Best Songs of the Week

When I was in high school I went through a heavy Grateful Dead phase, and I blame that for my absurdly short attention span. I spent way too much of my life stoned, listening to 20-minute jam sessions and saying shit like, "Oh my god, it gets so good at the 13-minute mark." After a minute, I was almost ready to skip over this new Caribou song, but the shape of the SoundCloud stream hinted at something bigger to come. Maybe I need to start working on my patience, because in this case, the payoff was worth it. "Can't Do Without You" is a beautifully hypnotizing song, and the repetition only makes the slow swell and eventual ebb feel more meaningful.—Confusion

GEoRGiA is London-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Georgia Barnes, who has drummed for Kwes and plays with Micachu and JUCE. “Be Ache” is her debut solo song, and it's a wild ride, starting off with haunting chopped vocals and suddenly bursting into life in a hail of pounding drums and twisting synths. When the hook finally comes in, it's a big one, hitting with the same sort of dark energy as a The Knife song like "The Captain."—Constant Gardner

Clipping. entered the scene as a group known for being abrasive. Their second record, CLPPNG, mostly retains that, but it's the moments where the records dares to be normal that it perhaps shines the most. Leading up to the album's obtuse finale, "Dominoes" incorporates a children's choir. That's right, the group that had the hook "clit in your face / clit in your face / clit in your face" on their debut release, are now striving for beauty with angelic vocals. Daveed Diggs' rapping flows over the pretty, yet mostly minimal production as well as their previous forays into harsh noise. It's a bit of a weird fit, but it fits well regardless.—Joe Price

When an artist like Kwabs, Sam Smith, or Azekel emerges, it's always interesting to see what path they'll take. As a talented vocalist, the easiest path to success is usually a more traditional one. On "New Romance," Azekel goes for the other end of the spectrum. With pulsing synths, horn stabs, and a jagged beat, this is about as far from a piano ballad as you can get. It may not be the Top 40 single that turns Azekel into a household name and earns him Adele comparisons, but it's the most interesting song he's released yet, and in 2014, the world is ready for vocalists to try out some new formats.—Confusion

Johnny Lloyd used to be in the successful British band Tribes, who split up in 2013. I didn't know that when I was sent his first two solo songs, "Pilgrims" and "Deadbeat." I just knew that listening to them transported me to a different time and place—the lo-fi nature of these songs and the timeless subject matter made it feel as if I was listening to some lost demo tape I'd just found in a dusty box in the basement of some old house. They still give me that feeling, and also the feeling that Johnny Lloyd could be a star in his own right.—Constant Gardner

We've seen Drake put together a major radio hits (see "Hold On We're Going Home," "The Motto"), but it's clear Drake is truly in his element on the one-off tracks he randomly lets loose. What makes something like "We Made It," "5am in Toronto," or "Trophies" so engaging is that they have no rules to conform to, they're made purely for Drake to have fun with, weaving in one quotable after another throughout each boastful verse. "0 to 100/The Catch Up" is his latest in this vein and much like the others, it doesn't disappoint. If nothing else, it's worth it to hear Drake rap, "Ugh, I run this shit, they like "Go Forest Run Forrest, run Forrest, go Forrest'" paired with the below picture. —Katie K.