It’s been a few minutes since Corinne Bailey Rae has released new material, but the Grammy-winning singer+songwriter returns to the scene with new perspectives and decidedly new sounds on “New York Transit Queen,” the first single appearing on her newly announced album Black Rainbows [out Sep. 15].

Billed as a collection of songs inspired by the Theaster Gates collection at Chicago’s Stony Island Arts Bank, this lead cut leans into the motivations with an ear towards cultivated expression. It’s raucous right from the start, teeing up thrashing riffs and frenetic percussion enveloped in a post-punk sheen.

It’s an unexpected shift, given her melodic-minded catalogue, but absolutely works.

Stream below, snag a copy courtesy of Thirty Tigers, and spread that social love:

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