Jhené Aiko's Summer Anthem Makes Room for Joy

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Y: No Joy, “Four” – Have you’ve always wished your favorite ’90s shoegaze revivalists introduced some ’90s hip-hop into their song construction? Look no further than Canadian band No Joy’s excellent “Four,” another track from their forthcoming album, Motherhood. The video, too, is worth mentioning: in it, the band uses clips from makeup artist Ashley Diabo, an indigenous woman, and asks listeners to donate to Canadian Roots Exchange, Native Women’s Association Of Canada, True North Aid, and Unist’ot’en Camp, according to Stereogum. That’s something I can get behind. —MS

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Extremely my shit: Initiates, “You Haunt Me” – Years ago, a post-punk band from Stockholm, Sweden called Holograms became a particular obsession of mine. They seemed to disappear—as all the great ones do—before the world celebrated their industrialized charm, and I awaited their return. I’m still waiting, but Initiates is something of a continued story: Holograms vocalist/bassist Andreas Lagerström is now responsible for this alt-rock, post-punk project. It’s certainly scuzzier than the previous band, and gone are the vintage Moog synths—but Lagerström’s voice is as bone-piercing as ever, and I’m so thrilled to become reacquainted with it again. —MS

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No: Kygo and Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do with It” – No. Just no. Tina Turner’s original smash (its 12” remix in particular) is already Balearic as fuck. This is cheaper than Turner’s “streetwalker” look in the song’s 1984 video. —RJ

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Yes: Prince, “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)” – Much of my education on Prince’s pre-Batman catalog came via the 1993 compilation The Hits/The B-sides, which placed 1980’s “When You Were Mine” within spitting distance of 1987’s “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man.” Before I pored over the liner notes, I assumed that the songs were from the same era, not released seven years apart, for their similar new wave sensibilities and superficially cheerful approaches to mourning. Well, it turns out they were. This is the second release from the upcoming Sign ‘o’ the Times Super Deluxe edition, and it shows that in demo form, Prince had almost all of the elements in place for a song that would go on to become a hit eight years later. I prefer the ’87 version for its indelible keyboard hook and dramatic/build-up breakdown, but this is nice as a flashback to what Dirty Mind could have included, an alternate timeline that is almost as satisfying as the actual one. —RJ

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Y: THEY. & Tinashe, “Play Fight” – This single from the L.A. duo’s future project The Amanda Tape takes me back to a golden era of R&B when Craig David’s “Fill Me In” was hitting right and Usher was doing that foot-roll skate dance thing in videos. Tinashe’s suave flow captures the same vibe, and I’m sure the promotional image of an old-school cassette recorder helps, too. —Clover Hope

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I don’t know why you’d sing about being rich and in the club right now but sure, ok: Tinashe, “Rascal (Superstar)” – Tinashe’s new song is apparently about being really rich and waiting for the valet to pull up with your “Nascar fast car.” That’s a perfectly fine sentiment, I guess, if we weren’t currently living through These Modern Times. An argument could be made that music doesn’t need to appeal to its current historical context, and that argument would be correct. So are my musical tastes just changing? This song has all the elements of a “good” Tinashe song: speak-singing, slick percussion, a delightfully choreographed accompanying music video. So what’s missing? Probably my own appetite for this tried and true formula, considering her last round of album singles all banked on this same approach. Or, probably because I can’t get her “Die a Little Bit” remix, courtesy of Zhu, out of my brain. Do more of that Tinashe, and less of this. Or continue to do both. I’ll definitely still listen to it anyway! —Joan Summers