POP/ROCK
Carly Rae Jepsen, "Beach House"
Boy problems? Jepsen's got them in spades on this cheeky earworm from her forthcoming album "The Loneliest Time." She employs a deadpan sense of humor as she lists off the red flags and deal-breakers that marred relationships with "Boy No. 1" to "Boy No. I Can't Keep Count Anymore." Amid all the silliness, though ("I got a beach house in Malibu," one prospect tells her, "and I'm probably gonna hurt your feelings"), the song effectively taps into the romantic frustration of endless, "Groundhog Day"-esque first dates and long-term singledom: "I've been on this ride, this roller coaster's a carousel," Jepsen sings on the anguished pre-chorus, "And I'm getting nowhere."
LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times
The 1975, "Happiness"
The latest single from the eclectic British pop group manages to sound both sleek and a little spontaneous; the dense, '80s-inspired production gleams but there's always enough air circulating to keep the atmosphere well ventilated. Frontman Matty Healy sounds uncharacteristically laid back here, trading in his usual arch, hyper-referential lyrics for simpler sentiments: "Show me your love, why don't you?" he croons on an ecstatic chorus that's catchy without feeling overdetermined.
LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times
HIP-HOP
DJ Khaled featuring Drake and Lil Baby, "Staying Alive"
A quizzically melancholic opening salvo from the upcoming DJ Khaled album "God Did," "Staying Alive" nods casually to the Bee Gees on the way to somewhere far less ecstatic. In this construction, staying alive is an act of defiance, not exuberance. Drake bemoans "This life that allow me to take what I want/it's not like I know what I want," while in the video, he plays a doctor smoking hookah in the hospital and absently signing off on charts of patients who might need some help achieving the song's title.
JON CARAMANICA, New York Times
New releases
- Sylvan Esso, "No Rules Sandy"
- Danger Mouse & Black Thought, "Cheat Codes"
- Erasure, "Day-Glo (Based on a True Story)"
