New Music Friday: Charli xcx’s “Rock Music”, MUNA’s Dancing On the Wall, Kelela & More

Charli xcx kicks off the week with a provocation: her new single “Rock Music” wrestles with pop orthodoxy and arrives like a two-minute dare. The track, clocking in at one minute and 55 seconds, toys with a disputed line — “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music” — that Charli had already hinted at while teasing her eighth album to Billboard in April. She also told British Vogue she was exploring rock influences; the result is less a straight-ahead guitar record than a grungy, dance-floor-ready hybrid that sounds intent on upsetting expectations.

MUNA

MUNA’s fourth album, Dancing On the Wall, lands today, leaning into the trio’s knack for marrying intimacy and stomp. Lead focus track “Eastside Girls” arrives with a music video populated by Hannah Einbinder, Kate Berlant and other familiar faces, and Katie Gavin’s unmistakable vocal tone remains the throughline — whether the band is dialing back into reflective balladry or pushing toward ecstatic pop bruises. Dancing On the Wall feels like a confident next act rather than a course correction.

Kelela keeps the anticipation for her next record intense. “linknb,” a compact sub-two-minute offering, previews New Avatar, which is due out 10 July. The single continues Kelela’s patient, genre-skipping approach to R&B, soul and experimental pop — dense and concise, and eager to elevate expectations for her third album.

Lykke Li has released The Afterparty, a sixth album she calls her last. It’s a bittersweet capstone from the Swedish singer, a project that shapes a full narrative while serving as a farewell on her own terms. If you want a microcosm of that farewell, listen to “Happy Now,” where she asks on the chorus: “Did your tears all go away? Did the darkness ever fade? Is it over? Are you happy now?”

The Last Dinner Party go big on their latest single “Big Dog,” delivering widescreen riffs and vocals that pivot from eerie whispers to unbounded declarations. Notably, the band released an “(On The Road)” video for the track — fitting, since “Big Dog” has already become a live staple. More fans will have a chance to catch them in person soon: The Last Dinner Party will support Olivia Rodrigo on select dates early into 2027.

Little Simz has quietly dropped Sugar Girl, her third new project in as many years, two weeks after first teasing it. The collection reunites Simz with producer Jakwob, the hand behind 2024’s dance-forward Drop 7 EP, and moves from buoyant, Caribbean-tinged cuts like “Open Arms” to Auto-Tuned fantasia on “That’s A No No.” The JT-assisted “Game On” stands out: Simz uses the guest verse to mix pointed political commentary with her characteristic bite — “I’m so T, I support the trans/ Game on bitch, let’s take a stand/ Do black lives still matter to these brands?” — a moment that lands with both humor and edge. — KYLE DENIS

PJ Morton offers “Sell My Soul,” a cut from the Saturday Night side of his forthcoming double album Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. The song opens with a plea that doubles as determination — “You try to come at my weakest/ You try to come when I’m down/ But as long as I am breathing/ The sun can come back around” — and features Keyon Harrold on trumpet and flugelhorn. It’s a steady, soulful anchor on a record that seems intent on balancing temptation and resilience. — K.D.

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide exists for this kind of week: a tight roll call of the tracks and albums that will set conversation and playlists in motion over the next few days. Last week we were talking about Madonna with Sabrina Carpenter, Kacey Musgraves and Zara Larsson. This week, the conversation starts with Charli and keeps rolling through MUNA, Kelela, Lykke Li and the rest.

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