New Music This Week: Ellie Goulding Acoustic, Kelela On The "Frontline," & More

It's not that often anymore that we hear Ellie Goulding go soft and acoustic; she's adopted more of a dance floor queen vibe. But with this cover of an old Don McLean track, I am getting shades of her covering Elton John's "Your Song" for Prince William and Kate's wedding. Could this be her bid to be considered for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's upcoming nuptials? Surely they won't just have the Spice Girls play.

This moody track from Kelela is one I can't stop listening to. If your man isn't any good, and you'd like to break it off and drive away, it could be the song you're looking for — but that's hardly a barrier to entry. The weird '80s synths that keep the music afloat explode in the chorus. This bizarre-o Sims video that accompanies it is quite the commentary on game playing in relationships.

With Tracey Thorn, I am recommending you listen to the whole album because it is all about empowerment. "Sister," the first single, is a good jumping off point with a very British new video, but everything about this album came from Thorn reflecting on her long career and rethinking/recontextualizing the various forms of discrimination she faced as a female artist in a male-dominated industry. It's a true masterpiece.

If the title of this song made you wonder if it was a cover of the Peter Gabriel '80s hit written for Rosanne Arquette well...there are some similarities, but no. There's a bit of obsessive love there, and the chorus has a similar feel. ASTR, the artist, however, couldn't be more different. She seems to do Poppy-esque performance art. She seems to deflect the existence of her humanity in the press release accompanying this single. In fact, she speaks in terms similar to a computer. So...is she real? This song is real; one can verify that simply by listening to it. Ever feel like you're about to be had?

Dave Cobb has produced some of the biggest names in dudes who are reshaping country music: Sturgill, Stapleton, and Anderson East. He's got a new imprint, and the latest project from it is this EP from Savannah Conley that is amazing. But let it not go without saying: it's a big fucking deal in a genre like country for someone like Cobb to shift his focus to producing women. Not all the dudes he produces go the same level of instant country superstar that Stapleton has, but you can bet people will give a new artist a shot simply by having his name on the package. Conley has released a song that is what country radio should sound like. I can't wait to hear more from her.