Best Songs of the Week

With FKA twigs new EP Melissa scheduled for release sometime this fall, we finally get the recorded version of a song that she has been performing live for a while, "Figure 8." It's an extension of the experimentally minded sound she pursued on LP1, with a unique approach to the beats, which include field recordings of things like coins falling on a table. FKA twigs shows no signs of slowing down, and the (music) world is a better place for that.

"Figure 8" will join "Glass & Patron" and as of yet unheard tracks "I’m Your Doll," "In Time," and "Mothercreep" on Melissa, which twigs worked on with BOOTS. Premiered on Beats 1, the song starts around the one minute mark.—Constant Gardner

From its opening notes, Ben Khan's "Blade (Tidal Wave of Love)" has set the mood. This is nighttime music, ominous confidence cloaked in reverb. Synths and drum patterns come into sharp focus, only to disappear four bars later, leaving you to wait for their uncertain return. Khan's voice is there to tie it all together, a hushed, reverential blur of broken-hearted declarations.

This kind of moody sulk funk is a departure for the English songwriter, but it's also a step forward. "Blade" is a song that rewards repeat listens, just as the young English producer is rewarding fans who have been rocking with him since the beginning.—Graham Corrigan

Madison, Wisconsin rapper Trapo is only 17 years old, but on "Cards & Conversation" he channels a raw, painful ferocity that you can't fake without going through some shit. In this case, it comes from a near-death experience—a car crash that he walked away from without serious injury. “Seeing how serious that car accident was, people damn near could have died that night,” says Trapo. “With this song, I wanted people to feel how blunt and real that experience was for me.”—Confusion

Clams Casino is such a vital producer and Danny Brown is one of the most consistently engaging rappers out. Together they make magic on "Worth It." Too many people still associate Danny Brown with turn up music and turn up music alone, but that misses his dexterous rhymes, storytelling ability, and social commentary.

On "Worth It" he hammers home his bona fides and goes on to question other rapper's (and maybe his own) lifestyles over a minimal beat that feels like an old boom bap instrumental that has disintegrated after years of neglect, and is playing out of a partially broken speaker.

In other words, it's awesome.—Constant Gardner

I have to admit that I’m a bit biased when it comes to Kwabs. Whenever he releases a new song, I’m convinced that I already love it before I have even pressed play. Thankfully, he has yet to let me down. Some of his previous songs have featured production that contained the same amount of strength as his own voice. However, for his latest single “Forgiven” from his forthcoming album Love + War due out September 11, he brought things back to basics.

Back when Kwabs was impressing fans on YouTube with his acoustic covers, the instrumentation was simple and played in the background as his powerful voice took center stage. “Forgiven” is reminiscent of those days. Kwabs takes a break from the complicated production for a moment and strips things down again to showcase the full power of his voice—reminding everyone that he doesn’t need any extra bells and whistles to impress listeners, his voice is breathtaking all by itself.—Adrienne Black

Transitioning from full-on noise rock to avant-pop has taken a while for HEALTH, especially when considering Death Magic is their first full-length in six years. In spite of all the time it's spent getting to their current destination, six years on HEALTH still sound like HEALTH, and that's only a good thing. Their signature zoothorns, colossal percussion, and spectral vocals are all at play on Death Magic, but so is a new weapon in their arsenal.

Taking the more electronic side of themselves they flirted with on tracks like "USA Boys" and "TEARS," Death Magic shines a light on the darkened pop sensibilities that have always lingered in the back of their music whilst retaining their savage noise-rock side. "Life" is one of the few moments in which the album ditches their noise-rock roots completely, and it's also probably the most memorable moment on the album for it.

It's not all that surprising that HEALTH are capable of crafting a brilliant pop song, but what is surprising is how blunt the lyrics are. Coming from a band with a history of cryptic lyrics, hearing a pre-chorus loaded with "Life is strange/We die and we don't know why," feels almost revelatory. Clearer than ever, HEALTH sound at their best on "Life." Plus, that fucking chorus knows how to stick around, goddamn.—Joe Price

There's a moment in a recording I have of Fiona Apple's "Love Ridden" that captures her sighing this huge sigh at the end of the song. It's the kind of sigh that comes only when someone has truly gone through some stuff. It sounded like she was emotionally exhausted. It sounded like she was defeated. It sounded real.

I played this version easily hundreds of times. It became such a part of the song to me, that any other version of "Love Ridden" was irrelevant. That sigh was my connection. That sigh was what made every word she sang feel authentic instead of some exaggeration of reality.

Now imagine hearing an entire song composed of moments like these. That's what kaya has done on "Analytical Doll Face." Sure, the song is beautiful, but more than anything it's painfully real. This isn't a place that's easy for most artists to go to, but kaya does it, and "Analytical Doll Face" is an impressive feat because of that.—Katie K.

Technically speaking, HAIM nails this rendition. It's lush and cavernous, and even more seductive than the original. But, and probably not intentionally, this is one of those songs that's got a little more bite to it based on something other than how it sounds (like sex, by the way—it sounds like sex). Their take on the Tame Impala gem transforms it from that of a desperate and exhaustive explanation of a man's own actions, to one about the trials and tribulations of dealing with men.

Then suddenly, the moment Danielle Haim's voice is pitched, Kevin Parker's song surfaces again. Weaving between these "male" and "female" voices, HAIM created something that, perhaps unknowingly, acts as a sort of commentary on the fluidity of gender. Then again, this is probably just my arts degree talking.

On a serious note, it's really a shame that "Haim" doesn't rhyme with "Tame," because otherwise, there could've been potential for a superband.—Joyce

Is this project even real? Yeah, it is, and it's everything you could want from a six-song mixtape of based freestyles from two of hip-hop's most positive forces. Stylistically, Lil B and Chance have little in common, but they both humanize hip-hop in a way that very few artists can. Whether it's a feel-good, fun-loving summer jam or something much more serious, they always keep it honest, and it makes them a couple of the most likeable rappers alive. On Free, they keep things loose, but there's just enough structure to hold everything together. "We Rare" isn't perfect, but it makes me smile, and I wouldn't change a thing about it, or the rest of this unicorn of a mixtape.—Confusion

One of the best things about an effective remix is that it makes you look at a song and say, "Wow I didn't even think of throwing that in there, but good Lord does it work." Donnie Trumpet's remix of D.R.A.M.'s excellent "$" is a perfect example of this. While the track was already a standout on it's own, Trumpet throws in some celebratory horns for the hook. On paper, you might think this throws off the piano-driven feel of the original, but that's not the case. Instead, it complements D.R.A.M.'s message, making the new version even more triumphant than it was before.—Katie K.