The full list of this week's key New Music Friday releases appears at the bottom of the page, but first, some highlights...
Olivia Rodrigo releases good 4 u, the third single from her upcoming album SOUR, and she's channelling her inner 2000s pop-rock star (Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne et al) for it.
Laura Mvula has unveiled Got Me from her forthcoming album Pink Noise, and she's taken the '80s new wave and disco sounds of her recent releases and dialled it all the way up to 11.
Wolf Alice are also on a roll, with the third impressive trailer from their new album Blue Weekend, titled No Hard Feelings. As you might expect, the song does in fact hit the feels, hard.
MORE: Exciting albums still to come in 2021
On the albums front, St. Vincent releases her '70s-inspired sixth album Daddy's Home, which, if early reviews are anything to go by, will finish high up on several critics' end-of-year lists.
A strong contender for the Number 1 album is Paul Weller, who unveils his 16th solo album, Fat Pop. True to its name, it's a collection of catchy soul, psychedelic rock, and singalong ballads.
J. Cole returns with a semi-surprise new collection The Off-Season, which he only announced last week and says has been "years in the making". Cole's last album, 2018's KOD, reached Number 2 on the Official Albums Chart - could this be the one that goes all the way?
