These are the sounds of summer, the tracks we flick through while horizontal at the water's edge and the ones that leap out when we're rammed inside the club, vibrating alongside hundreds of others. From new SZA and Caroline Polachek to ear candy from Jewel Owusu and Chanel Loren, these are the new music releases we have on loop in December 2022.
1. F4U, Chanel Loren
Release date: December 1
Are you gonna pick me up? Chanel Loren delivers a sultry beat tied up in contemplation in F4U (Fall For You). On Instagram the artist shared her thoughts on the track: "Poured my heart and soul into this one, it took some time to master the vulnerability and strength". Together with the help of local legend Angie Osman and a handful of other creatives, F4U arrives with an atmospheric music video laced with romantic motifs like cupid's bow and angel wings.
2. Live at The Sydney Opera House, Georgia Maq
Release date: December 2
Following on from a performance at the Sydney Opera House with her band Camp Cope back in 2019, Georgia Maq returned for Vivid Live in June as a solo act. This album is a recording of those two shows. Maq covered Regina Spektor's Samson, sung Big Embarrassing Heart from her 2019 solo act Pleaser, and performed two reflective and unreleased songs Neighbour and Living Alone. Find them all on the live album.
3. Welcome to My Island, Caroline Polachek
Release date: December 5
"New Caroline Polachek sooooo good", reads a text from RUSSH contributing editor Kitty Callaghan. The American artist's latest release has a grand total of four tracks, each unique as the next. Dropping five days into summer, they've been a playful entry into the hot season with boppy, camp-y tracks touring her strange and alien island.
4. Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del Rey
Release date: December 7
The girlies get a little more toxic every time a new Lana track drops. Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd is expediting the process just in time for summer. With nothing but road trips down sprawling highways and seasonal situationships ahead of us, this track pairs well with any brooding you've got planned.
5. SOS, SZA
Release date: December 8
The best music to come out of December, possibly even 2022? It's been around five years since SZA dropped her debut album, and SOS is worth the wait. Studded with tracks like Shirt, Kill Bill and Seek & Destroy, watch this rise to the number one spot on our Spotify Wrapped in 2023.
6. Olympia, DMA'S
Release date: December 8
Ahead of their impending album, How Many Dreams, DMA'S has dropped a preview song Olympia for us all to mull over. Dedicated to the fans who have stuck with the band from the beginning, it signals a return to their earlier sound and was crafted to be played to a crowd. Catch them perform it at Falls Festival.
7. Morning Elvis, Florence + the Machine and Ethel Cain
Release date: December 9
Two worlds collide. Ethel Cain is having a moment after launching her debut album Preacher's Daughter back in May. In this song, she teams up with Florence Welch for a live version of Morning Elvis, which appears of Welch's Dance Fever album. When rehearsing the track for the Denver leg of Florence + The Machine's tour, both women described leaning into each other's distinct aesthetic per Pitchfork, Welch drawing on Southern Gothic and Cain emulating her partner's British accent.
8. All On You, Jewel Owusu, Adrian Dzvuke & CHISEKO
Release date: December 9
Here with another summer hit, this time from Jewel Owusu in collaboration with CHISEKO and Adrian Dzvuke. It's buoyant and light-hearted underpinned by Dzvuke's signature afro beats, Owusu's writing and CHISEKO's sophisticated verses. Speaking on the team up Jewel Owusu said, "All On You is a feel good, summer vibe and cute afro-pop song about not taking life too seriously and just letting go and being free."
9. Cold Cuts, Touch Sensitive
Release date: December 9
Michael Di Francesco places his Italian heritage front and centre with Cold Cuts. The EP leans into Italo-house with feel-good synth work made for sweaty clubs and summer festivals. The music videos feature old Super 8 footage from Di Francesco's family archives, with the record title a tribute to his uncle Mario who was a butcher. It feels at once nostalgic, yet fresh as heck.
10. On The Eve Of The Rush, Vallis Alps
Release date: December 15
A breathy, airy and uplifting track from Vallis Alps is here. Looking to John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath for inspiration, Parissa Tosif explains how the duo was "inspired by the idea of searching for more – out of survival but also because of an innate human desire to grow and flourish. It's one of my favourite novels and reminds me of a lot of themes of the migrant journey and the search for a better life."
