This Week’s Music is a weekly column that discusses the weeks’ best, worst, and most interesting songs. We try to select songs of different artists and genres to keep things interesting and to please a variety of music fans.
This week, music fans of all types of genres saw the return of some of their favorite artists. Jessica Pratt released the headlining song of her latest album, pop star Zara Larsson put out an interesting and unique single that’s bound to become one of these year’s earworms, and Mariah Carey released an R&B ballad with the help of Skrillex and Ty Dolla $ign. Wait, what?
Indie
Jessica Pratt – This Time Around
“This Time Around” is the first song of Jessica Pratt’s new album, Quiet Signs. The record marks the musician’s return to the spotlight, being her first album in four years. It consists of nine songs that’ll be released on February 8th 2019.
Pratt is a beloved performer of the folk and indie genre, someone who’s capable of evoking melancholic moods and tones with a couple of precise lyrics and simple arrangements of instruments. “This Time Around” is a song that doesn’t focus on building up to a chorus or a catchy beat; it’s more concerned with the big picture, resulting in a compilation of sounds and feelings that coexist perfectly together.
Pop
Zara Larsson – Ruin My Life
Zara Larsson is 20 years old and has been involved in the music business since she was 10, where she won the Swedish version of the TV show America’s Got Talent. She’s released eight singles that have made it onto the U.K.’s top 15, with several of these placing high on US music charts. Larsson is an interesting pop star, with a heavy electronic influence and a distinct voice that doesn’t allow her to blend into the background of anything. With “Ruin My Life”, the singer has created a song that has a glossy and bright surface and that offers something different than some of her pop contemporaries.
R&B
Mariah Carey – The Distance (Ft. Skrillex And Ty Dolla $ign)
Since it’s 2018 and the world is a strange place, Mariah Carey has teamed up with Skrillex and Ty Dolla $ign for her latest single. “The Distance” features a muted Mariah yet one that’s still indistinguishably herself, with her fast and smooth diction and those deep beats that show up in some of her best hits. Ty Dolla $ign makes a small appearance, making some sounds in the background and singing a brief couple of verses that don’t do much for the song. Skrillex’ presence, or lack thereof, is one of the most surprising parts of the song, resulting in a beat that’s tamed and kept under wraps, very far from some of his crazier outings.
