This Week’s Music is a weekly column that discusses the week’s best, worst, and most interesting songs. We try to select songs of different artists and genres to keep things interesting and please a variety of music fans.
This week’s column features yet another Ariana Grande song, Haim’s latest single and Biig Piig’s ode to summer. Check them out:
Pop
Ariana Grande & Social House – Boyfriend
Ariana Grande continues her impressive and tireless musical year by releasing the light and summery “Boyfriend.” Featuring Social House, her tour band mates, the song is refreshing and fun. While less emotional and poignant than her previous work, “Boyfriend” separates the personal from the musical for Grande, something that I find very welcoming. Maybe it’s time for her to release songs without people analyzing the meaning behind every word and music video.
Rock
Haim – Summer Girl
RELATED: This Week’s Music: Sam Smith, Charli XCX And Beyoncé
Two years after the release of their album Something To Tell You, Haim comes back in full force with a distinct song and a music video directed by P.T. Anderson. “Summer Girl” is kind of mournful for its name, with a heavy jazz influence that is different from Haim’s previous work. There’s a clash of feelings and sounds, present in the lyrics “I’m your sunny girl, I’m your fuzzy girl,” and the thoughtful sax and a bass line reminiscent of Lou Reed’s music. Haim makes it work.
Indie
Biig Piig – Sunny
Summer is an interesting time for music, almost being a genre in itself. It’s a period of time that pushes artists to play with expectations, giving them the chance to show off something different. While most artists play it safe, others, like Haim and Biig Piig, appear to give some thought to the issue. While Haim played with our expectations of summer, releasing a song that goes against the norm, Biig Piig leans heavily into them and releases something that is bright and makes you think about having a delicious drink on the beach.