Every week, members of the Vulture staff will highlight their favorite new songs. They might be loud, quiet, long, short, dance-y, rawkin’, hip, square, rap, punk, jazz, some sort of jazz-punk-rap fusion — whatever works for the given person in that given week. Read our picks below and please tell us yours in the comments.
Angel Haze, “Candlxs”
Possibly the first, if not best mainstream rap song about a lesbian relationship; definitely the first and best rap song written for a Baldwin. —Marcus Jones (@MJinMD)
Courtney Barnett, “Pedestrians at Best”
“I think you’re a joke, but I don’t find you very funny,” sings Courtney Barnett in “Pedestrian at Best,” a dis so perfectly potent, it should be embroidered and sold on Etsy. The song itself is at the same time brash and nonchalant and should inspire you to pick up Barnett’s debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, out in March. —Lindsey Weber (@LindseyWeber)
Fifth Harmony, “Like Mariah”
Fifth Harmony’s debut album, Reflections, is full of name-checks to their idols — lead single “Bo$$” shouts out Michelle Obama, Oprah, and, implicitly, Kim Kardashian — but none is more bold than “Like Mariah,” which borrows the hook from “Always Be My Baby” for a bright and sunny teenage love song. In the trenches of the ‘90s diva wars, who’d have thunk that Mariah would be the one to end up the respected elder statesman? —Nate Jones (@kn8)
How to Dress Well & TĀLĀ, “The One”
He’s a little more cacophony of glaring synths and layered vocals; she’s a little more mysterious foreign wind instruments and handclap effects. It is fitting that a song about a Romeo and Juliet kind of love affair has two versions to see how these two singer and producers’ styles clash. Regardless of the version, it is still a top-notch sonic road map on how to tell your basic friends to let you and your partner live. —MJ
Lower Dens, “To Die in L.A.”
Lower Dens do a magical thing: make laid-back music that is also driving. This song sounds, well, very L.A.: relaxed, clear, driveable. But it has enough of a beat that you won’t fall asleep at the wheel. —Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)
Meek Mill featuring Big Sean and A$AP Ferg, “B Boy$”
If A$AP Ferg were dating Jessie J (which feels entirely plausible), then this would be the significant others’ version of “Bang Bang.” Nicki Minaj said it best about her alleged rebound Meek Mill: Rap needs his loose-cannon, DMX-esque sort of energy. —MJ
Modest Mouse, “The Best Room”
We’ve featured a couple songs already from Modest Mouse’s upcoming next album, but this is the first that sounds like a Modest Mouse song. Meaning it’s super spastic and disjointed, and Isaac Brock sounds like a barking weirdo. Fun fact: Anytime I hear Brock sounding like this, I picture Vincent D’Onofrio after the cockroach alien took over his body in Men in Black. —JDF
Murlo featuring Emma Dunleavy, “Deep Breath”
I know I’m like the boy who cried, “Chill as hell,” but this song is really chill as hell. It sounds like if Monica spent the last ten years singing in a computer-filled British basement. —JDF
Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney, “FourFiveSeconds”
If you’re one of those who hasn’t realized the magic of “FourFiveSeconds,” well, I feel sorry for you. This Kanye-ized Rihanna, with a splash of McCartney, is a campfire’s dream. Let’s replace “Kumbaya”; get rid of “Cat’s in the Cradle”; ditch “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” — all in favor of the Tuesday afternoon guitar-heavy banger. (It’s only four chords; you can totally learn it by next Tuesday.) —LW
Years & Years, “Take Shelter”
The buzzy Years & Years features Skins dude Olly Alexander (How are these U.K. Skins people so talented?) and his friends Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Turkman. (If that’s not enough, they also recently won the BBC’s Sound of 2015.) With their debut EP out this week, it’s a good time to get cool and hop on this young, hip, decidedly electro-pop bandwagon. —LW
