Bop Shop: Songs From Cordae, Whee In, Uwade, And More

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  Cordae: "Chronicles" (ft. H.E.R. And Lil Durk)
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=c6eK80vZ5aE
  
  
  
  Cordae sounds unmistakably warm on "Chronicles," in part because of the track's acoustic-on-the-beat foundation that sounds straight out of 2004. Yet even the high class of Cordae's voice emanates heat, one intensified once H.E.R. aids in preventing by for a glowing verse of her own. Lil Durk, meanwhile, brings the suitable counterbalance — a slight rasp — making "Chronicles" a banquet of texture. It's a rainy-day tune that sounds like a sun shower. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Whee In: "Make Me Happy"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=8nVyoH0ppmI
  
  
  
  It’s solo comeback season for the girls of Mamamoo, and next up is everyone’s preference vocalist, Whee In! Because the opening single off her sophomore mini-album Whee (and first single under new label The L1ve), “Make Me Happy” is the ideal introduction to the K-pop star’s new era. With a melodic piano and groovy bass adding texture to the track, and Whee In’s routinely gorgeous vocals taking center stage, “Make Me Happy” is the mid-tempo, jazz-pop song that she was destined to create. Accompanied by the vintage, floral-fantasy music video of your dreams, “Make Me Happy” is a clear expression of Whee In’s newfound creative freedom and displays a nearly palpable sense of self confidence, an aspect you visualize not only here, although while in the album. “Make Me Happy” simply proves that Whee In is in control, and we truly love to be able to see it. —Sarina Bhutani
  
  
  
  
  



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  Uwade: "Do You Visualize the Light Around Me?"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=UPnG_ClleVc
  
  
  
  On this extraordinarily gorgeous cut, Uwade explores an exceedingly ordinary human experience: having a crush on someone and not knowing if they like you back. Lush instrumentation and hypnotic vocal harmonies swirl in tandem, creating the best soundscape for the indie-folk singer-songwriter’s spiraling thoughts. “By your side / Indoor your mind / I’ve been looking all my life / Yet the sun is setting on me,” she intones. At the end of the day, the most we can do is hope our feelings are requited. —Sam Manzella
  
  
  
  
  



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  Adele: "Love Is a Game"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=oPmMUZbnc3o
  
  
  
  Adele instructed us to listen to her new album 30 in sequence, and “Love Is A Game” is reason enough. What a way to end it. The jazzy melody that opens up the ballad makes you feel warm, like you’ve grown up hearing it at the end of your preference movie or while in your parents’ home while in the individual moments in your past. The in general melodic power of the song is so captivating that it almost causes you to miss how heartbreaking the lyrics are: "My heart speaks in puzzle and codes / I've Been trying my whole life to solve / God only understands how I've cried / I can't take another conquer / A next time could be the ending of me." The emotion Adele conveys while in nearly seven minutes only increases in power, and her cheeky background vocals make “Love Is a Game” sound all of the more like a classic. Love is a game, and this song played with my emotions big time. —Alissa Godwin
  
  
  
  
  



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  Loud Urban Choir: "Bloody Samaritan"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/weMQ5awG5KU
  
  
  
  I didn't forgo creating a set of resolutions this year — I'm Type A, sorry not sorry — however furthermore, I also picked a song that I wanted to resemble my year. Loud Urban Choir's 2021 rendition of Ayra Starr's Afrobeats bop "Bloody Samaritan" is exactly the energy I want not only this year, yet while in my life. Lyrically, it's an elevated take on the popular idiom "good vibes only." Sonically, it's got a flow like water and manages to yield a sound that is mellow and tropically cool although it opens with an orchestral base before the choir comes in on the down beat. Strong vocals, a synthesizer, keys, and simple drums carry the song to its climax: "I'm feeling vibes on vibes / I'm a ticking dynamite / I'll blow your candlelight / You know I'm just that type / No oh, dem fit kill my vibe (No, no) / Dem no fit kill my vibe.” Good vibes be damned — this is 59 seconds of "supreme vibes only." —Virginia Lowman
  
  
  
  
  



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  Nilüfer Yanya: "Midnight Sun"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=Ax_tCstL-H4
  
  
  
  Just as an actual midnight sun could be hypnotizing to gaze at, Nilüfer Yanya's song of the same name finds power in repetition. She uses a muted, circular electronic guitar line to start the spell before switching it out for an earthy acoustic while in most important moments of "Midnight Sun." Whichever her chosen process of communication, Yanya's hooks are usually unforgettable. Your patience is greatly rewarded. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Boston Manor: “Algorithm”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=7q3TACPeInw
  
  
  
  British option metal band Boston Manor released “Algorithm” last September, a firsthand account of the pervasive pressures that artists face because the music industry continues its pivot to the ultra-demanding and fast-paced world of social media. This week, the five-piece categorize showcased its versatility by dropping an acoustic version of the song that feels more delicate and introspective than the original while the lyrics continue to deliver a powerful message. “I often feel pressured to be a person I’m not, and that sucks,” lead singer Henry Cox said of the lyrics. This impactful track should serve as a wakeup call for an industry that’s prone to sacrificing art and authenticity in favor of “content.” —Farah Zermane
  
  
  
  
  



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  Grae: "Room in the Desert"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=WmEYQ3WNLDM
  
  
  
  Alt-pop rising star Grae might hail from Canada, yet she’s somewhere decidedly drier on dreamy new single “Room in the Desert.” The trippy track is an ode to empaths and the never-ending search for emotional solace — its suspenseful production builds bewitching feelings up until she gives way to a chorus smooth because the room she dreams of. Her otherworldly visual is nothing short of intriguing as she moves bathed in red light and the occasional gallon of sand. I’d also be remiss not to say she’s in the running for most relatable lyric of 2022: “Is it bad I cry most days?” —Carson Mlnarik
  
  
  
  
  



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  Taeyeon: "Can't Control Myself"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=RccDIpx4ZMM
  
  
  
  Never in a million years did I expect to hear “Taeyeon” and “pop-punk” in the same sentence, yet if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. With the release of “Can’t Control Myself,” the Girls’ Generation superstar takes a calculated risk and explores the depth of her creativity and artistry as a soloist. Overlaying her emotional, self-written lyrics with a guitar-laden melody, Taeyeon continuously finds new and unique ways to express herself sonically, and further pushes the restrictions of what people expect from her. Released in tandem with a darker, more cinematic music video, “Can’t Control Myself” marks the begin of an exhilarating and adventurous comeback, leaving fans in eager anticipation for TY3. —Sarina Bhutani
  
  
  
  
  



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  Marlon Craft: "State of the Union, Part II"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/KRbOwd9cawM
  
  
  
  Rap has routinely been music's frontier for speaking truth to power, and rising stars like New York-bred rapper Marlon Craft are continuing that legacy. His latest project, “State of the Union,” is a two-part track to complement his 2021 release of the same name, which dropped ahead of Inauguration Day and opened with the hard-hitting line, "The state of the union is that there isn't one." Per year later, Craft is back for part two, which tackles everything from failures in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial to the overhaul of women's rights and COVID-19 cases overwhelming our ICUs. Conscious rap rarely gets the mainstream attention it deserves, nevertheless there's a long legacy of rappers — Yasiin Bey (formerly referred to as Mos Def), Queen Latifah, Normal, KRS-1, A Tribe Called Quest, and Kendrick Lamar, to name several — who convert economics and the social and political woes of our time to verse and lay it over an infectious beat. Craft is in good organization. If headlines and news don’t appeal to you, perhaps rap will. —Virginia Lowman
  
  
  
  
  



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  Soul Glo: "Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((By the Future))"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=c4vNQ3vEy24
  
  
  
  "Living on Juice Wrld, Pop Smoke time / I'll be in my future, come attempt to remove it," Soul Glo vocalist Pierce Jordan exclaims on "Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((By the Future))," evoking two dead rappers to underscore how it feels like the clock is often against Black artists. Then, he goes deeper: "RIP Chynna, Ms. Taylor, and Mr. Arbery / What can activate the rage that we be harboring?" If it's your introduction to the Philadelphia hardcore musical group, get ready for a maelstrom of noise. Stick around and find yourself obtaining the message. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Mitski: "Love Me More"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=P4J3Z9xgjWQ
  
  
  
  Mitski has been teasing her forthcoming album Laurel Hell (out February 4) piece by piece, using each track to show us different facets of introspection since the release of lead single “Working for the Knife” in October. Her latest supplying finds her at a more jubilant junction — at least on the surface — as she evokes ’80s sonic references to craft a dazzling plea for more affection. As she begs for “love enough to drown it out,” synthesizers take hold, almost literally drowning out her voice, and once again showing us why we’ve missed her so much. —Carson Mlnarik
  
  
  
  
  



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  "Weird Al" Yankovic: "Your Horoscope for Today"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=XjlD6yYq5as
  
  
  
  Once news landed this week that Daniel Radcliffe would portray "Weird Al" Yankovic in a upcoming Roku biopic, the initial thing I did was exclaim, "Hell yeah." The second thing I did was watch "Eat It" and also a couple of of Al's other iconic videos, and have a lot of fun mentally picturing Radcliffe embodying the parodist's idiosyncratic, impish spirit. I also listened to "Your Horoscope for Today," from 1999, and marveled at how, despite ostensibly being a fashion parody of third-wave ska acts from that era, it's so expertly done that it might sit alongside "Time Bomb" and "Sell Out" on any playlist. As soon as someone brings up astrology, I sing along in my head: "The stars predict tomorrow you'll wake up, do a bunch of stuff, and then go back to sleep." —Patrick Hosken