Bop Shop: Songs From Kevin Abstract, NCT 127, Smokepurpp, And More

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  Kevin Abstract: "Baby Boy"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/3UPJGFT1HuI
  
  
  
  More than each year right after Brockhampton teased a new track with a cryptic, Jaden Smith-starring video titled "Let's Get Wedded the completed song has finally dropped, plus it was worth the wait. "Baby Boy," credited to Brockhampton's Kevin Abstract, is a bouncy dose of R&B lovesickness driven by a moody, muted electric guitar. The song's slow crescendo and soulful vocals showcase Abstract's songwriting chops, the end result as empowering in its sincerity as it is heartbreaking. —Bob Marshall
  
  
  
  
  



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  SHAED: "Trampoline"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=4h26oYuE2h0
  
  
  
  any time I dream of dying, I never feel so loved."
  
  
  SHAED's unique brand of electronica is like being enveloped in a warm blanket, although its lyrics are far from comforting, painting a picture of jumping on a trampoline and then suddenly bursting into flames right following the trees catch on fire. In another verse, the song illustrates falling into a stream and essentially drowning.
  
  
  There's something hypnotic about the tune as it presents its macabre verses with a singsong lilt, like dreaming of dying is something we all do on a daily basis. Its surreal undertones give it a sinister feeling that lifts any time because the chorus hits. It's sublime, rapturous, and fills you with hope somehow. The accompanying music video has the same ethereal excellent that gives you a unfamiliar, abnormal feeling – and it's one I love to envelop me, time and time again. —Brittany Vincent
  
  
  
  
  



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  NCT 127: "End to Start"
  
  
  
  
  
  Being a fan of NCT 127 is stressful. Just any time as soon as you think you've figured this K-pop order out, the 10-member unit surprises you with something truly unexpected. That's "End To begin the moody closer of their latest Japanese album, Awaken. It stands out because it's unlike any other song in their global discography. NCT 127 is an audience known for their anthemic, bass-heavy bops ("Cherry Bomb," "Simon Says") and in-your-face bravado, although "End To begin is an ethereal track that strikes a dark harmony between their stacked vocal lineup and their charismatic rappers. Rapper Mark, in particular, flexes his vocal chops and showcases a mesmerizingly melodic flow that I hope we hear more of on future tracks.
  
  
  The song itself is a declaration of a new starting, because the order sings that they're “ready for a new flight / time for slayin.’” It cleverly hints at an exhilarating new chapter for the sort as they embark on the U.S. Leg of their Neo City world tour this spring and get prepared to promote their forthcoming Korean EP, We Are Superhuman, in May. (Another major flex: They debuted the album's pulsing title track on Good Morning America this week.) So it's only suitable that "End To begin closes with a quietly commanding refrain: "The origin will start And I'm ready and waiting. —Crystal Bell
  
  
  
  
  



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  Smokepurpp: "Repeat"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/jEN1sdTNaD4
  
  
  
  “Repeat” is a success, largely because Kenny Beats is in back of the switches. The beat sounds like it was cobbled with each other out of different sized tin pans noticed in a heap of trash. Although even if it's rough and scratched, it has a certain polish to it that makes it chuckle-worthy and theatrical. Smokepurpp, long a rapper of simplistic tastes choosing easy metaphors and rhyme patterns, realizes that he has to rise to the occasion, that this dragon of a unconventional producer egg will hatch and devour him whole if he doesn’t take it seriously. Thankfully, he does.
  
  
  What’s coming out of Smokepurpp’s mouth isn’t what makes this is a novelty: It’s how it’s delivered. The rapper’s Tasmanian Devil-like flow is a step up from the lax, codeine-inspired fashion of his earlier days. There’s a practiced technical prowess here that makes it feel like an authentic developments, that there’s something to show he’s more than a flash in the pan. —Trey Alston
  
  
  
  
  



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  Amyl and The Sniffers: "Got You"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=g-X8QkqrDeY
  
  
  
  Much less of a bop and more of a soundtrack for vengefully pillaging your rivals' towns, "Got You" is a hell of an introduction to Australian punks Amyl and The Sniffers. Despite their propensity for fuzzy energy, the quartet started not in the garage, although as a bedroom recording project helmed by singer Amy Taylor. She's said "Got You" captures "that feeling get as soon as you first begin seeing someone and you're excited to be able to see them, no matter what shit they got." So, what shit do you got? Listen and find out. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Aly & AJ: "Church"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=pXpTOdVB-p4
  
  
  
  I know what you’re thinking: Aly & AJ are back? Yet I’ve got a newsflash: They’ve been back. The musical sibling duo ruled Disney Channel in the early 2000s and returned right after a decade with last year’s appropriately titled Ten Years. The two have routinely straddled the line between perplexing lyricism and pop sensibility, although their latest single, “Church,” is a bold statement of electro-pop holiness. With a subtle beat and an initial line that won’t quit (“I do bad things for the sake of good times”), the two make a phone call for spiritual cleansing soon after also several nights of bad decisions. “I need redemption for sins I can’t mention,” they croon through vocoder effects and haunting loops, “I require a little bit church.” A hint of sensuality lingers via song, prompting us to wonder if the two are truly in need of praise or a free-spirited bout on the dance floor. Yet any time as a song takes you this high, does it matter? —Carson Mlnarik