Friday Music Guide: New Music From Taylor Swift, Pearl Jam, Nicki Minaj and More

Billboard's Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday's most essential releases — the essential music everyone will be talking about today and that will dominate playlists this weekend and beyond.

This week, Taylor Swift picks up her pen, Pearl Jam roars back, and Nicki Minaj calls up some famous friends. Check out all of this week's picks below:

taylor swift, Department of Tormented Poets

One of the constants of Taylor Swift's storied career has been the chances she's taken when she didn't have to take a chance. She was a country superstar who didn't need to go pop. He was less than a year removed from a major pop album and didn't need to take an indie-folk detour. she was in the middle of a successful run of new albums and didn't need to re-record her old ones. Time and time again, Swift has spotted artistic opportunities that other stars would have taken for granted (or, at least, shelved for a different time so as not to spoil any professional momentum) and has fearlessly jumped at them, always coming out on top.

So right now — in the midst of a sold-out stadium tour, on the heels of a record fourth Grammy-winning album of the year, a new high-profile romance and the commercial zenith of an already all-time career — she is, of course, the moment when Swift chose to release a knowingly messy, wildly unguarded breakup album.

He didn't have to do that! But then again, making an album like Department of Tormented Poets it's exactly what separates Swift from her more cautious peers. Challenging herself to change shape, to achieve something new when anyone else would be resting on their laurels, is what makes her so compelling.

Click here to read his full review Department of Tormented Poets.

Pearl Jam, Dark matter

Producer Andrew Watt has spent the last few years helping various rock legends get their groove back in the studio, and while Pearl Jam's new album isn't the result of some young studio beating up a bunch of veterans, the band does have a new sense of urgency to their first project since 2020 Gigaton. While their latest album could be as heavy as its title, Dark matter It's bright and energetic, with Eddie Vedder often spitting his lines to keep up with the beat. Songs like “Scared of Fear” and “Running” want listeners to experience whiplash, but a song like “Wreckage” is Pearl Jam at their best.

Nicki Minaj feat. Travis Scott, Chris Brown & Sexyy Red, “FTCU (Remix)”

“FTCU” was a bold highlight of it Pink Friday 2 at its peak, and now, Nicki Minaj has invited some famous friends to join her Wake Flocka Flame sample party (though Waka, sadly, isn't one of them). Instead, Travis Scott spins stories about his world travels (“I had to fly to Nice, she's nice,” he declares), and later, Sexy Red almost steals the show with her funny conversations. This “SLEEZEMIX” may only exist as instant fan service, but Minaj and her famous friends sound like they're having a blast catering to these listeners.

DJ Snake feat. Peso Pluma, “Teka”

Can “Teka” qualify as Coachella-pop? After all, DJ Snake and Peso Pluma revealed their new collaboration in the studio between the festival weekends they'll both be performing at, but also, “Teka” sounds pristine for a dance on the Sahara stage as they reminisce earlier days of EDM. and thousands of attendees look forward to the summer months. Peso Pluma wraps his arms around elasto-funk production, turning the voice that has fueled so many regional crossover Mexican hits into a disco ball with ease.

Editor's Pick: Cloud Nothings, Final Summer

Cloud Nothings has spent the last decade as one of indie rock's most consistent projects, and while Final Summer once again balancing direct melodies and hard guitar work, the group sounds reinvigorated, from the sprinting title track to “Running Through the Campus,” which is actually about the sprint. Final Summer not only does it serve as a satisfying continuation of a tried-and-true formula for longtime fans, but an invitation for new listeners to dive into a rock-solid discography.