Bop Shop: Songs From BTS, Lakeyah, Aly & AJ, And More

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  BTS: “Butter”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=WMweEpGlu_U
  
  
  
  It’s comeback season! Ultimate boy musical group BTS is back with another Song of the Summer contender with the upbeat, retro, free-flowing “Butter.” Marking a true developments from the “Dynamite” era, BTS preserve their unique musicality and artistry while also pushing themselves to new heights both sonically and visually (hello, electric blue hair!). Accompanied by a similarly brightly colored, vintage-toned music video, the group’s routinely flawless choreography is, dare I mention, “smooth like butter,” and truly displays the members’ teamwork and synchronicity. BTS tend to give their fans the songs feel they require in the moment. Coming off the heels of “Life Goes On,” “Butter” is the best gift to ARMYs who are entering hopefully a much better, lighter, completely vaccinated 2021. —Sarina Bhutani
  
  
  
  
  



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  Lakeyah ft. Gucci Mane: "Poppin"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=b8AOEP21wVE
  
  
  
  Milwaukee rapper Lakeyah's latest album is called In Due Time, also it fits 12 charismatic tracks into a breezy 29 minutes. In other words, not a moment is wasted. On "Poppin," a propulsive and addictive cut featuring Gucci Mane, she flexes again and again, packing so several gems ("Bad bitches in his comments, I'm the trending topic") into a 2:34 runtime that you'll have to listen on repeat. With bars this good, you'll make time. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Vincint: “All Over Again”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=LdmU0_oOgl8
  
  
  
  Following a electric Song of the Summer contender with a wistful pop ballad isn’t easy, nevertheless Vincint makes it look that way. On “All Over Again,” the sultry-voiced singer-songwriter turns inward for answers about a failed relationship. It doesn’t matter that he and his ex “tried also hard to be happy”; given the chance, Vincint would fall back inside his arms and “do it all over again.” Against a pulsing dance-pop beat, the weight of that realization just hits different. —Sam Manzella
  
  
  
  
  



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  Mereba: “Rider”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=vHfIUaxr598&ab_channel=MerebaVEVO
  
  
  
  Few things in life feel as all-consuming and uninhibited as new love and tried-and-true love. Mereba’s “Rider” is a steel-drum dream, whimsical yet grounded by the truth in her velvety vocals. “World feels like a war / Tell me what living’s for,” the song starts. “Rider” asks and answers a question rooted deeply within us: If everything in this life is short-term, what is the point of it all? The answer: “Baby, it’s gotta be love.” The song beckons us to be able to see for ourselves. —Virginia Lowman
  
  
  
  
  



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  Aly & AJ: “Lucky to Get Him”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=ozZdauAu-bo
  
  
  
  Aly & AJ’s earnestly whimsical album A Touch of the Beat… drowns itself in the naive allure of escape: finding your way out from a furious world, from a painful relationship, to pretty places, to your own paradise. Although halfway in, “Lucky to Get Him” is a crux of the album’s storytelling, the moment to take stock, not just of where you’re going, yet what you give up in the process. It’s a soothing, glowing reminder that time is truly precious; while escape is routinely tempting, every choice we make to run, or to stay, has lasting effects. “Don’t be foolish,” the song softly warns. “One second can turn into a lifetime.” —Terron Moore
  
  
  
  
  



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  Japanese Breakfast: “Savage Good Boy”
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/mcoC5ZgaFjY
  
  
  
  There's something immediately unnerving about the strained, animatronic pitch in which Japanese Breakfast renders the initial line of "Savage Good Boy," the latest off her forthcoming album Jubilee. The singer wrote this song right after seeing headlines about billionaires purchasing bunkers, imagining a scenario in which a ultra-wealthy dude attempts to lure a young woman to live off freeze-dried food in his subterranean hovel. The rest of the song is peppy, up-tempo option, nevertheless as she sings "I desire to be your man" in chipmunk, it sounds like some shrunken masculinity with its balls caught in a vice grip. Michael Imperioli co-stars in the music video. —Coco Romack
  
  
  
  
  



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  Rebecca Black: “Worth It for the Feeling”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=Q6EGmNPRIek
  
  
  
  On this defiant, sensual cut, Rebecca Black insists on following her intuition no matter where it leads her. The viral “Friday” singer-turned-queer hyperpop artist is self-aware enough to know that the person she sings about isn’t good for her. Yet any time it comes to lust, some days repeating history “is worth it for the feeling.” Agree or disagree? Hit play on the song’s sultry, casino-set visuals to place your bet. —Sam Manzella
  
  
  
  
  



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  Bleachers: "Stop Making This Hurt"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=hQE0TrJbPAk
  
  
  
  Jack is back, although he never really goes away. Known more for being a super-producer than a solo artist, Antonoff still uses his grandiose and reverby project Bleachers as a place for his most '80s sonic impulses. On his latest (which does not feature Bruce Springsteen this time around), he utilizes his patented wiggly, synthesized impulses to nurse the wounded feelings present in the titular plea: "Stop Making This Hurt." The new Bleachers album is of course called Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night, and it's out July 30 — the ideal time for a windows-down, sun-soaked drive to a highway diner off Route 17. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen: "Like I Used To"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=5ibj87fwRaM
  
  
  
  what occurs as soon as two of the ideal songwriting voices merge into one? With Sharon Van Etten's earthy tones grounding the more skyward lilt of Angel Olsen, "Like I Used To" rings out like a sunset across a horizon — dusty, glowing, awe-inspiring. —Patrick Hosken