Y: Jonas Brothers, “I Believe” – I’ve been to the year 2019. Not much has changed, but the Jonas Brothers are back, baby! The Disney Channel alums’ new album is hit-or-miss as a whole, but it’s still enough to make me concede that a reunion may have been a good idea after all. 10 years after Lines, Vines, and Trying Times, their latest record, Happiness Begins does what the Jonas Brothers do best; tug at my residual preteen heartstrings with cheesy, daydream-esque summertime hits. I’ve already listened to“I Believe,” which Nick Jonas says was written for his wife, Priyanka Chopra at least 10 times today and there’s no end in sight. —Lisa Fischer
Oh yes: Róisín Murphy, “Incapable” – Out of all the contemporary near-pop (but for the mass popularity), dance-inflected divas (your Robyns, your Carly Raes), no one’s house bangs harder than Róisín Murphy’s. After last year’s string of double-sided singles (effectively, an album’s worth of material that she rolled out over the course of a few months), the Irish singer-songwriter is back with “Incapable.” This one plops in at a slightly slower pace for house (the production reminds me of Deee-Lite’s face-tripping “Pussycat Meow”). House music typically tends to pound its emotional subject matter down your throat for the sake of simplicity, but Murphy is a conduit of complications here, asking big questions (“Never had a broken heart/Am I incapable of love?”) as the layers pile on and the sound design itself complicates, impeccably complementing Murphy’s lyrics. Ugh, how is she so good so often? —Rich Juzwiak
Oh yeah: Bleached, “Kiss You Goodbye” – You can practically feel the poolside sun and the smell of chlorine drifting off Bleached’s latest single (and video), “Kiss You Goodbye.” The Los Angeles-based sister act’s infectious new song toasts to summers in the Valley, but also to new beginnings; Jennifer Clavin channels all the narrator’s rage over a lousy breakup and belts out the best line of the chorus. “Some things are meant to diiiiiiiieee,” she sings with a shrug, and she’s sound so sure that I believe her. —Frida Garza
Pass: Bon Iver, “Hey, Ma” – Bon Iver is back with new music, but I think I’ve heard this one before. “Hey, Ma” splits the difference between his last two albums, the warped, experimental sounds of 22, A Million and the shiny but sad Bon Iver, Bon Iver, that sounded like so much of the other indie rock coming out in 2011. This song is fine, but I don’t need to listen to it again—and the title reminds me that Cam’ron had the best song titled “Hey Ma” of all time! —FG
Yessssssss: Daphni, “Sizzling” – A frenetic re-edit of Paradise’s 1981 disco track “Sizzlin’ Hot” from a producer who adroitly balances classicism with idiosyncrasy, “Sizzling” is relentless joy. If Memorial Day hadn’t already done it, this track’s release would have marked the unofficial start of summer. —RJ
Y: Cazzu, “00:00” – One of the many lovely parts about having more women dominate in urbano is more layered, meaningful visuals that are worth watching in their entirety (rather than just hitting play on YouTube and moving on to the next tab, as I did moments ago before typing this)—because you know you’re gonna get more than just nalgas y tetitas everywhere. That’s all fine and good, and I happen to love music from many who do this, but Argentinian trapera Cazzu put in the work here—further evolving her emo, cool girl brand in the video while surprising new listeners with her sound—making both an assured yes from me. The buttered, flirty intonations of her voice make for a sweet listen through a bloody watch as she goes through a sort of rebirth, asking her lover (or in this case herself) for a fresh start. —Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo
N: Farina, “Como Una Kardashian” – I think it’s safe to say the Kardashians need no further promotion, and that we (as a society) need no more replicas or doppelgängers of them floating around. Yet, Farina, bless her heart, decided to devote this entire song to shouting them out. At one point she says lips like Kylie/Rich black man like Khloe/Bank account like Kim. Who’s gonna tell her? —ELC
Oh yes: Róisín Murphy, “Incapable” – Out of all the contemporary near-pop (but for the mass popularity), dance-inflected divas (your Robyns, your Carly Raes), no one’s house bangs harder than Róisín Murphy’s. After last year’s string of double-sided singles (effectively, an album’s worth of material that she rolled out over the course of a few months), the Irish singer-songwriter is back with “Incapable.” This one plops in at a slightly slower pace for house (the production reminds me of Deee-Lite’s face-tripping “Pussycat Meow”). House music typically tends to pound its emotional subject matter down your throat for the sake of simplicity, but Murphy is a conduit of complications here, asking big questions (“Never had a broken heart/Am I incapable of love?”) as the layers pile on and the sound design itself complicates, impeccably complementing Murphy’s lyrics. Ugh, how is she so good so often? —Rich Juzwiak
Oh yeah: Bleached, “Kiss You Goodbye” – You can practically feel the poolside sun and the smell of chlorine drifting off Bleached’s latest single (and video), “Kiss You Goodbye.” The Los Angeles-based sister act’s infectious new song toasts to summers in the Valley, but also to new beginnings; Jennifer Clavin channels all the narrator’s rage over a lousy breakup and belts out the best line of the chorus. “Some things are meant to diiiiiiiieee,” she sings with a shrug, and she’s sound so sure that I believe her. —Frida Garza
Pass: Bon Iver, “Hey, Ma” – Bon Iver is back with new music, but I think I’ve heard this one before. “Hey, Ma” splits the difference between his last two albums, the warped, experimental sounds of 22, A Million and the shiny but sad Bon Iver, Bon Iver, that sounded like so much of the other indie rock coming out in 2011. This song is fine, but I don’t need to listen to it again—and the title reminds me that Cam’ron had the best song titled “Hey Ma” of all time! —FG
Yessssssss: Daphni, “Sizzling” – A frenetic re-edit of Paradise’s 1981 disco track “Sizzlin’ Hot” from a producer who adroitly balances classicism with idiosyncrasy, “Sizzling” is relentless joy. If Memorial Day hadn’t already done it, this track’s release would have marked the unofficial start of summer. —RJ
Y: Cazzu, “00:00” – One of the many lovely parts about having more women dominate in urbano is more layered, meaningful visuals that are worth watching in their entirety (rather than just hitting play on YouTube and moving on to the next tab, as I did moments ago before typing this)—because you know you’re gonna get more than just nalgas y tetitas everywhere. That’s all fine and good, and I happen to love music from many who do this, but Argentinian trapera Cazzu put in the work here—further evolving her emo, cool girl brand in the video while surprising new listeners with her sound—making both an assured yes from me. The buttered, flirty intonations of her voice make for a sweet listen through a bloody watch as she goes through a sort of rebirth, asking her lover (or in this case herself) for a fresh start. —Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo
N: Farina, “Como Una Kardashian” – I think it’s safe to say the Kardashians need no further promotion, and that we (as a society) need no more replicas or doppelgängers of them floating around. Yet, Farina, bless her heart, decided to devote this entire song to shouting them out. At one point she says lips like Kylie/Rich black man like Khloe/Bank account like Kim. Who’s gonna tell her? —ELC
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