Pigeons & Planes' Best Songs of the Week

With so much good music steadily coming through, it's easy to miss some of the best. To help prevent this, we've rounded up the best songs from the past week. Here are the songs you can't afford to skip, in no particular order.

Throughout their respective rises, Allan Kingdom and Kevin Abstract have made for a compelling duo. When they come together they always come up with something memorable, and Lines highlight "Fuck My Enemies" continues this trend. It's a little bit of a different collaboration than we've come to expect from the pair, focusing more on rapping than singing, but that's what makes it stand out against their previous collabs. It's great to hear Kevin rapping like this again, too.—Joe Price

Earlier this week, Beyoncé and Jay Z celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary. While many couples might take this time to share their special moment privately, Beyoncé generously shared a piece of her gift to Jay Z with the rest of the world. "Die With You" features the kind of tender lyrics that feel as if they were solely created for hundreds of couples to recite as their wedding vows.

The pairing video montage shares home video of various intimate moments between Beyoncé and her family—only making an already beautiful piano ballad into a true tear-jerker. Without being able to completely relate, "Die With You" has the power to make listeners long for a soulmate they haven't even met yet. Preview the song below and listen in full on Tidal.—Adrienne Black

Dave is a beast. The British rapper has been having a great year, but he sounds especially fired up on "Revenge," dropping punchline after punchline, and a bunch of video game references to boot. As much as you need to read the lyrics to catch everything Dave says, the most powerful line is one of the simplest: "I got love from superstars in America before I got love from guys I chill with at the corner shop."

The track was released with a creative video. Watch below.—Alex Gardner

In 2017 everyone is connected and everything is a group effort, but on JMSN's upcoming album Whatever Makes U Happy, he handles things on his own. He wrote, produced, engineered, and mixed the project himself, and his most recent single, the soulful "Where Do U Go," proves that his approach paid off. Whatever Makes U Happy drops April 28.—Jacob Moore

There comes a time within every 20-something's life where everything just feels like it's falling apart, no matter how hard you try. Whether you're struggling with the post-grad job hunt, moving on to Plan C, or just completely lost in the world, Michael Christmas' latest single feels like a much-needed anthem.

Sometimes knowing that people around you are struggling just as much as you can feel strangely comforting. Michael Christmas' "Not The Only One" was made to pick you up out of that discouraged mood. Singing along with Tobi Lou's chorus as he says: "I'm still fucking up all the time / I know I'm not the only one," is enough to let listeners know they're not alone out here and serves as motivation to keep pushing.—Adrienne Black

Michael Christmas is heading out on the No Ceilings tour with Boogie, Kaiydo, and Kemba on April 18. More info and tickets here.

LEYYA are an Austrian duo with a malleable sound. Their 2016 debut album, Spanish Disco, featured spare electronic production and atmospheric vocals, but their latest single is a little different. "Zoo" is bright and bubbly, led off by sitar and soft singing, and anchored by a brilliant chorus.

As I said on Twitter yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up in one of those inescapable commercials sometime in the future. Whatever happens, LEYYA are making moves, and "Zoo" is their best song yet.—Alex Gardner

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As buzzing Portland rapper Aminé puts the finishing touches on his debut album, he's stuck to himself and avoided guest features and collaborations—so we didn't expect a random collaboration with British duo HONNE. But, somehow, the unexpected pairing works. Adding his unique, elastic vocals to HONNE's velvety synths, Aminé's playful appearance is a welcome addition to the excellent 2014 single. Most importantly, the mystery is solved: We finally know what that weird Fruity Pebbles clip was all about.—Eric Skelton

"No Way Out" is a damn near perfect song. Xavier Omär has been getting better with each passing song, and his most recent effort is a two-song release through Red Bull Sound Select. "No Way Out" follows on the heels of "Afraid," and benefits greatly from Hit-Boy production and a GoldLink verse. Everyone's hitting on this one, even the human responsible for that screaming saxophone.—Graham Corrigan

Chicago polymath Knox Fortune stewards his collaborators (Joey Purp and Cam O’bi among them) in search of something fresh. The resultant success, “Help Myself,” pivots between emotions and eras in sweeping fashion. Fortune first defines the Americana of the digital age with swift poetics, recalling a stunted romance cut short by ideological division. His play-by-play lyrics ride syncopated bass bursts, vivid back-and-forth observations between Boy and Girl that follow a tambourine’s tempo. The song could soundtrack a 2017 film featuring prep for a ‘50s diner date until gentle guitar melodies transition the first verse into a lovestruck hook with one line, repeated seven times: “I can’t help from going back.”

Maybe it’s nostalgia, not love. Or maybe it’s loneliness in the absence of late-night conversations about life’s little things. No matter Knox’s exact motivation, the chorus hits home because it likely rings a bell for many—retreading the same relationships whether right or wrong. To the point and boyishly innocent, Fortune and co. flex their muscles during a restructured bridge that would make Paul McCartney proud, introducing a gorgeous mesh of violins and vocal chord changes reminiscent of vintage Beatles tunes. The song walks a rare line between youthful excitement and experienced gloom, as if Knox walks by flowers that wilt on a sunny day. It’s a perfect conception for spring days and mixed feelings.—Alex Siber