Review: Oasis and Stone Roses musicians drop new joint single

POP/ROCK

Liam Gallagher and John Squire, "Just Another Rainbow"

If you've ever wondered what Gallagher fronting the Stone Roses would have sounded like — and don't just say "Oasis" — have I got a song for you. The snarl-lipped Gallagher joins forces with the singular Stone Roses guitarist Squire on "Just Another Rainbow," the first single from a forthcoming collaborative project, and naturally the two Manchester musicians make immediate sonic sense together. "Red and orange, yellow and green, blue, indigo, violet," Gallagher sings in his unmistakable lilt — seriously, this song has Gallagher singing the colors of the rainbow. But Squire ultimately ascends into the spotlight in the track's second half, projecting his towering, prismatic riffs across the sky.

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times

Béla Fleck, "Rhapsody in Blue(grass)"

It might have started as wordplay, but "Rhapsody in Blue(grass)" is a cheerful, harmonically savvy, quick-fingered and knowing adaptation of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" by banjoist Fleck and his string band, My Bluegrass Heart. It loosely follows the trajectory of Gershwin's composition, but it trades the orchestra for fiddle, dobro, mandolin, guitar and bass, relocating Gershwin's big-city Romanticism to more rustic territory.

JON PARELES, New York Times

Timony, the enchantingly cerebral guitarist and onetime frontwoman of the indie band Helium, has spent the past decade or so rocking out in bands like the power-pop revivalists Ex Hex and the punky supergroup Wild Flag. On Feb. 23, she'll release her first solo album in 15 years, "Untame the Tiger." The latest single, "The Guest," finds her in a more laid-back and reflective mode than she's usually known for, blending weepy country licks with ruminative lyrics. "Hello, loneliness, you've come back home," she sings. "You were the only one who never left me alone."

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times

Umi featuring V of BTS, "Wherever U R"

Umi, a Los Angeles-based songwriter, and V, a BTS member, offer the serenity of utter devotion, vowing to be "wherever you are" over slow guitar arpeggios and a minimal backbeat, treating a grand commitment modestly.

JON PARELES, New York Times