Christina Aguilera Drops a Smooth Summer Track, and Tove Lo Promotes Sex Therapy

By Clover Hope | June 8, 2018 | 8:38pm

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Yep, definitely, please, more like this: Christina Aguilera “Like I Do” ft. GoldLink: It is now very difficult to tell what Liberation, Christina Aguilera’s much-anticipated (?) latest album will sound like. This song, flute-forward and sounding very much like a track meant for a different artist, is a radical departure. If the entire album, save for the two singles that have already been released, sound like this, then we all will have won. It’s got a vague ’99/’00 vibe that reminds me of high school. While it will (probably) not be the song of summer, it is certainly the song of MY summer. —Megan Reynolds

Sure: Meghan Trainor “Let You Be Right” – Looks like in addition to liking this decent disco-leaning pop song from Trainor, the video is also actually fine and not of some weird kitschy empowerment vision. She still can’t dance that well, but it’s not as pronounced as with her previous videos. This is a cute, effortless summer single and video featuring gals dancing on a court, although it’s CRIMINAL not to have a roller skating sequence with a song like this. —Clover Hope

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Ya, my dude: Fleabite, “Nothing” – Without trying to write or read too much into the Brooklyn/Philly pop-y punk band Fleabite and their specific brand of energetic, messy, declarative self-deprecation, “Nothing” is fun. The rainbow claymation video that partners the song is also fun. The only thing that would make it more fun is if the vocals of singer Ali Donohue (who splits her time performing in Waxahatachee, another beloved indie band) were placed higher in the mix, and if this partnered some Aidy Bryant comedic short. Does Aidy know about this band? She should. —Maria Sherman

Y: Dej Loaf feat. Leon Bridges, “Liberated” – I heard this song in the recording studio with Dej Loaf when I wrote a Fader feature on her (in 2016, so this debut album has been long in the works) and liked its buoyant vibe. The video gets a little too saccharine to sell its message of individual freedom, but there is still something smooth and feel-good about Dej and Leon Bridges’ voices together. —CH

Fully into this: Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign, “The Light” – The first line of this holy R&B union is Ty Dolla $ign crooning, “Let’s have sex/but not without the foreplay.” Priorities. It’s the type of bounce and swagger that gets us through a long summer and it samples the same record (Keni Burke’s 1982 single “Risin’ to the Top”) that made Mary J. Blige’s “Love No Limit”) such a crucial rainy day classic. —CH

Hell-on, hell yes: Neko Case, “Curse of the I-5 Corridor” – Plenty of Big Albums dropped last weekend, but the one that I’ll be listening to in the long run is Hell-On, Neko Case’s excellent follow-up to her equally excellent The Worse Things Get… from 2013. It’s a dense record that mixes primal fears with primal longing, and its centerpiece is this seven-minute track that folds together youth, coming-of-age, mystery, regret, and one brutal yet poetic retelling of a (metaphorical?) car crash. If you haven’t been introduced to the magic of Case’s voice or her songwriting yet, this is a good place to start. —Claire Shaffer

So good: Tove Lo, “bitches” feat. Charli XCX, Icona Pop, ALMA & Elliphant – Each feature (there’s four!) on this remix of “bitches,” Tove Lo’s dissertation on lesbian sex, really gets her moment to shine in the track’s music video. The visual follows Paul Downs (Trey from Broad City!) and his girlfriend of four years as they embark on a hilarious all-day, immersive sex therapy session led by Tove Lo and her pop singer cohorts. The comedic timing and setups here are everything, which makes sense because it was directed by Lucia Aniello, best-known for her work on Broad City. Happy Pride! —Frida Garza

Y: Chelsea Jade, “Laugh It Off” – I’m feeling this new song from New Zealand singer-songwriter and Lorde pal Chelsea Jade, which shrugs off its quiet pettiness with a warm, ’80s synth-pop flare. Listen to it, then delete a shitty ex-lover’s phone number off your contact list with zero reluctance. —Hazel Cills

It’s not bad, I like it: Lily Allen, “Lost My Mind” – I’ve lost my mind trying to decide how much I like this song off Lily Allen’s new album; her delivery is deliberately slow and low-key, to match the subject matter. Allen has been outspoken about how long it took her to record this album, how it came from a dark, at times suicidal place in her life. Still, my takeaway from reading the press she’s done and listening to the singles she’s released is that I’m not convinced Allen totally wanted to make this album. Still this song is catchy, with its island-y keys and Allen’s hook on the chorus. The music video is touching and well-done, featuring Allen fighting with her lover and observing his trash in their bedroom; she can’t escape, even as she defies gravity and walks on the walls. I’m sad just thinking about it, and I hope she feels better. –FG