Best Songs of the Week

Jules Born’s "Alone in This Town" is the musical equivalent of a beautiful model dressed in ripped jeans and a baggy thrift shop T-shirt. With polished production, more accessible lyrics, and LFO-style sing-song/rappy sensibility instead of this funky mish-mash of retro styles, it's easy to imagine this being a legitimate hit. But it's not, and thank God.—Confusion

There isn't a better pairing in hip-hop right now. Killer Mike and El-P supplement each other perfectly, bringing out the best and the most intense in each other. On our first taste of RTJ2, "Blockbuster Night Pt.1," El's production is vigorous, more direct than ever, and supplies the clunking ferociousness that Mike's voice demands. It suggests an immediacy that's been dialed up for the duo's sequel album. It's obstreperous for the sake of it, proving that sometimes all you need is the perfect partner in crime to realize your true potential.—Joe Price

Caribou’s new album Our Love is out October 7 and it contains some of his boldest, most straightforward work to date. There are pop songs, R&B vocals, flutes, swirls of psychedelia, and beats informed by Dan Snaith's dance centric side-project Daphni. "Our Love" is a warm, house track, built around a chunky bassline that is orbited by various flashes of vocals, synths, and strings. If you like this, just wait until you hear the rest of the album...—Constant Gardner

Travi$ Scott released his highly anticipated Days Before Rodeo mixtape earlier this week, and one of the standout cuts is undoubtedly "Skyfall," one of two tracks on which Young Thug is featured. An in-studio video of Travi$ and Metro Boomin working on "Skyfall" surfaced online a few days prior to the tape release and had fans buzzing—and for good reason. The production is epic, the tuned hook sticks in your head for days off one listen, and as Travi$ revealed on Twitter, the whole song is a metaphor for old artists falling off and the youth not being able to relate—"Your shit ain't getting me high no more....". Not to mention, Thug comes through with an always entertaining guest verse highlighting his almost non-human melodies and vocal control.—Tim Larew

Every now and then, you find a new artist who you know right away is bound for big things. Grace Mitchell is one of those artists. "I’ve always loved making music and I foresee myself performing and writing for the rest of my life," Grace told us earlier this month. So far, so good. She's been writing for seven years, producing for four years, and her sound is already polished, accessible, and interesting. Oh, and she's 16 years old.—Confusion

Anyone who thinks all electronic music is robotic and soulless needs to get to know Gidge. Building from an electronic base, the Swedish duo create lush, organic soundscapes, inviting new worlds for you to lose yourself in for minutes at a time. "Norrland," which follows the excellent "I Fell In Love," starts with a horn (which was hand-made by Gidge out of birch bark) and unfolds from there, like a journey through a misty Nordic landscape.

Gidge's album Autumn Bells is out September 23.—Constant Gardner

SOS has moved away from the more poppy, post-punk flavors of their earlier days and in a more alternative R&B direction, but they can't hide their catchy songwriting tendencies and live energy. This has some understated guitar work that recalls The xx and breathy, pensive production, but no amount of downer vibes can keep an SOS chorus from getting stuck in your head.—Confusion

It seems like there have been an increasing amount of songs with production that sound like they could have been used for a score of a film. For Kelela’s latest single “OICU,” P. Morris produced a beat that sounds simultaneously sci-fi and aquatic. Before Kelela swoops in with a voice that is ready to hypnotize you, Le1f opens up the song with a verse that seems to sonically float right on top of the production. Le1f and Kelela’s vocals dance around each other in a way that makes you feel as if you are spinning in circles. Although Kelela’s voice remains delicate throughout the song, her soft vocals should not be taken as timidness—her lyrics will prove that. Le1f on the other hand seems to transform right on the track—beginning modestly then building up into a more confident tone. It may come off a bit subtle but “OICU” is oozing with so much confidence that after a few listens that attitude is bound to rub off on you. —Adrienne