With new music flying like warp-speed through the various channels of the tnternet, it can be hard to keep up. But worry not. We’re here to deliver the most-discussed and exciting songs that you need for the weekend.
The xx—“Lips”
Once almost combatively not mainstream or interested in competing within pop’s cheerier sounds, The xx was a brooding escape for serious music lovers. That hasn’t changed on the band’s third LP I See You, though far less brooding. They retain a sense of moodiness though expand their reach farther than before, with upbeat, hopeful records like “Lips” and “Say Something Loving.” Saying something like The xx has grown up or are finally happy is too reducing a thought. But they do carry the air of people a little more okay, a little more sure of their place of the world. And that’s something to celebrate.
Sampha—“No One Knows Me (Like My Piano)”
The British crooner continues to trickle out tracks from his debut album Process. Following the haunting electro-bop “Blood on Me” and big, billowing hymn “Timmy’s Prayer,” Sampha strips away all instrumentation in this vulnerable ballad. Just a singer-songwriter and his piano. The splendid “No One Knows Me (Like My Piano)” further displays how meticulously thought-out and complete in expression Sampha can be. Process is shaping up to be something truly special.
SZA—“Drew Barrymore”
For those unaware, SZA “actually quit” music last year. Thank goodness that didn’t happen. SZA doesn’t so much sing as swallow you whole as you disappear in her melancholic, yet warm worlds. “Drew Barrymore” shows a maturity in songwriting for SZA, while still reminding why listeners fell in love the first time. She also debuted a new collaboration with Travis Scott in New York this week and announced the title of her new album on Jimmy Kimmel Thursday night. It’s called CTRL and it’s “actually” coming out. So much for quitters never winning.
DMX ft. Swizz Beatz—“Bane is Back”
If voices are instruments, then DMX’s is a machete. Blunt, vicious, and powerful in jungles. Swizz Beatz has always provided DMX that jungle to unleash and slash. Every villain needs his dark knight. This bangs exactly as you hoped it would.
The Internet’s Syd—“All About Me”
When The Internet announced last year that each member of the band was crafting individual projects, worry spread. What was happening? Would this lead to demise? Soon, Syd revealed her project would debut first and focus on a more mainstream appeal. With “All About Me,” that much is clear, and it’s not a negative. And with a chorus of “Take care of the family that you came with” and appearnaces from The Internet band members in the video, neither is the idea of The Internet showcasing their individual projects.
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Childish Gambino—“Terrified (Zikomo Remix)”
A great remix both reinforces and reinterprets what made a song great in the first place. And it makes you want to dance. Zikomo pulls off all the above with this remix off the already catchy Chidlish Gambino track “Terrified.”
