Yas, I suppose: Ariana Grande and Social House, “Boyfriend” – Ah, yes, just what I’ve been waiting for: a song about adult relationships that don’t need a label but maybe sort of do, depending on the time of day and how much coffee you’ve had! Lame jokes aside, Ponytail Princess’s ’60s-meets-’90s hair-styling in the video works for me and the song is a nice ditty that will go hard at karaoke, should you choose that adventure for yourself. —Megan Reynolds
Y: Brockhampton, “I Been Born Again” – The most contentious boy band in modern Western history, Brockhampton, is back in business. On “I Been Born Again,” it’s still the Kevin Abstract show—but the group’s countless vocalists take turns dropping bars (as a native Texan, I’m partial to Abstract’s “Texas ‘til I’m dead/BBQ and cornbread, like I’m cornfed/Here we go again, hit ’em one more ’gain/Screw up from The Woodlands) over a chopped-and-screwed track. I’m here for it. —Maria Sherman
Nah: Lauv feat. Anne-Marie, “f*ck, i’m lonely” – I imagine Lauv’s greatest claim to fame is, like, having a viral track in a series of TikTok memes. There’s no meat here, and “f*ck, i’m lonely” is so schmaltzy it borders on parody. Also, someone tell Anne-Marie to belt! You don’t need to whisper-sing a la Halsey; it’s evident she has the pipes. —MS
Y: Tiffany Young, “Magnetic Moon” – It appears that the next evolution of Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany Young is Kylie Minogue and I could not be more into it. Give her the world. —MS
Yes: Snarls, “Walk in the Woods” – There’s a long list of dreamy indie-pop-punk Ohioan bands I love, but they almost all hail from Cincinnati and Cleveland. With the very young Snarls, I’m happy to extend the docket to Columbus. I know essentially nothing about the group—save for the fact that they describe themselves as “glitter emo alt rock” on Facebook—but “Walk in the Woods” speaks for itself. After the first listen I was hooked, scream-singing the refrain of “I’m so stuck here!” and dancing along to its ascending chorus. —MS
Yessssss: Angel Olsen, “All Mirrors” – At one point in the music video for “All Mirrors,” the first single off of her upcoming album, there’s two Angel Olsens, and one of them is wearing what looks like a steely grey tinsel dress. But this is new territory in the bewitching singer-songwriter’s catalog, nothing like the tinsel-haired, roller-skating Olsen who appeared in the “Shut Up Kiss Me” music video. “All Mirrors” is sweeping, sinister, borderline apocalyptic, and yet Olsen sounds fully composed. She has said on Instagram that her new record is all about identity, who we are, and what we project into the world, and with “All Mirrors,” she just shows a sliver of what she has to say. I can’t wait for the rest. —Frida Garza
Y: Haim, “Summer Girl” – I can’t get enough of this song. It’s a slow burn that reminds me of (the aptly named) “Go Slow” on Days Are Gone; “Summer Girl” takes its sweet time and unspools right in front of you, building emotion bit by bit as the song’s sultry saxophone riff repeats over and over. Danielle sounds the most self-assured she ever has, her voice placid but bracing, like a cool dip into water. It’s perfect. Plus, how am I not supposed to love a song that sneaks in a line like, “I need you understand/These are the earthquake drills that we ran,” just as the bridge compounds with urgency?? The girls are definitely back in town, and I’m ready for it. —FG
Y: Jarina De Marco, Malcriada – “Identity Crisis,” above, is one of five songs in de Marco’s debut EP that you’ve likely already heard. That track, along with the new fun, bilingual “Knock Out” are the two standouts of the group. “This fool don’t know how to act/He’s out here trying to grab ass… Bouncer can take out the trash,” she sings in the bridge. The song, inspired by a true story about a brawl in a strip club is, she said in a release, “an ode to boundaries.” Just in time for the last month of Hot Girl Summer. Though the limited amount of new work here leaves me wanting more, this formal introduction goes down smooth with a sweet combination of thoughtful yet not over-thought lyrics and experimental rhythms. —Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo
Y: Brockhampton, “I Been Born Again” – The most contentious boy band in modern Western history, Brockhampton, is back in business. On “I Been Born Again,” it’s still the Kevin Abstract show—but the group’s countless vocalists take turns dropping bars (as a native Texan, I’m partial to Abstract’s “Texas ‘til I’m dead/BBQ and cornbread, like I’m cornfed/Here we go again, hit ’em one more ’gain/Screw up from The Woodlands) over a chopped-and-screwed track. I’m here for it. —Maria Sherman
Nah: Lauv feat. Anne-Marie, “f*ck, i’m lonely” – I imagine Lauv’s greatest claim to fame is, like, having a viral track in a series of TikTok memes. There’s no meat here, and “f*ck, i’m lonely” is so schmaltzy it borders on parody. Also, someone tell Anne-Marie to belt! You don’t need to whisper-sing a la Halsey; it’s evident she has the pipes. —MS
Y: Tiffany Young, “Magnetic Moon” – It appears that the next evolution of Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany Young is Kylie Minogue and I could not be more into it. Give her the world. —MS
Yes: Snarls, “Walk in the Woods” – There’s a long list of dreamy indie-pop-punk Ohioan bands I love, but they almost all hail from Cincinnati and Cleveland. With the very young Snarls, I’m happy to extend the docket to Columbus. I know essentially nothing about the group—save for the fact that they describe themselves as “glitter emo alt rock” on Facebook—but “Walk in the Woods” speaks for itself. After the first listen I was hooked, scream-singing the refrain of “I’m so stuck here!” and dancing along to its ascending chorus. —MS
Yessssss: Angel Olsen, “All Mirrors” – At one point in the music video for “All Mirrors,” the first single off of her upcoming album, there’s two Angel Olsens, and one of them is wearing what looks like a steely grey tinsel dress. But this is new territory in the bewitching singer-songwriter’s catalog, nothing like the tinsel-haired, roller-skating Olsen who appeared in the “Shut Up Kiss Me” music video. “All Mirrors” is sweeping, sinister, borderline apocalyptic, and yet Olsen sounds fully composed. She has said on Instagram that her new record is all about identity, who we are, and what we project into the world, and with “All Mirrors,” she just shows a sliver of what she has to say. I can’t wait for the rest. —Frida Garza
Y: Haim, “Summer Girl” – I can’t get enough of this song. It’s a slow burn that reminds me of (the aptly named) “Go Slow” on Days Are Gone; “Summer Girl” takes its sweet time and unspools right in front of you, building emotion bit by bit as the song’s sultry saxophone riff repeats over and over. Danielle sounds the most self-assured she ever has, her voice placid but bracing, like a cool dip into water. It’s perfect. Plus, how am I not supposed to love a song that sneaks in a line like, “I need you understand/These are the earthquake drills that we ran,” just as the bridge compounds with urgency?? The girls are definitely back in town, and I’m ready for it. —FG
Y: Jarina De Marco, Malcriada – “Identity Crisis,” above, is one of five songs in de Marco’s debut EP that you’ve likely already heard. That track, along with the new fun, bilingual “Knock Out” are the two standouts of the group. “This fool don’t know how to act/He’s out here trying to grab ass… Bouncer can take out the trash,” she sings in the bridge. The song, inspired by a true story about a brawl in a strip club is, she said in a release, “an ode to boundaries.” Just in time for the last month of Hot Girl Summer. Though the limited amount of new work here leaves me wanting more, this formal introduction goes down smooth with a sweet combination of thoughtful yet not over-thought lyrics and experimental rhythms. —Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo
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