Hi, everyone. Downthony Badtano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well. It's time for a weekly track roundup. Yes, my thoughts, my opinions, my feelings, my points of view on a bunch of songs that have dropped over the past couple of weeks, because it has been a minute since I have done one of these. Yes, but I'm doing it, Mom. Okay, stop texting me.

Weekly Track Roundup. Yes, let's do it.

Worst Tracks of the Week

We have a handful of those. We have a few. Bam.

New one over here from Amy Lee, Poppy, Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox fame, all teaming up on a new track titled "End of You". This song is essentially like an I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot. You've got the new actresses in there, and they're pretty much going through the motions and doing the same thing, and the same bad guy shows up. But then the lead actress from the last movie shows up and it's like, Oh, man, I know the cheat code to beat this whole thing because I've done this before. It just basically feels like a horror movie reboot. Yeah, it's fine. And I suppose if that's what you're actually interested in... Personally, I would rather just watch the OG movie. I would rather just listen to Evanescence, is pretty much what I would rather listen to, hearing it with some additional vocals and artificially pumped up riffs is just not really doing it for me, honestly. But moving on from there.

New one from Ice Spice and Latto, "GYATT" is the title of the track. I can't believe that Ice Spice allowed Latto to get off the first poop bar on the song. I find that to be pretty ridiculous. But hey, you know what? Overall, it's great. Nicki Minaj going crazy has allowed these two to be friends. Which I feel like is cool. That's nice. They worked it out on the remix, as it were, even if "gyatt" at this point does feel a little bit stale terminology. But yeah, it's not that interesting. It's quite boring, actually.

Moving on from there. "Brother". New one from DJ Khaled, YoungBoy and Post Malone. It's just some horrid country rap fusion that makes me want to throw up, honestly. So let's move on before I start losing it here on camera.

We've also got a brand new single from Tame Impala, "Loser", is the title of the track. And while on one level, I do appreciate that this new song over here is not as boring and as washed out as our first taste of this forthcoming album, this is just a very bad grating piece of, I don't know, gentrified funk. I don't know what else you would call it. It's just bad music trying to be funky, and it's not funky. The little tiny, blipping synthesizers sound awful as well. What happened, Tame Impala? How did we get here? The Impala is too tame. I really don't know what else to say at this point.

We also have a new one from Foxy Shazam with Corey Feldman in the mix. What is this doing in the worst? This must be some mistake. But look, I will say this is almost so bad. It's a good situation. It's obviously quite kooky. I feel like if there's one thing holding this track back from being somewhat decent is that the singer of Foxy Shazam, he can actually sing. He can actually sing. And given that, there's no reason to doll and pitch correct up his voice so much on this track to the point where it just sounds like a disgusting robot. What is this filth? This is gross. This is aesthetically horrid. Just let the man's voice exist as it exists. Again, from having heard plenty of their music in the past and presuming the chops are still there now, the guy can sing. Why are we destroying his voice? His voice is destroyed on this song. It's gross.

We also have something else, speaking of gross, this new part two version of "Somebody Loves Me", PARTYNEXTDOOR, Drake, Cash Cobain from their $ome $exy $songs 4 U album. Utterly forgettable track from the record, this new version of it – all it really does is draw more attention to Drake's cringe-ass lyrics on the track. I'm not really sure what else to say about it, honestly. It was uninteresting, again, on first introduction, and now it's just uninteresting and extra annoying.

But hey, we're on to the tracks that I'm meh on.

Not super huge on, but you might like them more than me. They are as follows.

We have a new one from Primitive Man, "Social Contract". It's a 10-minute monster. Frankly, I think they've written heavier and more crushing and more abrasive music in the past, but I do like the ethos and the messaging of the song and the music video. Look, if you're looking for this doomy, abrasive combination of death metal, and I already said doomy, but doom metal, give this one a spin. And look, if you're not maybe blown away by what this is, by what this track is doing, listen to Primitive Man's past stuff because they've got a pretty banging back catalog. I'll say that.

All right, moving on from there. Caught Stealing, new soundtrack that has, I guess, quite a bit of music from IDLES. "Cheerleader" is one song from it. Not the most versatile song the band has ever put together, but from what I'm hearing from the rest of the soundtrack, they have contributed some pretty cool cuts. So if you're into IDLES, if you're into grimy UK punk and post-punk music, you should definitely check out what the band contributed to this soundtrack for sure. It's out and about.

We also have Lady Gaga coming back, "The Dead Dance", a new additional track from her Mayhem era. The Monsters are going crazy, especially with the music video directed by Tim Burton. It's all creepy eepy, spooky ooky. Lady Gaga totally gothed out, and big Michael Jackson vibes coming off of the instrumental too; the Thriller heads will go crazy. And maybe a little bit like a touch of Dua Lipa in the mix, too. Overall, it's all right. I think there are many much better tracks on Mayhem that I much prefer. But Gaga's vocal performance is bringing on this track. I will say that the vocal performance is killer, not taking away from the vocal performance at all. The highs that she hits on the back end of the track are amazing, but the song itself, it's okay. She's put out better very recently.

All right, we also have Frost Children, "Bound to You". Not my favorite single of the new album cycle, but still, these guys are bringing back some pretty cool fusions of bedroom pop and EDM and MySpace core type shit. It's very creative and very eccentric, for sure.

We also have a new one over here from Elias Ronnenfelt of Ice Age fame, who has been going out on more solo outings as of late. And this new one over here, "USA Baby", I think has a lot of potential to it, but it just ends super abrupt. I'm hoping maybe it builds into something else on his forthcoming album, because look, I think it's a great track. It's a very eccentric piece of singer-songwriter music. I think Elias has a great, great, great vocal delivery. A very passionate guy. A lot of his music is just stricken with this streak of incredible darkness that speaks to me personally. And yeah, I mean, again, I just wish there was more to this track. I just wish there was more. All right.

Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo, have a new collab album on the way. That's unexpected. That's cool. But yeah, this first taste of it, "Radioactive Dreams", I'm not blown away by, but I can see the vision, I'm hoping that there are just better versions of it deeper into this full-length record when it eventually comes out, In the Earth Again. But yes, Hayden is known for his very slow, ambient, acoustic, American primitivist style of music. And Chat Pile is known for just this crazy crush and bash, spoken word noise rock, shouted word type stuff that is very nightmarish and dark. And it marries better than you would think on this track, even though it's not like I think the best stuff either of them have ever respectively done. There's something to it. There's a there, there. I'm not completely giving up on it. It is intriguing for sure. I'm looking forward to getting a listen to the rest of this album.

All right, best tracks of the week.

We have quite a few of those to go through. So get out your pad, get out your pencil, although you don't really need to. All the songs, again, are linked in the description box.

Let's shout out The Last Dinner Party. "Scythe" is the name of their brand new single, brand new track. It's a banger. It's theatrical string-kissed rock with great lead vocals and a solid song at the core of it. I mean, it's a very simple Last Dinner Party formula, but it works. It works once again on this new track.

We also have – I'm just now getting familiar with – Die Spitz, "Punishers" is the name of this new track of theirs. And while it's not as heavy and almost doom metal-inspired, I would say, as the last single I covered from them on the weekly track roundup, I'm liking the more almost punky alternative rock direction this track goes in. It seems like they have a lot of different rock influences to pull from. From what I'm hearing so far, they're playing to a pretty wide palette of ideas pretty effectively as they switch from sound to sound to sound. That is also the case on this new track over here, again.

Also, PARTYOF2. Brand new track over here, at least new to me. I personally find it exciting. It's titled "Friendly Fire". It's actually a banger of a cut with a whipsmart concept going on as PARTYOF2's two members spend the entirety of the track playfully, comedically, hilariously dissing each other. In a time of high-stakes hip hop beefs, we have two rappers who are doing it in a really fun, creative way that's highly entertaining and is just, again, just good, wholesome, playful, creative, fun. It's really cool to see both of them going at each other in this way. To do it so effectively and lyrically. And again, just with a lot of personality and wit, it's so good. It's so genius, I would say, for them to have embraced what is in the ether out there right now in a way that's totally different. Nobody else is doing this. Nobody else is doing a Hey, we're all friends, we're all in this group here, we're all going to diss each other. Nobody's doing this, but they are doing this. And when I say nobody is, I mean right now in this current day moment. Everybody has done everything at one point. Nothing under the sun is new. But I'm just saying nobody right now at the visibility level of PARTYOF2 is doing this right now. I'm liking it. It sounds great.

All right, we have the "Trenches", from Maruja. New track from them. Yes, it is a boisterous, intense, rowdy track that is all about just being motivated to get out there and just be fighting for a better world, better place. Love the passion. Love the thunderous instrumental, too. Wild stuff. Awesome stuff. Getting whipped up for the right reasons.

Also, Machine Girl, two for two on the new singles. If it has been two... I'm pretty sure it's been two. This new one over here "Rabbit Season" is also bringing digital hardcore vibes, great intense production, love the bustling electronics, love the harshness, just continuing to sound as solid as ever.

Also, shout out over here to Lexa Gates, "Passed It", brand new track and single from her. Loving the marriage of hip hop and then old-school girl group stuff between her flows and her singing as well and her witty rhymes. Just the creativity on this is a fantastic. Enjoying the hell out of this. I think it's actually one of my favorite Lexa Gates songs so far.

Also really enjoying "Sayonara", brand new track from Kneecap, some rowdy EDM rap type stuff, continuing to sound like not just a riotous group, but just a riotous, a riotous musical outfit, I will say that.

And Ho99o9, brand new track from them. They have a couple of singles out from their forthcoming album, which will be dropping on the ninth tomorrow, at the time that you'll be seeing this video, most likely on the ninth of September. Get it, H-O-9-9-0-9, Horror, the Nines. They want to drop it on 9-9. They're into the number 9. They're into Nines, okay? And this track over here is a killer one featuring Nova Twins, Pink Siifu, Yung Skrrt, almost like big Prodigy vibes on this, but like some hip hop elements mixed in. It's real cool. It's sick as hell. Give it a shot. And again, new album out very soon.

Also enjoying hemlock spring, this brand new track and single from her, "The Beginning of the End". This is actually, I think, one of her most wild, varied song she's ever done. It switches to several different palettes across the song's run time. I think even like some Chvrches, but also Red Hot Chili Pepper vibes in the mix as well with some of the licks. You'll pick it up if you've got an ear for it, I promise you. Wild combinations of ideas on this track, I swear, and it still comes out real catchy.

Also liking Hayley Williams, dropping this little extra track that came out last week on the fully formed edition of her new album. "Parachute", is the title of the cut, one of the poppier, more singer-songwriter type songs in the mix. Not as rockin' or even, I would say, as low-key as some of the other ones, somewhere in the middle. I think it adds a bit of an interesting narrative to a lot of the album's broader themes of loving somebody, caring about somebody, but simultaneously, that person isn't in your life in, I guess, a fully romantic capacity. It's not anything I'm going to fully dissect right now, but again, I do think the song adds to that in a very interesting way.

Also, shout out to Geese, brand new track from them, "Hundred Horses", the most wild, rocking, out of control single from this new album cycle so far. It sounds real rowdy, real crazy, and that's when I think Geese is sometimes at their best.

Also enjoying this new one from Galen Tipton, giving us some really jittery, really insane, really choppy, sample-heavy electronic music that is endlessly groovy and mind-blowing, too.

A couple more. Shout out to – just getting hip to Big Fat Cow, "Gremlin Goop" is the name of the cut. And it's just absolutely fucking – just insane, weird, left-field country, I guess you could say it is, with some real zany vocal bits that remind me a little bit of Dead Milkmen during some of their later era stuff, Metaphysical Graffiti and all that. But yeah, this, from what I understand, is one of their first big singles, and they're sounding pretty good out of the gate. Give these guys some support, for sure. New up and coming group. Support the underground, as it were. All right.

Ashnikko, coming through with a brand new single over here, "Sticky Fingers", is the title of the track, and it's got a bit of a 2000s throwback pop club vibe, Gwen Stefani DNA laced into this one. I feel like... I don't know. I feel like, I'm not going to say this is Ashnikko's sound, but it's a sound she plays very effectively into. So that's why I'm messing with it so much. All right.

And finally, Alabama Shakes have come through with their first song, new album on the way, first new record in a long, long, long, long, long, long, long time. And the track's incredible. It's amazing. It's fantastic. The song is really good. Brittany Howard's voice is just, again, absolutely stunning and mind-blowing. The band is grooving like a well-oiled machine. And if you're looking for a throwback, passionate, explosive combination of rock and soul with just, I mean, vocally, very few people out there, and I even raise this up to the mainstream, too. Very few people out there are competing with Ms. Howard vocally right now at the moment. I feel like this song is further proof of that. All right, Alabama Shakes. Check out that song, too.

This has been a weekly track, Roundup. Thank you for watching.

Weekly tracks, forever.