\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Lindsay\u2019s editor, Caryn, here to kick off a round of guest newsletters with around 19 minutes of upbeat music from March. (If you missed Friday\u2019s newsletter celebrating The Amplifier\u2019s second birthday<\/a>, a reminder that Lindsay will be taking a few months away to work on a book. The Amp will still arrive every Tuesday.)<\/p>\n I\u2019ve probably mentioned this before, but I sequence the Friday Playlists<\/a> that provide the raw material for these monthly entries spotlighting new music, and one of my big challenges is tempo: With the critics Jon Pareles and Lindsay picking so many different types of tracks, folding them into a coherent mix is not always a cinch.<\/p>\n So I\u2019m cheating a little today, choosing a selection of songs at what I\u2019ll call \u201cwalking in Manhattan\u201d pace. (Whatever the Google Maps estimate is, I can beat it.) This rundown could provide some rapid strolling music, or maybe soundtrack a cycle on the treadmill accompanied by some spirited air guitar-ing. Either way, trust that this six-pack of songs is a worthy addition to your 2025 collection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Dominican rapper J Noa<\/a> spits at breakneck speed in Spanish, and it\u2019s a lot of fun trying to keep up with her. This track, on which she pairs with her producer Lowlight, contains boasts comparing her rhymes to other addictive substances over horn blasts that, as Jon Pareles wrote<\/a>, \u201chark back to Sugar Hill Gang\u2019s \u2018Apache\u2019 and its source, the Incredible Bongo Band\u2019s version of \u2018Apache.\u2019\u201d The 19-year-old sounds bold and gleeful, \u201cla-la-la\u201ding along to a head-spinner of a beat.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/strong>Spotify<\/a>, Apple Music<\/a> or YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n Chappell Roan debuted this song on \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d last fall and officially released it a few weeks ago, in a moment when queer country is line dancing into the spotlight (see: Julien Baker & Torres\u2019s \u201cSend a Prayer My Way,\u201d due next month). Roan\u2019s vocals easily glide up to her high register and back as she delivers another winky track about her sexual prowess, this time with a kicky fiddle line providing some punch.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/strong>Spotify<\/a>, Apple Music<\/a> or YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n Lizzo doing Strokes cosplay? Channeling Prince? Over a classic \u201980s bop of a beat? It\u2019s all happening, and it\u2019s probably going to get stuck in your head.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/strong>Spotify<\/a>, Apple Music<\/a> or YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n The \u201990s are alive and well and living inside this song that was written and produced by Sarah Tudzin (who performs as Illuminati Hotties<\/a>) and Melina Duterte (a.k.a. Jay Som). The title refers to a winning jackpot spin, and the lyrics trace the giddy exploration phase of a new relationship over a deliciously fuzzy backdrop. Shoegaze revival<\/a>, you have a new entrant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/strong>Spotify<\/a>, Apple Music<\/a> or YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n The aforementioned Julien Baker is the producer of this hypnotic, driving track by the Ohio quartet the Ophelias. The biblical figure Salome was a princess who received the head of John the Baptist and later married her cousin and became a queen. \u201cI\u2005want your head on a stake \/ I want your head on a platter,\u201d the band sings here, later admitting, \u201cMaybe this was a mistake.\u201d Whoops!<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/strong>Spotify<\/a>, Apple Music<\/a> or YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n The guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, the bassist and producer Mikey Coltun and the drummer Souleymane Ibrahim back up Mdou Moctar, the sizzling African guitarist whose album \u201cFuneral for Justice\u201d<\/a> arrived last year. If you\u2019ve seen the band live, it\u2019s hard to take your eyes off that locked-in rhythm section. Their own EP is coming next month, and this single is a swirling, satisfying first taste.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/strong>Spotify<\/a>, Apple Music<\/a> or YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n \u201c6 (Up-tempo) New Songs You Should Hear Now\u201d track list<\/strong>Listen along while you read.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n1. J<\/strong> Noa and Lowlight: \u201cTraficando Rap\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
2. Chappell Roan: \u201cThe Giver\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
3. Lizzo: \u201cLove in Real Life\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
4. Illuminati Hotties: \u201c777\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
5. The Ophelias: \u201cSalome\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
6. Takaat: \u201cAmidinin\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nThe Amplifier Playlist<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Track 1: J Noa and Lowlight, \u201cTraficando Rap\u201d
Track 2: Chappell Roan, \u201cThe Giver\u201d
Track 3: Lizzo, \u201cLove in Real Life\u201d
Track 4: Illuminati Hotties, \u201c777\u201d
Track 5: The Ophelias, \u201cSalome\u201d
Track 6: Takaat, \u201cAmidinin\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n