A Summery Ballad By Kim Petras, A Savage Remix From Megan Thee Stallion, And More Songs We Like

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  JoJo: “Small Things”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=gMO_kbYbrDA
  
  
  
  JoJo is back! (Stream Good to Know for clearer skin.) The pop singer’s first new release in four years is a candid peek at a woman taking stock of her growth, bad habits, relationships, and insecurities. As soon as you could spin tracks like “Pedialyte” and “Man” late into the night, the stripped-down ballad “Small Things” is the ideal fit for 3 a.M. Feels. There really are distinctions between big problems and small ones, and between “doing fine” and “doing great”; line by line, JoJo puts her walls down and lets us in, and we’ve never felt more with each other feeling so alone. —Carson Mlnarik
  
  
  
  
  



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  Overcoats: “New Shoes”
  
  
  
  
  
  Spring fever, Venus retrograde, two months in quarantine — for whichever reason, I can’t stop reflecting on past relationships. “New Shoes,” a recent release from New York-based indie-pop duo Overcoats, puts music to those musings. Vocalists Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell’s sweet harmonies are backed by bird calls along with a minimalist guitar melody, underscoring lyrics that are quietly profound (“I’m only yours if you’re gonna be / Someone who’s good, someone who’s good to me”). The soft ballad is a standout track from Overcoats, whose sophomore album, The Fight, dropped in April. —Sam Manzella
  
  
  
  
  



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  Kailee Morgue: “Wisconsin Ave”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=Gq1p_6bnutc
  
  
  
  Live drums on a pop song, in this economy? Kailee Morgue, the 21-year-old voice beyond genre-collage cuts “Medusa” and “F**k U” has invested in a genuine kit to help new torch song “Wisconsin Ave” really blaze. As she captures both the thrills and worries of a dizzying romance (a ring, a couch, a T-shirt), Morgue takes flight on wings made of glockenspiel chimes, pounding bass, and obviously, plenty of tight snare pops. Max Bemis once used “go analog, baby!” as a dis. Here, it feels like a revelation. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Store Front: “Fugirlzi”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=6B1UBtYg2tA
  
  
  
  If navigating this pandemic has taught me anything, it’s that no matter how calm I am as a baseline, on occasion, I still play hopscotch on the spectrum of emotion. “Fugirlzi,” a track off Brooklyn indie outfit Store Front's debut EP Task, captures that sort of frazzled composure correctly. The song, like several tracks on the warm, '90s-influenced collection, manages to be as calming and buttery as it is dance-worthy. Yet its message of complexity about the ebb and flow of relationships and the duality of one's own mind — wrought with belief and questioning — feels so suitable in a time once certainty feels about as much of a sure thing as a tenant on a month-to-month lease. “We’ve got something in typical / We’ve got nothing in common,” the hook beckons. “What she understands she understands she knows,” hits close to house because we’ve all been there; we’re there right now — sure of something up until we aren’t. —Virginia Lowman
  
  
  
  
  



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  Gum Country: “Tennis (I Feel OK)”
  
  
  
  
  
  I plan to will constantly enjoy “Tour” by The Courtneys, a driving getaway of a tune that throbs with motivation. Courtney Garvin’s latest project, Gum Country, distills that same electricity into a undeniable, Strokesian slice of escapism. At its core, it’s a modest plea to play some tennis, an eas activity that might also be the only way to feel alright at the moment. As razor-blade guitars coalesce into a wonderful ohm, Garvin repeats about a dozen times, “I feel OK.” So you know what? Me also. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Lennon Stella: “Older Than I Am”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=-KBh3fm6gFo
  
  
  
  Once you’re stuck somewhere between being a carefree teenager and responsible adult, it’s typical for your life’s trajectory to be a little bit blurry. Although, that’s never been the case with Lennon Stella, as her vision for her music has habitually been crystal clear. With the release of her newest single, “Older Than I Am,” Stella takes her fans back in time to revisit her nation roots on an otherwise dance-pop album. Stella wistfully mourns a childhood of purity and innocence lost to the reality of fame and adulthood. Her lyrics ebb and flow between wishing her life would be different and accepting that it never could have been. “Sometimes wish I may do something dumb / Be kinda reckless If I can / Mention I don’t give a damn,” she sings, “I’m older than I am.” It’s habitually interesting how the most intricately elaborate songs just be being the most universal, yet that’s just what Stella does best. —Sarina Bhutani
  
  
  
  
  



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  Peach Tree Rascals: “Not OK”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=JZfLQmfsJus
  
  
  
  The creations from Los Angeles creative collective Peach Tree Rascals are constantly buoyant and vibrant, with tracks about love, coming house, and good times. Nevertheless, they take a darker turn with new single “Not OK,” a marked soundtrack for being at rock bottom from its very first line, “Now I’m so done.” Past indiscretions come flooding back over an electronic beat that feels like you’re the last one on the dance floor, and the song’s glitchy lyric video hits even harder because the categorize navigates their socially distanced neighborhood at night. It’s OK to not be OK! —Carson Mlnarik
  
  
  
  
  



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  Kim Petras: “Malibu”
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/hXlgR4hJFGQ
  
  
  
  Summer is right around the corner, yet with most beaches closed you probably won’t be catching waves anytime soon. For the next best thing try Kim Petras’s new sun-soaked bop, “Malibu,” where the German pop star sings about Curacao kisses and Pacific Ocean views. Serving major ‘80s synth vibes, this is a brilliant tune to play as you dream about slathering on the sunscreen and breathing in the salty sea air. —Christopher Rudolph
  
  
  
  
  



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  Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé: “Savage (Remix)”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=lEIqjoO0-Bs
  
  
  
  Thanks to TikTok, “Savage” already felt like a song of the year even before Beyoncé got anywhere near it. However then last week, she joined up, announcing, “Queen B, want no smoke with me” at the best of the remix, and somehow made it even bigger. Thanks to Bey, Meg’s indelible staccato hook — “classy, bougie, ratchet” — has redoubled into a thunderous cry, exploding one of 2020’s biggest musical moments into something even more momentous. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Chvrches: “Forever (Separate However Together)”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=rPM0XL-ccVY
  
  
  
  Chvrches routinely sets the bar for contemporary synth-pop, and this special edition of “Forever,” a track off the Scottish group’s 2018 album Love Is Dead, is no exception. Rerecorded by every one of the bandmates from their separate quarantine bunkers, “Forever (Separate Nevertheless Together)” puts Chvrches’s ingenuity and infectious energy on full display. Are singer Lauren Mayberry’s bright vocals the light we need in these dark times? Discuss. —Sam Manzella
  
  
  
  
  



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  Del Water Gap: “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=KbcYxDZo2u8
  
  
  
  Exploring matters of the heart isn’t new ground for Brooklyn artist Del Water Gap, who routinely maintains a playlist called Background Music for Kissing on Spotify, however he’s taking the vulnerability up a notch with his latest single. What occurs once you want a lover to commit, nevertheless the words keep getting caught in your throat? Del Water Gap lets his folksy pop psyche run loose, spinning us around in a stream of consciousness as he realizes, “I don’t want anybody else touching you like I do / Like me / Is it OK?” —Carson Mlnarik