Hi, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, the internet’s busiest music nerd, and it’s time for a Weekly Track Roundup. My thoughts, my feelings, my opinions, my preferences in regards to a bunch of tracks that have dropped over the past week or so. They are all linked down below, so you can check them out for yourself and make your own decisions. Of course, I would never expect you to take just my word on whether any of these songs are good. That’d be crazy.

The Weekly Track Roundup playlist is also linked down below, along with our Turntable Lab link. We get a kickback from it, so use it to buy some vinyl, buy some anything. Our Patreon page is linked down below, too. And yeah, let’s just get straight into it.

Worst tracks of the week.

We have a couple of bad ones. They are as follows.

Hot Chip sounding more tired than ever on their new single of theirs: “Random Violence.” This is like LCD Soundsystem with no oomph, or like if the National tried to write a song that’s a little dancier but still has no edge, no nothing to it. What is this? Hot Chip used to make perfectly enjoyable indietronic and electropop music. What is going on here? This has no flavor, no pizzazz, no quirk, no charm. They’ve really lost their way on this single. I hope that subsequent tracks from this album cycle of theirs prove to be stronger, that’s all I can say.

And next up we have a Current Joys track over here, "Hole". “There’s a hole inside my body.” I’m sorry, I cannot with these lyrics. I really can’t. This song is a tough listen through and through. Rough writing, and the pitched vocals aren’t doing much for me either. Just not crazy about it.

Meh tracks.

Now for the songs I was a little more on the fence about, though you might like them more than me. Here they are.

New one from Skepta over here. Look, it’s got a good verse and a good performance from Skepta. It’s just a little short and trails off very quickly. I wish it had more length, more structure.

Also a new one from John Legend, produced by Pharrell, with Clipse featuring. I like the Clipse feature, but the Pharrell beat really needs to be retooled. We don’t need these really aggressive 808s on every single Pharrell beat, do we? I know it’s a bit of a trademark, but he can make other kinds of beats with other bass arrangements, no? I know he can I’ve heard him do it before, so why didn’t he do that here? Something a little more subtle, more appropriate to John’s voice and the keys. Instead, it feels really out of place, Pharrell's production really felt like a round peg in a square hole.

Weirdly, we also have Circle Jerks doing “Revenge.” Look, I don’t get why Keith Morris is using the band to relive his Black Flag days with this EP. Obviously, we’re doing Black Flag classics, like “Nervous Breakdown,” which is going to be on the EP when it finally comes out. You’re not going to do a better version of “Nervous Breakdown,” however many decades down the road, no matter how much Raymond Pettibon art you put on it. So what is the point? What are we doing here? And if Keith wanted to do this, why did he not just keep Off! together, especially since Free LSD was a really good record? But I don’t know, whatever.

Hirona Murray goes further into the pop field with the new single “Watermelon.” I wouldn’t say the results are amazing, but they’re a little more solid and intriguing than her past few efforts. The music has a bit more of a pop flair, so I support it. We’re working out the kinks, I suppose.

We also have Westside Gunn with a new album on the way and “Zilla” as the first single from it. Again, it’s not bad. A lot like the Skepta track, it has great, eerie production and a solid verse from Westside, but it trails off very quickly. I wish it had another verse and a little more to it. Still, the vibe and the tone it sets are certainly solid, and judging by the length of the tracklist, this forthcoming project looks like one of his more substantive in a while.

New one from girl in red, “Missing Person.” If you’re looking for a straightforward, tuneful, lo-fi indie rock and pop cut, this one’s not too bad. I just wish it had a bit more oomph in the vocal performance and more interesting production to it.

We’ve also got ECCO2K, with a song that has really great, eerie tension going on throughout, but it builds up to not much of anything. The finish just peters out and disappears. I wish it had a crescendo or a finale or something for all that odd eeriness to lead toward in the finish.

Shout out to Cloud Nothings, who have a new album on the way. “Death Keeps Me Alive” is the new single, and it’s weirdly the most metal-sounding Cloud Nothings song I think there has been so far. This could grow on me in the context of the record. Upon first impression, I was a little confused, because it brings together so many different flavors of rock music along with some metal leanings, and it’s a very chaotic display. The performance is crazy, though, and they’re certainly putting a lot of energy into it. It might be a bit of a mess when I examine it further, but it seems like they’re taking some interesting risks, and I can at least give it that.

And we have Artificial Brain over here. I didn’t like this one as much as the previous single from their forthcoming album cycle, but still, few underground death metal bands today have that real technical edge and to them and still perform their tracks in a way that sounds so organic. It doesn’t sound produced too cleanly. It has nice, natural dynamics, and it’s not too stiff or quantized, which I really appreciate.

Best tracks of the week.

All right, best tracks of the week. We have a bunch of those. They are as follows.

Starting off with one I forgot to mention last week, so let’s mention it now: the “Expectations” remix from Olivia Rodrigo with Chappell Roan. It was a great song before, and it’s a great song now. Chappell helps bring a little extra pizzazz to this new version, which is pretty cool, and it has a nice, fun music video to boot. An awesome way to revitalize a highlight from the new Olivia record.

We also have a new track from Lambrini Girls, “The Basement,” which is an odd switch-up for the band. It feels a little post-punk-y and heavy, with huge, bassy, hulking riffs and sequenced beats that have an undeniable groove to them. It’s still very aggressive and very in-your-face, being that it is, of course, Lambrini Girls, but their punk rage is a little more sequenced on this one.

Kacey Musgraves is treating us to some extras from her latest record. “Weekend in Texas” is a cute, quaint little country tune that I enjoyed quite a bit. It’s a more interesting and more solid cut than some of the ballads off her recent records, so it’s awesome that it’s seeing the light of day.

We also have Ho99o9, who are hitting us with a very chaotic track. It’s got elements of punk and, I would say, some digital hardcore, with aggressive electronic and dance beats in the mix and different vocal styles as well. Slay Squad is on the feature. This is an amazing, aggressive explosion of lots of different, weird punk, electronic, and dance styles, with some hip hop elements in there too. It’s really just a chaotic soup.

One of my favorite singles of the week is “Circadian Heart” from Hannah Frances. If you follow the channel, I really loved Frances’ last full-length album, not only for the songwriting and the guitar work but also for the progressive, ornate arrangements surrounding a lot of the tracks. It seems like she’s leaning into that even more on “Circadian Heart,” with awesome horn lines and really great arranged bits. Her vocals sound even bolder and more eccentric than they did on the last album. This is shaping up to be one of the more interesting singer-songwriter releases to drop soon, so keep a lookout for Frances for sure.

Soul Glo are treating us to some really awesome hardcore punk on this latest single, “People Worried.” If you’re into really frantic hardcore with vocals and tempos reminiscent of classic acts like Bad Brains, you won’t want to miss anything Soul Glo are doing with this album cycle, or anything they’ve done in the past.

We also have one from Erick the Architect, a crazy crossover with Fergie Baby and Ghostface Killah. It’s got incredible energy, lots of switch-ups, lots of dynamics, and multiple phases. I’m really looking forward to his new record if it’s going to be this creative and unpredictable.

We’ve also got Deki Alem, who have come through again. I’ve been hyping these guys up since they dropped a project not too long ago, an awesome trip hop style release that brought in a lot of other stylistic elements. They did not disappoint on this new single, “Pretty Toes.” It is an absolute slobber knocker of a song, with crazy beats and rhymes and really aggressive dance grooves. They’ve got it, man. That’s all I can say.

Boldy James is coming out with one of his best singles in a minute with “Love Me Now.” Really great flows and lyrics from him on this one. Cannot complain, no notes.

Also loving this new one from Bicep. They’ve dropped a litany of singles in the lead-up to the double album they have coming out very soon, and this crossover has Lauren Duffus as well as SOARR in the mix. It’s titled “Gas,” and it’s got trancey synths, old-school electro beats, undeniable grooves, great energy, and great progression. I like what they’re doing on this one quite a bit. Looking forward to that new album.

And finally, shout out to Bassvictim for “White Flag.” This one has awesome, raw, lo-fi, almost bedroom pop shouty lead vocals and the bit of amateurish charm I found on their last full-length album. A lot of the beats and instrumentals on that record were maybe too thin or anemic, but this track remedies that with heavy bass and more aggressive, punchy drums. If you’re looking for some explosive, homespun boy-girl duo energy, I wouldn’t say it’s quite Sleigh Bells, but it’s chaotic and fun in a similar vein. You’re going to want to check out what Bass Victim are doing with this new album cycle. Great single from them, and a great way to kick off a new album cycle.

So, there you go. Another Weekly Track Roundup in the can. Thank you very much for watching. Hopefully you got some good recommendations out of this.

Anthony Fantano. Weekly tracks. Forever.