Okay, all right. Yes, it's time for a weekly track roundup. My thoughts, my feelings on a bunch of tracks that have dropped over the past week or so. My thoughts and feelings on them, whether I loved them or hated them or felt somewhere in between.

Let's get right into the worst tracks of the week.

They are as follows.

Starting off with this new Voidz cut, "Blue Demon". Given how rough the last Voidz album was and how it essentially sounded like a bunch of bad Julian Casablancas demos, I was kind of hoping like a new random single from the project would be like a step up from everything that was on that record. And I am disappointed to report that no, "Blue Demon" is not a step up at all. It just kind of seems like more of the same terrible shoddy production. Just a real abuse of the autotune on Julian's vocals and a mediocre song all around. I just don't get why we're going down this road. Given just how great the second Voidz album was, this just feels like such a significant step down and we are continuing in that direction again. Totally confused, don't know why.

And we also have David Guetta and Sia, "Beautiful People". But we already knew a song from these two was going to be pretty mediocre. Very by the numbers. Basic, plain, uninspired EDM dance pop with not really much substantively going on. And aesthetically too.

Meh. The tracks I wasn't crazy about, but you might like them more than me.

They are as follows. Here we go.

First off, we are starting with yeule new track, "Skullcrusher". Kind of a bit of a heavy, noisy, shoegaze type cut. And you know, I'll say aesthetically it's fine. The riffs sound okay. It's just that structurally it just kind of feels like an intro. We get kind of a, you know, very tense, quiet start to the whole thing. The riffs come in and then shortly after that just kind of disappears and that's it. Not really a whole lot of structure or layers or depth to it. Just kind of feels like we're hitting a sound, hitting a vibe. And I'm even more perplexed that this is the final song on the record, really. Just like, kind of feels like a ramp up type moment. But this is how we're ending off. It's a bit confusing. Maybe it'll make more sense in the context of the album. But as of right now, I feel like song structure wise, there's a lot to be desired here, even if again, the mix is kind of hitting.

We have a new one from Saetia. Screamo legends Saetia are back and, you know, still sounding youthful and passionate and explosive and over the top, you know, really like the level of intensity you would want a band of this style to be at. But with that being said, like, nothing too crazy in terms of like, you know, their usual bag of tricks. And I mean, you know, certainly bands of this stripe and of this era have had much worse comebacks than this, but does this make me want to, you know, listen to this as opposed to the old stuff? No. Not really. I'll say. I mean, I feel like for, you know, a comeback in this field, it's okay, it's fine. You know, they're checking the necessary boxes and giving us some decent post hardcore type nostalgia.

We also have Rachel Chinouriri. "Can We Talk About Isaac?" Rachel continues down this kind of indie rock singer-songwriter path, but with some peppier beats and production, which I can most definitely respect. I feel like her last record flirting with this style kind of lacked that bit of oomph. And while I think the tune here is just okay instrumentally, it's going in a more interesting and energetic direction. I guess, you know, we'll see where we end up with more songs and another album. But Rachel's last that dropped, you know, back in 2024, was quite good. Quite good for sure.

We have the Jesus Lizard who are still striking while the iron is hot with this fresh album cycle behind them. "I'm Tired of Being Your Mother" is the name of this new track. And while there were a lot of songs on this recent LP that I found to be kind of underwhelming, I do think the pacing on this one leaves a lot to be desired too. But the vocals are a bit more intense, the lyrics are certainly kind of snide and dark, and you know, literally coming from a place of, you know, what sounds like an abusive parent perspective. The guitars have some sick passages here and there. There's something to it that I feel like a lot of songs on the record lacked. It's not blowing me away, but it's kind of headed in the right direction and leaves me hoping that the Jesus Lizard in this kind of comeback era of theirs will, you know, continue the momentum and build up to something even more interesting next time around.

We have Ghost who are back with a new album on the way and a new single. "Satanized" is the name of the song. And you know, especially in the first leg, it feels like typical Ghost. You know, it's got like that kind of big, rich, harmonious, classic metal, slash arena rock sound with those clean, eerie, cultish lead vocals. And honestly, given just how torturous the last album was, in my opinion, I would be totally up for just some straightforward, to the point, enjoyable, snappy Ghost songs. But then they really like kind of nosedive the entire track with these weird, muddy, kind of phased out, gurgling chorus vocals that just sound horrendous. I don't really get what the band is trying to do with these vocals. I mean, I guess it does add like a little bit of a switch up to the song and it does sound different than any other vocal I've heard on a Ghost album previously. But the vocals just sound really murk and obscured and horrendous. I just don't really know how to describe them other than just the fact they feel sloppy and they take away from the bright clarity that I typically enjoy in a lot of Ghost's tracks in terms of vocals, narrative, intention and so on and so forth.

Best tracks of the week.

We have quite a few of those, so pay attention, pay attention. They are as follows.

"Mandingo". New song labeled under the Wu-Tang Clan. Though it sort of seems to be, you know, like just kind of consisting of a lot of Wu-Tang members, which is fine. It does like, kind of have that classic Wu-Tang vibe and feel in terms of like, production and obviously verses from the likes of Raekwon and Method Man and so on and so forth. It's got that classic sound and feel, even if it's like, you know, not every single person involved. If you're looking for that classic hit of Wu-Tang nostalgia with some modern clarity and punch to it, you'll most likely enjoy it.

We also have Weatherday, who came through with a brand new single over here. Another teaser for the forthcoming album. "Ripped Apart by Hands" is the name of this one. And if you're looking for some multi phased lo-fi homespun rock with a lot of dynamics and, you know, a lot of personality and character and versatility, you're going to want to give this song a spin for sure. The singles so far have been very promising. I'll say that.

We have Tribunal, who have an album coming out very soon on 20 Buck Spin. Really kind of getting into what the band is doing here on this track. "Armoured In Shadow" is the name of the cut and it is a heavy combination of classic doom metal and death metal with some ultra dramatically vocals, some grim growl, some heavy guitars and harmonious passages as well. Really liking the vibe, the atmosphere again, the heaviness, how grim it is. It is a versatile cut. It is quite catchy as well. It does like have a soaring and by do metal standards, very kind of snappy chorus and you know, the death metal sections that contrast with that just make the song sound so much nastier. It's got whimsy, it's got darkness, it's got a lot going on for it. So yeah, give this track a shot.

We have also Spellling coming through with another track, three singles into the forthcoming album. This one over here, the most whimsical and soaring of the three in my opinion. "Destiny Arrives". Sounds like some magic that could have been on – I've said this before, I'll say it again – on the Twilight soundtrack, and I mean that in the best way possible. Just sounds very mystical and sounds very, you know, magical and rocking as well. Really liking what Tia is doing on the new stuff. It's sick. She's smashing it.

Also shout out to Sevdaliza who has come through with a kind of a hybrid track over here that brings in elements of, you know, kind of deconstructed club and pop of Brazilian funk. It's noisy, it's aggressive, it is a little hyper as well. The production is groovy and abrasive. It's got a mix of a bunch of different things and it is quite over the top and chock full of personality. I'm liking it quite a bit. So again, shout out to Sevdaliza and this very odd album cover too. Okay.

We have really a mix of a bunch of different artists on this new track. Key Nyata, Pouya, Denzel Curry, Shakewell, KXLLSWXTCH, all on the same song over here. Really kind of giving us a like a dark, grimy soundcloud, Floridian, Memphis type vibe on this track over here it's just a very nasty, grim Southern rap banger with some great production and great features and appearances all around. And yeah, really enjoying the hell out of this one. If I didn't already say, "Head Hunting", you already see it on the screen is the name of the track.

Also enjoying this new one over here from satirist extraordinaire Kyle Gordon and Albie Wobble, "Selekta". Yeah, he's really trying to give us some classic UK hip hop here. And it's goofy, it's silly, it's ridiculous. But simultaneously he's like hitting upon the sound so accurately that in passing, you know, somebody could hear or see this and be like, oh, okay, this is like a serious thing. So, you know, it's... It's hard to tell whether or not you're enjoying it ironically or unironically at certain points. So, you know, shout out to Kyle for the continued accuracy.

We have also over here, Haru Nemuri, who is giving us "anointment", new track over here, where she is really diving into the orchestral bits on the instrumental side, which I am really appreciating. Loving the tune. Loving how sort of like fragmented and noisy and weird the percussion all over the track is. It's got a lot going on and Haru continues to creatively pioneer forward with different sounds even after recently dropping a respectable album and also doing a really cool crossover collab with Frost Children that was all over the place too. Really awesome to hear one of the most creative artists out of Japan in my opinion currently continuing to shake things up and do some interesting stuff.

All right, we have Doechii who is dropped a bit of a, like kind of a new oldie over here. A bit of a deep cut in the back catalog that some people have had, you know, some hot takes on. It's titled "Anxiety". I think it's a really great track. But you know, the thing that some people are or aren't taking issue with is that, you know, it's pretty much like a beat for beat sample or redo over the Gotye "Somebody That I Used to Know" instrumental. And there are some people who are like quite hung up about that. Oh, I can't listen to it without thinking about the song or I just want to hear the song or oh, it's not enough of a sample or it's not flipped enough and so on and so forth. Again, I will stress, at least from what I understand what I have read, this song was not like originally intended for any kind of like big commercial release. There is just this intense demand for anything and everything Doechii, given just how popular she is right now and how much of a hype train there is behind what she's doing. So, you know, releasing a track like this in that context I think makes sense. And on top of it, at least in like, you know, not just a hip hop context, but a pop context, I feel like what she's doing on this track is almost like an old school Lil Wayne thing. Like, I'm going to do my own thing. I'm gonna kill your original beat and just do my own on it. And, you know, while I think this would be completely acceptable for her to freestyle on such a thing, she's not just simply freestyling on this track. Like she is giving a great rap performance, but like, it is a focused series of bars about the idea of feeling anxiety with a very well sung chorus over it. And, you know, even though it's like the same instrumental, I can appreciate the song for being its own thing. So, yeah, really appreciating this, you know, kind of track that's been pulled out of the vaults for Doechii and I will leave it there.

Okay, we have new one over here from – you guys know and love – Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest fame. There's a new album on the way and we have our first single here. "Gethsemane", I believe is the title. We're getting quite biblical with it, I believe. And for a first initial track single teaser, this is an interesting choice because we're talking about like a 10 minute-plus monster over here that is very grim, mature, dark, a little proggy at points as well. You know, I think like those typical indie and lo-fi influences, you know, like the Strokes and that sort of thing, are still there for Will and Car Seat Headrest. But it would seem that things have gotten like quite a bit, again, I'll say like kind of darker, murkier, more mature as far as like the overall tone and aesthetics of the music, which I feel like is, you know, a cool sonic shift. But yeah, really enjoying this track over here. It's quite haunting in some of its best pockets and it's really impressive, you know, that it lasts as long as it does and still sounds great. And still plays over very well.

All right, we have a shout out to Black Country, New Road, who have treated us to another single over here. "Happy Birthday" is the title and it is a very, very tasteful bit of a bunch of different things. We have elements of kind of pop rock over here and vintage 60s like psych pop and chamber pop. Some twee in the mixed there as well. Lots of lush instrumentation, tons of structural switch ups along the run of the song, but it still manages to be quite catchy and gorgeous in its best moments. Black Country, New Road, I feel like, is continuing to successfully make this shift away from their last record and you know, their recent very big sort of lineup shakeup and are still sounding like a very formidable band out there on the indie scene today. So I'm really looking forward to their next album.

All right, we have last one over here that I want to point out to. That is going to be this one from 6ix, Joey Valence & Brae, FELIX!, also featuring KYLE and Buddy. And Blu. "Raw" is the name of the track and it's a nice throwback piece of old school hip hop with solid chorus, big boom-bap drums, hype vocal performances, great feature from Blu on the back end. And yeah, you know, I mean it's a kind of that energy that anybody would expect from Jey Valence and Brae at this point, but with just a lot of input, a lot of appearances, a lot of features, but it still comes together very cohesively and in a very focused fashion.

All right, that is going to be it. All of the weekly tracks for this week that I want to shout out.

You guys are the best. Love you.

Anthony Fantano, Weekly tracks Forever.