Hi, everyone. Sleepthoyn Naptano here, internet's busiest music nerd. And it's time for a weekly track roundup. My thoughts on a bunch of tracks that have dropped over the past week. That's the deal. That's the video. That's what we're going to do. So let's go ahead and do it. All right.

Worst tracks of the week.

We have a handful. We have a few. They are...

New one from twenty one pilots. New album on the way, but not really crazy about the new single, as it just feels like they are borrowing too many ideas from the Linkin Park playbook not putting all of an interesting spin on them, to be honest.

Well, we also have M.I.A., who is sounding absolutely horrendous on this terribly produced and recorded new song, "Safe". I have no idea why this exists. She is basically ruining her legacy at this point for no reason whatsoever.

And we also have Between the Buried and Me, who have come through with this long, progressive, goofy and strange single from their forthcoming project, The Blue Nowhere, that is just one of the zaniest things I think I've ever heard them do. Just seems like, I don't know, Mr. Bungle, but unlikable or something. I'm just really not into it, unfortunately. Could not make it through this one.

The songs I was meh on.

Not crazy about, but hey, maybe there's something to them. Maybe you'll like them more than me. Here they are. Bam.

A new one from our indie folk nodern gods, though not sounding so folksy on this new track over here. That would be Big Thief, this new song that they've dropped, "Incomprehensible", from their forthcoming LP, which seems like a lot more pared down than their last album, which was massive, obviously. It sounds like from this one, they are going in more of a dreamy, moody, indie rock direction, like from their UFOF era, which is personally not my favorite section of Big Thief's catalog. But given that that's really where they built up a lot of their sound and their original audience, there may be some longtime fans who are excited to hear them head back in this direction. So it could be a cool thing for them to do on this LP if more songs on it shape up like this one, even if, again, I'm not all too crazy about it.

We also have Sabrina Carpenter, "Manchild", brand new single from her, or at least a holdover from the week previous. And yeah, I think it's okay. It's got a catchy chorus, decent synthy production, sounds Wham-inspired. A lot of music out there these days like this. Personally, I just felt like the verses were just maybe too theatrical, and the lyrics felt like, I don't know, just bumper sticker sloganeering about how dumb men can be, as opposed to drawing from a personal experience like I know a lot of Sabrina's previous tracks have tended to. It just feels like she's feeding red meat to her audience, essentially. It's like, I know my audience wants exactly this, so I'm just going to give it to them in the purest, most straightforward, most impersonal form. And that's what "Manchild" is to my ears. Moving on from there.

New one from Panda Bear, non-album single that reiterates a lot of the sounds and vibes and energy of many tracks from his latest record, Sinister Grift. Although I don't really think it holds much of a candle to some of the best tracks on that record. It's very vintage and very garage-y, maybe a little Dave Clark Five-inspired, but the guitars are grating. The tune's repetitive. Song is weak. Again, the vibes are there, but I don't think it's one of the strongest songs to come out of this era. That's not to say, again, that it's an awful or super lackluster track, because in my opinion, Sinister Griff is an incredible record, and truly, Panda Bear's best solo work yet. Coming out with another track, an extra, that is as good or better than a lot of the core songs on that record, is already a tall order in itself. So no shade whatsoever.

All right, we have Logic, who came through with an interesting spin on this vintage verse of his, where he's presenting an older rap performance, then he's rapping with it as his current self, like a feature, which is cute, it's cool, it's interesting. Love the Dilla callback and the sample on the instrumental. That's cool, too. Just the transphobic bar in 2025 just hit and real weird. It just comes out of nowhere and seems totally unnecessary. I don't know, man. It's just doing too much.

"Bye Bye 25!", Kim Gordon gives us a revision of a single off of her last record, which is okay. I prefer the original, but I get where the messaging on this new one is coming from. It's fair.

We've also got Kevin Abstract teaming up with Dominic Fike on a brand new track over here, "Geezer". And this is just pure '90s, acoustic hip hop, rock pop fusion. It's like a little Beck. It's a little Sublime, but it doesn't really bring to the table anything that made those artists even the slightest bit subversive for their time. I don't know. I mean, I think it's got some good intentions behind it and some funky beats, but I feel like it just needed a little more something else.

Moving on from there, though, we have a new one from Kehlani, "Folded". Interesting little R&B cut about folding the clothes of your partner when you're breaking up and things are ending. Not a bad vibe for sure. A moody one. Absolutely.

And we also have a bit of an electro clash, almost like MySpace type throwback from Frost Children on this new track over here, "Control", which can get a little grating in some pockets, but it's still pretty hype, pretty fun, especially if you're looking for some nostalgia from that era.

We've got Cryptopsy, classic death metal outfit. Cryptopsy are back with a new album on the way. A couple of singles out. One of them is "Until There's Nothing Left", and it's a bit too regimented for my taste. One section of the track bleeds into the next, but I will say the drumming is absolutely incredible, just blistering in terms of speed and accuracy and intensity. So there's the most certainly that. I can give it that for sure.

We also have David Byrne over here. "Everybody Laughs", new single from him, which I'm a little on the fence with. I think it's got some quirky, orchestral instrumentation that is very highly likable, and I'm most likely going to be checking this album out and be very intrigued by whatever it's holding. But I found the vocal performance to be mixed too intensely and grating at points as well. I feel like the singing could have been given a better presentation on this track for sure. All right.

Best tracks of the week.

We have a bunch of those. They are as follows. Let's run through them. Bam.

New one from Sudan Archives over here. "Dead" is the name of the track, and Miss Archives being the super versatile artist that she is, once again, is hitting us with this lengthy, multi-phase type of musical experience, bringing together elements of multiple different genres all at once. And in this particular instance, I would say they're blending together so efficiently it's hard to tell what even the inspiration points for this track are, honestly. It's mind-blowing how creative and intriguing her music continues to be, especially on this new single.

We also have this group that I am just now getting hip to through this song over here, "Found You", is the title of the track, Stealing Sheep is the name of the project. And this track, anyway, in particular, is this crazy bit of dance and electro with this skeletal production. Lots and lots and lots and lots of bass and some really cool vocal chemistry and layers going on with some quirky lyrics, too. It's strange, it's intriguing, it's groovy, it's funny as well. It's taking the piss a little bit, I I think. "Found You", again, is the name of the track, and I'm loving this one for sure.

We also have shame with this new song over here, "Cutthroat". Man, this is like the most grimy and badass and groovy song I think the band has ever frigging dropped. I mean, I've been a little shame neutral up until this point, but this new single kicks absolute ass and is giving almost like a nasty Franz Ferdinand vibe. I'm digging it a lot.

We have Mark Ronson teaming up with Raye on this new single, "Suzanne". And damn, I mean, not only does Raye kill it on this track vocally, but her vocal style and presentation gives Ronson the opportunity to give us something song- and production-wise that's giving, obviously, some very big Amy Winehouse energy, which I mean, is obviously a very tall order to fill, but Raye has the vocals and the aura and the charisma to completely pull it off, and it sounds amazing. I'm very much looking forward to more crossovers from these two. Please, please, please, please, please.

We've also got Dog Race, a band that I have been excited about and celebrating for a minute on this channel as new tracks have dropped. They've just dropped a brand new EP, this track that we have linked down below, "Where the Barrel Meets the Badger", is the first song off of it. And the band continues to deliver unto us this really interesting crypt-keeper goth rock tunage with interesting synths, creepy, spooky vocals, and eerie, sinister vibes all around. I'm very excited for when this band eventually goes into album mode, for sure.

All right, we also have Quadeca, who has smashed it once again with another teaser. This song over here is his longest single from the record so far, "Forgone", is the title of the track, and it is this wondrous, beautiful, heavily arranged, multi-phased monster with spots that remind me of Grizzly Bear, beautiful and gorgeous forlorn piano balladry as well, that's a little, I would say Bright Eyes and Leonard Cohen coded. A lot of different influences in this track, all of them being pulled off well and beautifully, and it's a lengthy and immersive one to boot.

All right, we also have Ninajirachi, "Fuck My Computer", track about fucking your computer. That is very funny, very witty, very catchy, dancy, clever. Skeletal production on it, too, which I most definitely appreciate, though some of the glitchy bits are most definitely appreciated. And yeah, liking this one a lot. It's humorous, but also it's got something to it.

We also have another single from the forthcoming Matmos album, which, if you guys didn't know, is going to be all samples, I believe, of metal or metal objects, metal source material. And this track over here, "The Rust Belt", it opens up with these interesting, crazy foil sounds, and then evolves into this insane, layered, electronic sample piece collage that's quite mind bending. Most definitely check this one out. This one's intriguing as hell.

We have "WASSUP", Joey Valence and Brae, back with a new single. This one features JPEGMAFIA. And even though, yes, it's a little corny-warny and a little over the top, nobody brings that hype, throwback rap energy in the way that Joey Valence and Brae do. And Peggy actually fits into this track super duper well. His opening verse is absolutely positively killer, and I'm loving. All right.

We have a couple more.

Fever Ray with a new banger over here, which I am really appreciating. "I'm Not Done (Therapy Session)". The grooves on this one are ones you can most definitely get lost in, and the vocals are twisted and eerie per usual from Fever Ray.

And also liking the new Ethel Cain single over here, "Nettles", an eerie, lengthy country ballad that is super duper duper moody, and above all else, just like the Ethel Cain fans love, depressing. Yeah, most definitely a dark extension of the Preacher's Daughter vibe and sound, which I think is exactly what the fans have been hoping and waiting for for a while now.

And also, finally, loving this new Car Bomb single. This shit is crazy. Insane combination of just off-kilter, crazy time signature riffs and grooves. It's actually hard to even get a hold of what the groove is. Everything is so locked in on the track, and simultaneously, it all feels just so random and just improvised in the moment. It's just absolutely nuts. The band is ultra creative and just mind-blowingly technically proficient to pull off something of this magnitude, groove-wise, while simultaneously just sounding just mega-heavy, mega-punchy, and crushing as hell. The name of the track is "Paroxysm". Killer track, mind-blowing. Car Bomb, in my opinion, has never sounded so good, and I am hype to hear their next album based off of this.

Weekly track roundup in the can. Hopefully, you got some good recommendations out of this video.

Anthony Fantano, Weekly Tracks, Forever.