TGIF: The Most Exciting New Music Releases to Listen to in August 2020
Welcome to TGIF, our series in which our music insider Felicity Cain shares the most exciting new releases to listen to each month. From your favorite artists' latest projects to up-and-coming names you should know, we're here to keep your playlist feeling fresh.
Welcome to the last TGIF of the summer! July is fading into August and before you know it, we’ll be heading into autumn...just kidding. We still have a nice long month of summer to enjoy, and with it, tons of phenomenal hot new music. The Killers are supposedly finally releasing their new album (though I’ll believe it when I see it), Aminé is dropping his second album, and Skip Marley (yes, the grandson of Bob Marley) has just dropped a great new single. See below for more of the best new music releases for August.
LÉON is blessing our year with a new single (“Chasing A Feeling”) that dropped earlier this month along with the announcement of her sophomore album that’s set to drop in October. The Swedish artist released her debut single in 2015, and her debut album in 2019 and has amassed over 440 million global streams. Do yourself a favor and stream “Chasing A Feeling” today.
Another Swede to grace our list, Elliphant dropped her latest single “Had Enough” earlier this month. Elliphant released her first single in 2012 and dropped her debut EP later that year. She’s since released three EPs and two albums, the most recent being her LP Living Life Golden in 2016. Her July single “Uterus” was her first new piece of solo music in four years. Stream “Had Enough” today!
A familiar face on our TGIF roundup, Alec Benjamin is back as a feature on a new single by Sista Prod, “Eyes Blue Like the Atlantic Part 2,” also featuring Powfu and Rxseboy. The original song, produced by Italian 18-year-old Sista Prod has been featured in 250,000+ TikToks. “Eyes Blue Like the Atlantic Part 2” dropped on August 13th, what are you waiting for?
26-year-old indie singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts and rap-duo Horrorshow have teamed up for a new EP, I Won’t Give You Up, which drops today! The EP marks Albert’s third release in 2020. He released his debut EP Feels Like Home in 2012 and has since released three albums and two more EPs. I Won’t Give You Up is out now!
Three-piece band London Grammar is back with their latest single, “Baby It’s You.” The band released their debut album If You Wait (which went to number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and is certified double platinum) in 2013 and their second album, Truth Is A Beautiful Thing, in 2017. They also released featured on Flume’s 2019 track “Let You Know.” “Baby It’s You” dropped on August 19th.
Skip Marley dropped his latest single “Make Me Feel,” featuring Rick Ross and Ari Lennox earlier this month. Marley’s previous single, “Slow Down,” which featured Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. has been streamed over 70 million times and made Marley the first Jamaican-born artist to hit number 1 on Billboard’s adult R&B chart. Check out “Make Me Feel” today!
Stop what you’re doing! Phoebe Ryan has dropped her debut album How it Used To Feel. The 29-year-old signed with Columbia records in 2015 and shortly thereafter released her debut EP Mine. She’s written for artists ranging from Britney Spears to Bea Miller to Zara Larsson and has featured on songs by The Chainsmokers, Skizzy Mars, and The Knocks (to name a few). How it Used To Feel dropped July 31st!
Arkansas-duo joan is dropping their latest EP Cloudy this month. The indie-pop band, comprised of Alan Thomas and Steven Rutherford, released their debut EP Portra in 2018, which has amassed over 50 million streams. They’ve also accumulated almost a million monthly listeners on Spotify. Cloudy is slated to drop August 6th.
R&B singer/songwriter Paloma Ford is dropping her newest EP this month. X Tapes, Ford’s second EP, comes almost four years after her first EP, Nearly Civilized. Ford has been featured on tracks with Tory Lanez, Snoop Dog, Meek Mill. In 2014, she featured on Meek Mill’s “I Don’t Know” which hit number 35 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. X Tapes is slated to drop August 7th.
The one and only Aminé is dropping his sophomore album this month. Aminé’s 2016 debut single “Caroline” went to number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and is certified five-times platinum. He dropped his debut album, Good For You, in 2017. Limbo is set to be released on August 7th.
Glass Animals are dropping their new album Dreamland this month! Better yet, they’re dropping a new track from the album—“It’s All So Incredibly Loud”—today! The band has amassed over two billion global streams, and their last release, “Heat Waves,” is currently number 11 on Spotify’s US Viral Chart. Dreamland is set to be released August 7th, and “It’s All So Incredibly Loud” is out now!
A crowd favourite (and a personal favourite), The Killers are slated to release their sixth studio album at the end of this month. Thank God for new music. The band has released five consecutive chart-topping albums and is considered one of the 21st century’s biggest rock bands (no surprise there). With the recent release and success of “Caution,” the band broke the record for the longest time between Billboard Alternative number 1 songs—13 years and six months, since “When You Were Young.” Imploding the Mirage is set to drop August 21st.
Fantastic news: Wafia is releasing her latest EP, Good Things later this month. Born in the Netherlands and raised in Australia, the Iraqi-Syrian singer has amassed over 300 million streams. The 26-year-old has released three previous EPs, and first broke through as the lead vocalist on Louis the Child’s 2018 track “Better Not,” which is now Gold-certified. Good Things is slated to drop August 21st.
