Hey, hi, and hello, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, Internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well. And it's time for a weekly track roundup. All my thoughts, my opinions, my feelings on a grouping of songs that have dropped over the past week or so.

Worst Tracks of the Week.

Let's get into it. We have quite a few to go over more than I would like, but it is what it is. All right, starting off with...

Yeah, this is going to be Sleep Token here. A new track, "Emergence", is the title of this one. Do we still need to pretend this is a band that's good? Do we still need to be doing that? This just sounds like EDM with bad metal guitars and just worse vocals, generic. If these vocals were coming straight out of the alternative metal era they are so obviously inspired by, they would not stand out in the sea of bands. Again, clearly inspired by them. These are the most generic alt metal vocals I have heard in quite a while. And again, just very glossy, almost EDM-type production with very basic boring prog metal guitars. What is the point? What is the appeal? And also it's long, it's dreary, it's draining. Pass. We are passing, hard passing on this, hard pass.

Moving on from there. We have Timbaland and Alejandro Aranda, who I feel like made three different songs on this one song, and no one element of those three different songs, respectively, come together sensibly or coherently. This is really like a go back to the drawing board tight moment, we can say that with "Love Again".

We have Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco teasing toward their upcoming collab album with another single, "Sunset Boulevard". Ms. Gomez is a perfectly capable singer. Why absolutely destroy and muddy up her vocals with all the pitching and all the effects in the way that they do? It just makes the singing sound unlistenable, frankly. Instrumental – really plain, really I'm not really sure what they were trying to do on this one. At least with the Gracie Abrams one, I could see what they're going for there with the straightforward pop rock style. The cutesy little acoustic number they put out before that was very early 2010s YouTuber core, but there was an appeal there. This just sounds sloppy. Not really getting the appeal.

Lizzo putting together some TJ Maxx disco on this new one over here. Still bad. Not really feeling the vibe on this one. It just sounds too formulaic. If you're looking for some disco nostalgia, there are better options out there in the world. I'll say that.

And finally, Calvin Harris has decided to go country on this new track over here, "Smoke the Pain Away". And yeah, it just sounds like a bad combination of super commercial dance music and super commercial country. And I don't know. I certainly don't need that. I don't know if the world does. Maybe this is what the world needs right now. I know I don't, and that's why I'm passing.

And oh, Amine also has a new one now. "Familiar" is the title of this one. And look, I'm not exactly against Amine continuing to experiment more and more with beats that are a little more melodic and a little more dance-centric and really experimenting with his vocal style more. But if he is going to do that, I would insist that he do it in such a way where his vocals are actually distinct and recognizable. I feel like he has drifted so far away from his trademark sound at this point, and his vocals are so heavily altered on this track that it doesn't even really sound like an Amine song. It just sounds like very bland Spotify wallpaper that comes and goes in a flash. The song structure, the songwriting itself is really nothing to speak of either. It's just a very short, unremarkable little track, and I feel like his talents far exceed what is displayed on this song here, and I'll leave it there.

All right.

Meh, the tracks I was on the fence with.

They are as follows. You may like them more than me, though. Here we go.

We have a new one over here from Ty Segall, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, rock nostalgist extraordinare, has a new album on the way, and this track over here sees him once again bringing us some '60s garage rock vibes, but with almost like an aggressive song structure, a lot of different shifts across the track as well. I think it's okay. I have been lately preferring much of the stuff from his lofi era more than what he has been putting out as of late. But what I can say about his latest material, including this track over here, "Fantastic Tomb", is that there is a focus and a maturity to it. You could argue his older stuff may be too rough around the edges for some. This doesn't quite have the same exuberant energy, but there is really a focus and a skill and a virtuosity to a lot of the ideas and playing. The riff change that pops up in the second half of the track is pretty fire as well. It's an interesting progression. It's creative for sure. Ty is still in his, again, throwback rock bag. Can't deny that.

All right, we are moving on from there to the new Lil Tecca song, "Dark Thoughts" is the title of the track. As you guys know, I'm not usually a big Lil Tecca guy, but this is not the instrumental I would usually expect him to hop on top of. This is a really cool 2000s throwback with a pretty solid hook. And while he does do his usual auto crooner thing on top of it, there is a sharp melodic component to it, and I feel like he makes this vocal style work over this instrumental better than I think one would expect it would in concept. So I can at least commend it for that, even if not head over heels for it.

We have a new one over here as well from These New Puritans who we have not heard from in a minute, but they are coming back with a vengeance on this new track, "Industrial Love Song", featuring Caroline Polachek. It's not so much an industrial love song as it is like a New Age-y type love song, lots of atmosphere, some decent vocal chemistry here and there, though I do think Caroline's vocals really do carry the track, to be honest. I feel like the other side of the coin vocally could have been a bit stronger. The structure could have ended in a place that had a bit more of a payoff, I suppose. But it's certainly enchanting while it's on to a degree for sure.

We have mclusky, who has come through with the track "People Person". It's a bit of a post-hardcore banger, though I do think some of the spoken word bits in the pacing are a bit off. Leave something to be desired. But if you're looking for some animalistic and somewhat satirical post-hardcore, make sure you give this track a spin for sure.

We have LustSickPuppy, "FGB", brand new track, bringing that industrial real hip hop sound once again, but on a track that is pretty darn short, honestly. I'm hoping that new singles and another album into the future comes through with production and vocals that are a bit bolder and not so no one note. But the usual baseline boxes for LustSickPuppy are there. They're checked for sure.

Okay, we have a Playboi Carti, new album, Music. It's out now. Just going to point you guys toward one track off of it featuring Kendrick Lamar, the one, the only. The song is "Good Credit", and it's been a highlight for many off of the album, though I myself am not as impressed with it as I think others are. But Kendrick's verse, while it is definitely a highlight of the song, generally speaking, I think is just okay. He's had stronger features in the past. It's almost like he's trying to bring a Kendrick Baby Keem type of collaborative chaos to this track. But I just don't think Carti holds up his end of the bargain, really. Instrumentally, it's okay. Performance-wise, from Carti, I feel like it's average for him at this point. That's not to say that there aren't highlights on the album that I enjoy. There are. I just don't really think "Good Credit" is one of them, as much as I feel like Kendrick does provide a bit of a necessary change up in the very dense tracklist of this album, and I'll leave it there.

All right, we have the HAIM, The HAIM Sisters back in relationships. A brand new track over here. We have "Relationships", we have F-bombs. It's pretty much like standard HAIM pop rock at this point. I don't really think it's one of their best tunes ever. I feel like the vulgarity of it all is really more the selling point than the songwriting itself is. But certainly, there's a consistency there that you can admire from HAIM at this point, and I'm still looking forward to the new record from them this year for sure.

Okay, we have the Callous Daoboys, who have come through with a very jarring and disorienting new track over here, titled "Lemon", that, honestly, in terms of its influences, I can't even begin to describe because it is just so insane in its amalgamation of '90s radio pop rock and a bunch of other stuff that I'm like, some of it I'm crazy about, some of it I'm not. It's a lot of rock genres, both alternative competitive and underground, that are being brought together in just a series of stylistic mashes that you just do not anticipate. Maybe it'll be easier for some to get into this track if they just don't really know the reference points, and it's all hitting them as a totally new, entirely original thing. I feel like personally, having perceptions of the various rock genres they're bringing together on this track, maybe there's some baggage there that keeps me just held back from enjoying this track. I can appreciate on some level that it's very creative. It's very surprising. No band is quite assembling these sounds together in the way that Callous Daoboys are on this particular track, which I can most definitely respect. But is it coming together in a way that I think is tasteful or effective or cool? Not particularly. But it's something I'm definitely going to be returning to before the new album drops. I'm curious as to how it'll sound in the greater context of an album that most likely will be a very varied release. So Callous Daoboys, "Lemon".

We have also 4batz over here who I can appreciate that he's switching things up a little bit stylistically from a lot of the tracks on his last breakout album that was pretty one-dimensional. But this just sounds like a Weeknd song, but a very watered-down version of one, like from the 50 Shades of Gray soundtrack era, I guess you could say.

And we have the best tracks of the week.

Bam, Bam, Boom, Boom, Boom, Bam, Boom, Boom, Bam.

They are as follows.

We have PARTYOF2, who have essentially split off on their own. They were originally a trio by the name of Group Therapy. Now it's Jada Grace and Swim doing their own thing together as Party of Two. They have a new EP out. "Mad Love" is one track off of it. It's a really cool multi-genre, multi-phased hip hop and dance blend that is hype as hell. Great vocal samples, great performance, great energy throughout. I'm really excited to hear what they're doing as a duo off of this new EP that they have out. This track, again, "Mad Love" is off of it. It sounds like they're putting their best foot forward with this new collection, short-winded, but still collection of material. So, hell, yeah. Here we go.

Next, we have Mura Masa, producer extraordinaire, electronic music legend, you could say, in some respects. "JUMP" is the name of this new track and single, and it is high as hell, one of the best dance cuts I have heard this year so far, so kudos to that.

We also have Lucy Dacus giving us another teaser to the forthcoming album, Forever is a Feeling. "Talk" is the name of the song. It's a heart-wrenching ballad and story, honestly, about a relationship that is really falling apart. Lucy, I would say, wondering about just the state of things romantically in a way that is heartbreaking. "Why is our best sex in hotels? Why are we fighting in their stairwells?" The song is spilling tea. It's a dark track. It's a dark track. Yeah, very straightforward drumming on it, too, that I think really sets the pace very nicely. Liking this one a lot. Liking this one a lot from Lucy. I think one of the better singles so far from this album cycle.

All right, we have Black Lips, "Satan, I'm Tired of You". A really cute, campy, weird country tune. Look, hey, you're Satan. I'm tired of you. F Satan, I guess. I'm with Black Lips on that one. It's just a fun, silly song, but it's also saying something, too. But yeah, band is staying kooky and creative in that classic Black Lips way.

All right, we have Lil Nas X, who was really feeding fans this week in a big way with not one, not two, not three, not four, but five new singles, five singles, five tracks. And I would say three out of five of them were pretty great. And this one over here, "Hotbox", is my favorite of the five. Look up Lil Nas X on streaming right now. All the tracks are there. But again, "Hotbox" is the one I would really specifically point you guys to. It's a really great, almost like Pharrell/Neptunes style throwback. It's very club. It's very energetic. Fantastic production, fantastic chorus. Lil Nas X vocally and rap-wise is doing really well on the track, too. So yeah, really pleased with how this one came out and liking to see a wider variety of influences going into Montero stuff, especially considering the past couple of singles just being okay in my eyes. I really feel like these five tracks, even the lesser of the five, the ones that I thought were just okay, were surprising in terms of like, oh, I didn't know he'd try to pull off that style or that sound or whatever. I really feel like he's trying to pull off something bold with this album cycle now. Really excited to see where this goes on the new record.

All right, we have Freddie Gibbs coming through the new track, almost like a freestyle-type cut where he's dropping a couple of verses. We got a lot of shots. Even the title itself, "Big Two", is almost like, obviously, a reference to the whole Big Three discussion and so on and so forth. Freddie is going off lyrically, seemingly has a lot to say, and is gearing up for a new album release as well. Freddie Gibbs, "Big Two". There we go. All right.

We have feeble little horse, who is back. First single for a brand new album cycle. "This is Real". The band continues to confuse me in terms of what band is this? Is it a lofi, indie, slacker, rock, noise pop thing, or is it something from a totally different universe? All I'll say is that the songwriting is on point, even though it is all over the place and very linear and very nuts and very over the top. It's hella creative. It's just like every odd shade of underground rock pulled together into a mysterious but delicious soup, a stew, a hearty stew. I'll leave it there.

All right, we have Chappell Roan, "The Giver", brand new single that she has been teasing, not only because, obviously, given just how popular Chappell has been, anything musically that she's putting out is going to be highly discussed and in high demand, but also there has been a lot of discussion around her going country on this new track, and stylistically she does that, but I wouldn't say she is really going super rootsy, rustic or anything like that on this one. It's very much like a Shania Twain brand of country, a very Shania Twain style of country. So you have those clear pop influences coming through instrumentally. Some campy bits on the back end ("get the job done") later into the track. Very obviously a flirty song. It's a big sexual flex, and quite catchy as well. I think she pulled off the country sound well, even if it is more of a pop blend. I don't think this is necessarily going to be indicative of her doing a whole country album or anything like that. But as far as a new single goes, not disappointing at all from Ms. Roan.

All right, a couple more.

We have Bon Iver, who I would love to shout out, who has another couple of singles out. One is "If I Only Could Wait", featuring Danielle Haim. It's a bit of a powerful ballad with some very strange, multi-textured production that's a little hectic, a little chaotic, but I feel like the smooth and very beautiful ballad at the core of it, which the vocals are really carrying the water of for the most part. It keeps things steady and focused. It brings us some cohesion to the chaos. It's a very beautiful tune, very beautiful performance.

And a shout out to billy woods, who has a new album on the way. Features Kenny Segal. "Misery" is the title of the song. An interesting narrative from billy because he mostly seems to be describing some connection or relationship he's made with somebody who has a famous platform and is wondering how he... I guess the difficulties on some level or struggles of fitting into that. I mean, it could be metaphorical, symbolic on some level. Again, I've only given the track a few spins, but still very impressed with the loose and layered horns on the track, billy's writing and his lyrical focus per usual. Love seeing him tie in once again with Kenny Segal because they're always a great duo. And yeah, enjoying the track and looking forward to just unpeeling, peeling back more of those layers as I typically do the more I listen to billy's stuff. And of course, always, always, always excited for a new album from him.

That is going to be it for this video.

Anthony Fantano, Weekly Tracks, Forever.