All right. Hey, hi, and hello, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. I hope you are doing well. It's time for a weekly track roundup. My thoughts, my feelings on a bunch of tracks that have dropped over the past week.

Worst tracks of the week.

We have a handful. We have a few. They are as follows. Bam.

New one-off the latest Rod Wave album. It's a big one with Lil Yachty and Lil Baby, "Fuck Fame". Of course, it has a boring beat, a very awkward flow from Yachty off the jump. Rod Wave fills out the middle without really all that much to say, and the final verse is the most generic Lil Baby verse ever. Again, not really much to comment on here, honestly. It's just blatantly uninspired.

All right, we also have a new one from Maggie Rogers over here, "In the Living Room", which is just It's like some very tacky '90s, acoustic radio rock. I just don't get why this is coming back. This went out of style for a reason, and we'll leave it there.

We also have a new one from Halsey, from her forthcoming album, The Great Impersonator [editor's note: Anthony says the incorrect album title in the video], where she's impersonating and, I guess, embarking on a bunch of different sonic and aesthetic escapades by just trying out some different sounds and different artist's vibes. And while I have enjoyed at least one single in a big way from this forthcoming album that had almost like a a throwback, teen flick, pop punk flavor to it because it was just done very, very well. This new one over here, "I Never Loved You", feels almost like she's just trying to write a mediocre Taylor Swift song. I don't get what the idea is behind trying on a variety of different sounds if some of those sounds are just going to be so blatantly bland and, again, uninspired. But yeah, "I Never Loved You". I never loved this one, that's for sure.

All right, we also have a new one from EARTHGANG, Spillage Village, with T-Pane in the mix as well. Yeah, it just sounds like some 2000s-era club rap, but while I understand that is making a bit of a comeback right now, this just feels like all the dated stuff about that sound and about that style that made it fall out of favor with a lot of people to begin with. Some of the stuff riding on the coattails of the comeback of this sound. These days that I've been hearing that's, I guess enjoyable, sounds a bit more updated and interesting than what's going on here. This just feels stale to my ears.

The tracks I was on the fence with, but you might like them more than me.

They are as follows, ba bam.

A new one from Yukimi of Little Dragon fame. Yes, she is going solo, and "Break Me Down" is the title of the first single. And yeah, It's like some okay neo-soul stuff. The vocals are decent. The instrumental itself, okay. Tune doesn't stick with me so much, but the vibe is there. Would be interesting to see if she goes further down this genre path with this upcoming album and this new breakaway solo career.

We also have a new one from the man himself, Flying Lotus. It seems like Flylo is trying out going in a clubby dance music direction, and it features all the weird, squishy, gummy sounds I would typically expect from a Flylo production, but it's not nearly as psychedelic as some of the stuff I typically enjoy from him is. Not as musically detailed either. If he was going to go in a clubbier, danceier direction, I would have hoped for something that had some more interesting progressions to it or played with tension a little bit more. I mean, it's there, but not all the way there, I'll say.

All right, we also have one over here from none other than J. Cole, "Port Antonio", the new track everybody has been talking about this week because, lo and behold on this one, he pretty much addresses bowing out of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef. And while I do think the rapping on the track is fine, instrumental choice is okay. There are lyrically some impressive bars here and there. I just fail to see the point of this song. I feel like J. Cole's reasoning for bowing out was already made very, very well apparent. And then beyond that, I feel like he's just trying to have cake and eat it, too, by just like, bragging about how lyrically impressive he is and how deadly he is, literally and figuratively, when, bro, you backed off of the beef. I just don't really get the reason for this song, other than for him to cope on some level with having nothing to do with quite possibly the biggest beef we're going to see in hip hop this decade. Even if I do think some of the points he makes about this all being for clicks an attention to some degree being fair. I mean, those are certainly fair points.

Moving on from there, though, we also have a new one from Zack Fox and Bruiser Wolf. So many so many, so many, so many, so many, so many funny, hilarious bars across this track, which is not surprising at all, given that it is Zack Fox and Bruiser Wolf. Just amazing, gut-punching, lyrical gems abound. I just wish the instrumental switched things up. It's just one stale loop over and over and over. While I do understand this production style is caught on right now in the underground, it could have been a better loop. It could have been a better loop. All right.

Moving on to the tracks that I enjoyed quite a bit more.

They are as follows. Best tracks of the week. Pay attention.

We have a new one from Xiu Xiu covering "Frosty the Snowman", and it's horrifying, incredible, mind-blowing, and highly enjoyable. I cannot recommend this enough. It's handily one of my favorite tracks of the week, and really impressive for Xiu Xiu to drop this off the back of a fantastic new full-length album. And giving us music that's going to get us in the Christmas spirit before even Halloween has come through. I appreciate that.

All right, we have a new one from Pharrell from his upcoming Piece by Piece film soundtrack. This one, "Virginia Boy", featuring Tyler, the Creator, I think is actually one of the most fun and eccentric and well-produced solo cuts he's dropped in a while. I feel like him and Tyler really bring the best out in each other on this track in terms of vibe, energy, lyricism, eccentricity. They really do match each other's energy really well on this track, and I love the song for it.

All right, moving on from there. The Lonely Island is back. Out of nowhere, "Sushi Glory Hole", which is a song about exactly what it sounds like, but what is even funnier is that the song is also simultaneously a pitch for the idea as the song is going. I love this. It's classic Lonely Island, but it's so outlandish and audacious that I can't foresee this track going stale in the way maybe some older tracks from the group have in terms of the quality of comedy in the song.

All right, moving on from there. Shout out to this new Cure single, liking this one a lot more than the last single, honestly. "A Fragile Thing" is the title of this one. The mix is killer, the bass tone is great, the guitars and tune are fantastic, and of course, just like the last track, Robert Smith's vocals sound freaking amazing. The guy, again, has not missed a beat in all of these years. If we get more tracks like this on the upcoming Cure album, this is going to be an amazing record, and I'll leave it there.

All right, we have a new one from Cordae over here, "Mad as Fuck" is the title of the track. He is hitting us with a bit of a braggadocious trap banger with some snappy refrains and some standout bars here and there.

And also want to give a shout out to to none other than Clairo, who is contributing to a track off of this new Margo Guryan covers compilation Project. And not only is the tune great, but Clairo is really going back to her bedroom pop roots on this cover, which I think makes total sense. Shout out to Subpop for getting this magical little compilation together and for coming through with a nice little piece of a Clara magic on this one for sure.

All right, we have a new one from Allie X, although it's not necessarily new from Allie X. It's "Off With Her Tits". It's a track from her latest record, which I think was one of the strongest tracks and singles off of it. But it's a nice punchy, very gothy, clubby remix of that song from TR/ST. I'm really liking this new spin on the track. I think it's quite a good one for the dance heads out there, the goth heads out there.

And finally, shout out to Ab-Soul, who is treating us to another track. He's been on a track with Kembe X recently. This is a solo cut, though, from the forthcoming project that he's supposed to have out very soon. Yes, and basically this song, while it may not have the strongest chorus of any Ab-Soul track ever, he does sound determined from the front to the end of the song. The horn-heavy production is absolutely killer. I think it just proves how clever and raw of a rapper he still to this day is. Yeah, he's still one of the headiest lyricists to come out of the TDE roster. There's still no question about that, especially given the quality of the writing on this track. So, yeah, check that out, too.

And that is going to be it for the weekly track roundup.

I appreciate you.

Anthony Fantano. Weekly Tracks. Music. Forever.