by Laufey and "mettle" from newcomers She's Green. I really like Aby Coulibaly's "Love Enough", gorgeous, plus entries from Night Swimming, Sonny Fodera ft Chrystal, Girli's "Romantic Sadness" and Virginia MacNaughton's third album, The Thread.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Roisin x

Now Read This:

Written by Roisin O'Connor

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ON THE RECORD

I don't see anything really romantic in the fact that Gram died so young. It's just a tragedy.

Emmylou Harris to The Independent, February 2026

I developed a pretty severe OCD thing after watching Synecdoche, New York

Snail Mail to The Independent - read the interview this Sunday

With Lily Allen, we blacked out and made an album

Songwriter Chloe Angelides to The Independent - December 2025

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Tracks of the week

Subscribe to the official Now Hear This playlist on Apple Music and stay up to date with all the best new releases

1. "What You Want" - Angèle ft Justice

2. "Love Enough" - Aby Coulibaly

3. "If I Leave" - Mitski

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Q&A

Spotlight on... Fiona-Lee

Hello! Tell me about yourself

Hey, I'm Fiona-Lee, an artist from East Yorkshire. I write songs about my perspective on the world and my experiences as a woman. Since 15 songwriting has always felt like the most natural way to express and understand myself. And yeah I'm from Yorkshire so I love tea.

What are the inspirations and influences behind your music?

I'm very inspired by honesty in songwriting. I love music that can really move you emotionally, with lyrics that can feel so personal and relatable. Anthemic songs that have a real intimacy to the lyrics are my favourite. That's why I love artists like Bruce Springsteen and Alanis Morrisette. They're big influences for me. I write songs from my own personal life experiences, so whenever I feel something deeply, that's usually when a songs comes out.

What do you have lined up for 2026?

I'm so excited about 2026! I'm going on my first headline tour in April (with my band!) and will be playing some of my biggest shows yet, supporting Paul Weller and also The Maccabees (mental). My 2nd EP Every Woman comes out on 17 April, which I'm really proud of. It's a collection of songs about processing life as a young woman in today's society. I feel like this year I'm already getting into a great swing of things creatively so there's going to be so much more new music to come!