Best Songs of the Week (May 19th, 2017)

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.

The last time Brockhampton gave us a taste of their second mixtape, Saturation, we were treated to a gorgeous showcase of their versatility on "Face." On "Heat," we get another example of just how willing they are to experiment, pushing things to the other extreme with a confrontational rap track that stands as one of their finest moments to date. The difference in their deliveries here is pretty extreme, most prominently with Joba's vitriolic appearance. Verse by verse it all builds until it snaps at the end in a whirlwind of guitars, and it's exhilarating.—Joe Price

Vince Staples season approaching. The Long Beach rapper's new album Big Fish Theory is on the way, and "Big Fish" is the second single after "Bagbak." It came with a memorable video and an uncredited Juicy J hook, but the star, as always, is Vince's talent as an MC. He dominates the Christian Rich beat, layering syllables on top of syllables and lines on top of lines in his clipped, precise rapping style.

"Compensation conversations what I'm all about

Took the smart route, never been marked out

Shoulda been dead broke, shoulda been chalked out

But it didn't happen, now it's time to get it cracking"

Vince Staples' The Big Fish Theory is out June 23.—Alex Gardner

There has been a Grizzly Bear-sized hole in my heart these last few years. No one makes post-Radiohead indie rock quite like Ed, Dan, Chris, and Christopher—2012's Shields showed they've become exceedingly comfortable in their own skin, a fact cemented when "Three Rings" dropped earlier this month.

Now the boys are back with "Mourning Sound," the second cut off their freshly announced Painted Ruins album. That won't drop until August 18, but in the meantime, we have this deliciously riffy and mournful track. They're in the pocket right from the jump—Ed Droste is sharing vocal responsibilities with Daniel Rossen once more, and they sound more confident than ever.—Graham Corrigan

Back in 2015, Los Angeles rap crew Villain Park impressed me immediately. Their Same Ol Shit EP felt simultaneously nostalgic and refreshing. Thankfully, Villain Park made their return this week as a duo—Bunge and Smoke—and shared their latest single "Regretz."

As expected, the new track features the same factors that won me over in the first place. The production provided by Smoke Dawg is gritty but simplistic. The punchlines are quick, witty, and are delivered with a sharp confidence. If "Regretz" is a preview of what's to come, Villain Park has my attention.—Adrienne Black

The "REDMERCEDES" beat bumps. Coming after breakout single "Caroline" and follow-up "Baba," Aminé showed us a different side of his sound with "REDMERCEDES," eschewing melodic flows for straight rapping. If the original was fun, the remix is wild, featuring the legendary Missy Elliott and London MC AJ Tracey. ​

Aminé​ just keeps winning.—Alex Gardner 

Since "Panda," Desiigner has kept us on our toes. He followed up that viral single with the objectively disappointing New English mixtape, shot back onto the blogosphere with "Timmy Turner," and has spent 2017 dropping a variety of melodic loosies. Some have been exciting ("Holy Ghost," "Outlet"), others not so much. Linking up with Mura Masa may have been his best move thus far.

The English producer's songs have been an instant click for me since 2015's Someday Somewhere EP—his production is on the cutting edge of electronic music with every release. "All Around The World" is no exception—Masa's muted vibraphone pairs with sirens and flutes for one of his most compelling beats, and the producer told Complex Desiigner's vocals were worth the wait.

"I like to think I pulled a very good song out of him," Masa said. "Originally we sent him the beat and he kind of sent it back. I think he thought it was an EDM thing and he sort of had to do ad-libs over it...It was just him (mimics Desiigner ad-libs). I kind of had to dialogue with him, just carefully kind of persuade him in a traditional structure that he doesn’t really do."

The Life of Desiigner is out soon, and "All Around The World" is the third single off Mura Masa's upcoming release. These two are ready for another huge year.—Graham Corrigan

Since he got out of jail, Florida artist XXXTENTACION has stayed in headlines. First it was the whole Drake situation, then he dropped a handful of songs, then it was Rolling Loud, and finally he released a Diplo collaboration. But last night, he finally shared the acoustic song that he previewed on Twitter earlier this month and out of everything he's done post-prison so far, this feels like the most significant moment. It might catch some new fans off-guard, but for those listening to XXX before "Look At Me!" blew up, it's just a glimpse of his expansive range.

"Garette's REVENGE" is an acoustic, rap-free, Modest Mouse-like song that showcases X's introspective nature and natural songwriting ability. XXXTENTACION is almost certainly going to remain one of the most polarizing figures in music—hero to some, villain to others—but if he keeps releasing music this good, he'll be impossible to ignore, even if you think he's a demon.—Jacob Moore

Having already opened for the likes of Bon Iver, Velvet Negroni has been making a name for himself slowly but surely. Announcing himself to the world as a solo artist with the delightfully strange "Levels," Velvet Negroni is sure catch the attention of many more listeners with his forthcoming debut album. Stark and forlorn, "Levels" is an absolutely gripping listen that has us very excited to see what he does next.—Joe Price

When we first got familiar with Rejjie Snow, it was his Earl Sweatshirt-esque moody and multi-syllabic rapping that caught our attention. Since then, however, he's explored numerous sounds and styles, singing as well as rapping over lush production or minimal beats. Rejjie's new project The Moon & You captures his multi-dimensional talents, and "Sunny California" is just one impressive song on a project that is best listened to as a whole.—Alex Gardner