Best Songs of the Week

The idea of Abel Tesfaye singing a pop song co-written and produced by Max Martin, the guy who penned "Baby One More Time" and "I Want It That Way," is absurd. But Martin's genius pop sensibility and Tesfaye's MJ-channeling delivery combine for one of the best Weeknd songs yet, and a late entry into the song of the summer battle.—Confusion

The future bounce is back in full effect. GoldLink's latest has him picking up right where he left off—for "Dance On Me," things start slow but quickly ramp up to the woozy club delirium that the Virginia rapper calls home. It's a vicious reaffirmation of his top spot among rap's rising talents, and features some particularly impressive guitar work thanks to production from Milo Millis and Hasta.

GoldLink is about to head out for his first headlining tour, and it starts next month. As he explains in the first verse, "I'm an old soul and I write gold." Expect big things.—Graham Corrigan

For people only loosely familiar with Chicago's footwork sound, the perception is that it's a hectic, high-tempo genre that's suited to clubs and parties only. That certainly can be true, but don't make the mistake of pigeonholing the producers.

DJ Spinn and Taso teamed up with Hyperdub's Jessy Lanza to create a gorgeous lullaby that does pack some low-end, but is probably better suited for a late night looking up at the stars with your girl than anything else.—Constant Gardner

Judging off the delicate piano chords that serve as an intro, “Love You” feels like a sweet ballad. When the beat really kicks in around the thirty second mark, however, the song's layers really start to unfold. Knxwledge provides a beat that is equally hypnotic and relaxing. But it’s SiR’s voice that gets the spotlight, an undeniable and velvety main attraction.

“Love You” is the first single from SiR’s forthcoming debut solo album. He's already established himself as a songwriter for other artists, but it’s time for him to take a step out into the spotlight. This first single is a great start and a proper introduction to what he’s capable of. Thankfully, SiR and Knxwledge have a few more collaborations on his upcoming album. It’s clear after just one track that they work well together, and I’m certainly ready to hear more.—Adrienne Black

Teenage Atlanta producer/singer Demo Taped caught a lot of Jai Paul comparisons with his first EP, but on "Not Enough," he moves further in a more open direction. Instead of distancing himself with experimental flourishes and buried vocals, Demo Taped combines clear vocals with crisp production, strong indie pop sensibilities, and a melody fit for a Born Gold song.—Confusion

Not sure what it is about Kehlani, but I sweat her. I'm not talking about the INDUSTRY HYPE aspect of her being the "it" girl; I fucks with Kehlani's personality like I fucked with New New's persona in ATL. Kehlani's like two seconds away from asking Rashad to give her her damn chain back.

Anyways, she has a way with painting simple, vivid pictures with her lyrics, and those buttery vocals hook you; that's the hot breath you want teasing you during the grown-up hours. Linking up with Mr. Carmack is a no-brainer; he's one of the few from the SoundCloud set that's "up next" (alongside Kaytranada and Ta-ku). While those two have the ability to make that above-ground banger, Carmack's clearly there.

"All In" is the perfect soundtrack for many of my previous 'ships that ended up swimming into friend zone waters. You get to know some fine motherfucker that could DEFINITELY be bigger than "bae," but for some reason you can't get past the sweaty necking stage. You're ready to legit give this person your everything, but there's that hint of "will going in mess up what we have?" Throw this gem on, wallow in your sorrows, and throw a text bae's way. Send them the track. Discuss it. Or just fall in love with Kehlani's sensual tones over lush Carmack production.—khal

Most songs clock in at around three or three and a half minutes in length. I read somewhere once that this has to do with how much music a phonograph (and then eventually the 45) could hold, and over the years, we never really fucked with that format. So today, it's rare that we get songs that test this formula even with all the different mediums there are for a song to exist on. Track shorter than this are almost obsolete and those longer risk losing our attention.

But then you get a song like Travis Scott's "3500," which is almost eight minutes in length, and you throw everything about appropriate song lengths out the window. Because thanks to gritty verses from Scott, Future, and 2 Chainz and hard-hitting production from Metro Boomin, Mike Dean, Zaytoven, Mano, and Allen Ritter, you barely notice you've been listening to the track for almost two times as long as a "normal" song. And if this is just the lead single from Scott's Rodeo: The Album, I can't even imagine how massive the rest of the LP will be.—Katie K.