Bop Shop: Songs From Sam Hunt, IDK, Conan Gray, And More

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  Sam Hunt: “Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90’s”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=jgBJBRWrm8Y
  
  
  
  Modern love might be hard, although modern breakups are even harder. These days, a split isn’t merely accompanied by a damaged heart, yet by months and months of watching the person you once loved move on without you on social media. “I know it’s not a race, yet it looks like you’re gettin’ over me,” Sam Hunt sings on “Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90’s.” A couple of decades ago this would have been easier.
  
  
  “I wouldn’t have a clue what you been up to lately, or who you been up to it with,” the nation crooner continues, listing off the ways a pre-Instagram ’90s breakup would’ve lessened the blow. However alas, modern technology has only reopened his wounds. “Try to let you go, somethin’ routinely reminds me,” he sings on the chorus. “I bet breakin’ up was easy in the ‘90s.” —Jordyn Tilchen
  
  
  
  
  



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  Varsity: “Runaway”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=xVwlpV2GM-k
  
  
  
  Saxophones are usually not subtle. They make big, brassy sounds the aural equivalent of neon arrows, pointing to a particular musical phrase. That’s why the sly deployment of a sax on Varsity’s “Runaway” feels so key — right following the Chicago musical group wraps its first chorus, the wily sax solo slides in to underscore the song’s in general slickness. “Runaway” is a groove without it, although the addition of tasteful horn makes this one feel memorable. Needless to say, this is all on Varsity’s foundation. Without Stef Smith’s glowing vocals plus a genuine strutting rhythm from the rest of the musical group, that reedy skronk wouldn’t have much to embellish in the initial place. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Girl in Red: “Bad Idea!”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=eGAIqkjAtUQ
  
  
  
  We've all been there. We've all gotten involved in relationships we know we shouldn't have. Why? A momentary lapse of reason, an overpowering necessary for someone that you can't quite shake? Some days it feels good to be bad, and the only way to achieve that addictive state of mind is by getting tangled up with someone who's terrible for you in each way.
  
  
  Although, like Girl in Red demonstrates in this melancholy, deceptively upbeat rocker, it's OK because they tell you that you're "so pretty it hurts." And in the moment, that's all that really matters, right? Relive the exact moment you realized pursuing this messy affair was detrimental to your mental health… and whenever you determined it just didn’t matter anymore because you were all in. —Brittany Vincent
  
  
  
  
  



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  IDK: “In My White Tee”
  
  
  
  
  
  Who gets more surgical with his rhymes than IDK? The rapper’s latest, “In My White Tee,” comes with a black-and-white video that gives the video a classic look. Nevertheless rest assured, they weren’t rapping like this back day. In case you were to reanimate a corpse with hellfire and give it a microphone, they still wouldn’t have the ability to redesign IDK’s “In My White Tee.” —Trey Alston
  
  
  
  
  



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  Conan Gray: “Wish You Were Sober”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=hEDBZtmKPmg
  
  
  
  All it takes is the first lyric of Conan Gray’s new single, and I’m back in high school: “This party’s shit / Wish we might dip.” The sad-boi hours pop starlet may have only released his debut album Kid Krow in March, yet he’s already YouTube royalty, having procured co-signs from the likes of Taylor Swift. He transports us to one of these parties that feels more like a horror movie with “Wish You Were Sober,” as indiscretions, unsung feelings, and alcoholic beverages mix for the largest kicker of a cocktail.
  
  
  It’s all build-up for the most anthemic chorus of the year, one that deserves to be screamed in a tunnel à la The Perks of Being a Wallflower – or at least listened to at full volume. “Trade drinks yet you don’t even know her / Save me ‘til the party is over,” he sings in a mix of dread, anticipation, and madness. “Kiss me in the seat of your Rover / Real sweet, nevertheless I wish you were sober.” Excuse me Whenever I go dig out the yearbooks… —Carson Mlnarik
  
  
  
  
  



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  The Beths: “Dying to Believe”
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/CkzI93Aqztk
  
  
  
  Be it soundtracking your residence physical training routine, performing while in Zoom karaoke, or just beginning a spontaneous one-person dance party to shake out the malaise of isolation, The Beths’s newest banger couldn’t have come at a higher end time. It’s a relentlessly upbeat barrage of electric guitar, punk drums, and sing-along vocal hooks that’s done before you know it, begging for you to hit the repeat button and begin it over. The New Zealand band’s sophomore album, Jump Rope Gazers, is out July 10. —Bob Marshall
  
  
  
  
  



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  Lil Mexico: “News”
  
  
  
  
  
  South Carolina rapper Lil Mexico’s voice slides over booming beats as if he were cutting through icy mountain winds on a snowboard. “News,” the latest from the melody-making musician, thumps as hard as it may, making use of the rapper’s smooth voice to soften the blows as each bass hit bumps against your chest. His voice goes low plus it gets high and as it jumps around its register, you’re constantly surprised at which notes he hits. “News” is a smooth listen. It’s something that I’m going to keep coming back to. —Trey Alston