Duh: Harry Styles, “Golden” – Two things are true: I’m hyperbolic, and every moment of the “Golden” music video is perfect, from the exhaustive running in loose-fitted linen shirts to the leg pop atop a small car on the Amalfi Coast. Harry Styles’s “Golden” shimmers around his smile, a serotonin release I can only compare to the high of psilocybin mushrooms and/or looking at Styles. It’s joyous, and boy, could I use some of that joy right about now. —Maria Sherman
I’ll allow it because it’s Cher: “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe,” Cher: The backstory to this song is that it’s from a musical called Cabin in the Sky. Cher has tweaked the lyrics to be about Joe Biden. That…. isn’t precisely my cup of tea, as I feel any song about any candidate, regardless of where they stand, is unbearably corny. But! Cher’s got a nice voice, and I’m happy to hear her sultry tones wherever and whenever I can. This, then, is fine. Please vote. —Megan Reynolds
Yes, #TBT edition: “Cool,” Gwen Stefani – Ever since I heard Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton (I’ll let you decide in the comments if their celebrity couple name is Gwake or Blen, both are equally horrible) were getting engaged, I’ve pulled out one of her best songs to play on repeat: the synth-pop bliss of “Cool.” Definitely one of Love Angel Music Baby’s best tracks (a genuinely great album, don’t @ me) with a near-perfect music video that easily bodies any Nicholas Sparks movie adaptation. Maybe when Gwen releases her inevitable country album, she’ll go brunette again? Only time will tell. – Hazel Cills
I need a whole concept of this sound, stat: TOMORROW X TOGETHER, “Ghosting” – TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Big Hit Entertainment’s first boy band experiment since BTS, is a recent obsession—there doesn’t appear to be a genre this mostly teenage quintet won’t explore, which explains why the opening track on their latest EP, “Ghosting,” is literally shoegaze. Like, straight-up emo-fueled dream pop? It’s a wonderful combination of my favorite hazy sounds, and I would pay so much money for a full album in this concept. Quick, hand me my phone! —MS
Y: TWICE, “I CAN’T STOP ME” – Lately, it seems like the trend in K-pop girl groups is to record larger-than-life EDM-pop singles more in line with the massive radio hits of the last decade than anything on air today. With “I CAN’T STOP ME,” TWICE rejects the fad, and as a result, acutely modernized their sound. This song is nine-part Dua Lipa worship, ‘80s “Physical” pop in a maximalist package. —MS
Yes, yes, a million times yes: Shame, “BiL” (Live) – The covid-19 pandemic has robbed us of lives, jobs, and creature comforts we long took for granted, like going to a concert and getting knocked around a crowd of sweaty, excited fans. I’d give anything to experience that again, and Shame’s new video for their song “BiL” provided a bittersweet reminder that those days are far off here in the United States. The official video for “BiL” is actually a live session, showing off the London-based post-punk band at its best. I’ve long sworn by Shame’s live performances, and “BiL” is a cruel reminder of exactly what I’m missing. The track is a little different from previous offerings from Shame, taking listeners on a musical journey from chaotic Gang of Four-esque riffs and vocals, to a subdued drone of a chorus, back to frenzied instrumentals that immediately reminded me of early Arctic Monkeys. This song, like, this band, is a treat. Now, when’s the album dropping, lads? —Ashley Reese
It’s another energetic ‘yes’ from me, dog: Routine, “Cady Road” – Here’s a winning combination: take two brilliant musicians, in this case, Melina Duterte of Jay Som and Annie Truscott of Chastity Belt, sequester them in Joshua Tree due to a global health pandemic, let them write and record whatever they see fit, and release their creations not long after. Such is the story of Routine and their first single, “Cady Road,” a shimmery desert song that doubles a meditative mantra: “Relax / It’s fine / You don’t have to know this time,” Truscott softly sings in the chorus, charitable counsel for a chaotic world. —MS
10000% Yes: Radical Kitten, “Say Shit” – During this year of social distancing, I’ve completely changed my music buying habits. I’m more inclined to pick up a new release on cassette than vinyl because tapes are portable, and if I have a new record I want to hear multiple times in full, that mobility will inspire me to walk around with my Walkman instead of continuing to loiter around in bed, record on the turn table, laptop on my chest as I lazily (and horizontally) blog. So far, it’s worked out: I’ve discovered a lot of cool shit in the process, including Toulouse, France DIY label Hidden Bay Records. And yet, nothing prepared me for the novel no wave noise of Radical Kitten and their revitalizing punk LP Silence is Violence. Each song tackles a modern day reality with dystopic acuity: police violence, racism, homophobia, transphobia—there’s a song here called “Shitty Questions” dedicated to the thinly-veiled hateful rhetoric minority populations are questioned with by majority populations, all under the guise of ignorance. Also, the music rips—I hear echos of Huggy Bear and Perfect Pussy here in equal parts. That is all to say: I bought the tape. —MS
I’ll allow it because it’s Cher: “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe,” Cher: The backstory to this song is that it’s from a musical called Cabin in the Sky. Cher has tweaked the lyrics to be about Joe Biden. That…. isn’t precisely my cup of tea, as I feel any song about any candidate, regardless of where they stand, is unbearably corny. But! Cher’s got a nice voice, and I’m happy to hear her sultry tones wherever and whenever I can. This, then, is fine. Please vote. —Megan Reynolds
Yes, #TBT edition: “Cool,” Gwen Stefani – Ever since I heard Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton (I’ll let you decide in the comments if their celebrity couple name is Gwake or Blen, both are equally horrible) were getting engaged, I’ve pulled out one of her best songs to play on repeat: the synth-pop bliss of “Cool.” Definitely one of Love Angel Music Baby’s best tracks (a genuinely great album, don’t @ me) with a near-perfect music video that easily bodies any Nicholas Sparks movie adaptation. Maybe when Gwen releases her inevitable country album, she’ll go brunette again? Only time will tell. – Hazel Cills
I need a whole concept of this sound, stat: TOMORROW X TOGETHER, “Ghosting” – TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Big Hit Entertainment’s first boy band experiment since BTS, is a recent obsession—there doesn’t appear to be a genre this mostly teenage quintet won’t explore, which explains why the opening track on their latest EP, “Ghosting,” is literally shoegaze. Like, straight-up emo-fueled dream pop? It’s a wonderful combination of my favorite hazy sounds, and I would pay so much money for a full album in this concept. Quick, hand me my phone! —MS
Y: TWICE, “I CAN’T STOP ME” – Lately, it seems like the trend in K-pop girl groups is to record larger-than-life EDM-pop singles more in line with the massive radio hits of the last decade than anything on air today. With “I CAN’T STOP ME,” TWICE rejects the fad, and as a result, acutely modernized their sound. This song is nine-part Dua Lipa worship, ‘80s “Physical” pop in a maximalist package. —MS
Yes, yes, a million times yes: Shame, “BiL” (Live) – The covid-19 pandemic has robbed us of lives, jobs, and creature comforts we long took for granted, like going to a concert and getting knocked around a crowd of sweaty, excited fans. I’d give anything to experience that again, and Shame’s new video for their song “BiL” provided a bittersweet reminder that those days are far off here in the United States. The official video for “BiL” is actually a live session, showing off the London-based post-punk band at its best. I’ve long sworn by Shame’s live performances, and “BiL” is a cruel reminder of exactly what I’m missing. The track is a little different from previous offerings from Shame, taking listeners on a musical journey from chaotic Gang of Four-esque riffs and vocals, to a subdued drone of a chorus, back to frenzied instrumentals that immediately reminded me of early Arctic Monkeys. This song, like, this band, is a treat. Now, when’s the album dropping, lads? —Ashley Reese
It’s another energetic ‘yes’ from me, dog: Routine, “Cady Road” – Here’s a winning combination: take two brilliant musicians, in this case, Melina Duterte of Jay Som and Annie Truscott of Chastity Belt, sequester them in Joshua Tree due to a global health pandemic, let them write and record whatever they see fit, and release their creations not long after. Such is the story of Routine and their first single, “Cady Road,” a shimmery desert song that doubles a meditative mantra: “Relax / It’s fine / You don’t have to know this time,” Truscott softly sings in the chorus, charitable counsel for a chaotic world. —MS
10000% Yes: Radical Kitten, “Say Shit” – During this year of social distancing, I’ve completely changed my music buying habits. I’m more inclined to pick up a new release on cassette than vinyl because tapes are portable, and if I have a new record I want to hear multiple times in full, that mobility will inspire me to walk around with my Walkman instead of continuing to loiter around in bed, record on the turn table, laptop on my chest as I lazily (and horizontally) blog. So far, it’s worked out: I’ve discovered a lot of cool shit in the process, including Toulouse, France DIY label Hidden Bay Records. And yet, nothing prepared me for the novel no wave noise of Radical Kitten and their revitalizing punk LP Silence is Violence. Each song tackles a modern day reality with dystopic acuity: police violence, racism, homophobia, transphobia—there’s a song here called “Shitty Questions” dedicated to the thinly-veiled hateful rhetoric minority populations are questioned with by majority populations, all under the guise of ignorance. Also, the music rips—I hear echos of Huggy Bear and Perfect Pussy here in equal parts. That is all to say: I bought the tape. —MS
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