Bop Shop: Songs From Snail Mail, Wonho, Tems, And More

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  Snail Mail: "Valentine"
  
  
  
  
  
  The power of Lindsey Jordan's Snail Mail project has routinely resided in her voice — specifically in how she boosts it on just the correct syllables for maximum impact. On "Valentine," the title track to her sophomore LP out November 5, it comes down like a hammer on the initial chorus. "So why'd you wanna erase me!?" She exclaims because the guitars finally hit soon after a minute of synthy, sensual mood-setting. The song comes complete with an awesomely melodramatic, period-set music video that ends in enough cartoonish bloodshed to match the song's deep pangs of sorrow and heartache. Only five more months up until Valentine's Day! —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Wonho: “Blue”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=lU7yBv3tkwA
  
  
  
  If anyone can get a K-pop stan to even remotely care about sports, it’s Wonho in a football uniform. His new single “Blue,” the title track of his sophomore mini-album Blue Letter, displays the soloist in a fully new light, both sonically and visually. Because the begin of his new era, “Blue” explores happier, more optimistic themes compared to the darker concepts he explored in his past few releases. “We are young, we are silly, we’ll just party all night long,” he sings, representing an exceedingly different state of mind. Accompanied by a lighthearted, campy, sports-themed music video, Wonho turns over a new leaf and enters this comeback with joy, spirit, and confidence. —Sarina Bhutani
  
  
  
  
  



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  Vince Staples: "Are You With That?”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=v0E0eQ_hH7k
  
  
  
  Vince Staples has habitually plainly been a Black man from Compton, a rapper who speaks to the darker sides of the things you visualize once upward mobility isn’t nearly abundant because the looming threat of violence and death. It could be commonplace in rap to glorify street life and its hard-won badges of strength. Nevertheless Vince Staples, his fourth album, drawls and slumps with resignation. On the swirling opener “Are You With That?” He is consumed with, and depressed by, the draining premise of his own survival. He visits the graveyards of his lost companions, recalling how he aimed to follow their footsteps, growing up wanting to be a thug far more than a prominent artist. He acknowledges the probability of his own death, envisioning his companions treating his candlelight vigil like a wild club night. “Hope you watchin’ your back,” the song chants, delivered more like a sad mantra than a sharp warning. None of this is exalted; it doesn’t reach for any particular fear, or joy, or remorse. For him, and for so several others, it’s simply the way things are. —Terron Moore
  
  
  
  
  



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  Cold War Kids: “Always”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=8m9DIeV1Oec
  
  
  
  A deceptively upbeat issuing from Cold War Kids, “Always” thrums with a undercurrent of nervous energy, mirroring the anxiety several of us are right now navigating because the world reopens post-vaccine. “My expectations have expanded uncontrollably / You are the one that puts my feet down in reality,” lead singer Nathan Willett intones over lilting keys. It’s much less an ode to a helpful partner and more a reminder directed inward. Immediately considering that, leaning on each other while in these unprecedented times is “what we do we get by.” —Sam Manzella
  
  
  
  
  



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  Tems ft. Brent Faiyaz: "Found"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=J5Yec96tfQM
  
  
  
  Nigerian songwriter/producer Tems is having an excellent September. Fresh off the stunning Drake collab "Fountains," she released her second EP, If Orange Was a Place, earlier this week, complete with the dreamy noticed Grounded by a casually plucked nylon-string guitar, the song is basically a duet with Brent Faiyaz, although Tems haunts the full runtime, even once she's not actively singing. If she is, the alchemy is palpable. It's just enough to create you swoon. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Dexter: “I Like Me”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=ijAbzzDUZak
  
  
  
  London-based singer-songwriter Dexter offers up a groovy slice of self-empowerment without the saccharine on “I Like Me.” Armed with two chords, the truth, plus a voice that feels approachable nevertheless entirely authoritative, she examines the rules of femininity and the places she feels she falls short. “What if I was girly and my hips were really curvy / And I walked around and strutted in the place?” She wonders, before resolving that, “It doesn’t matter because I like me anyway.” It’s a refreshing take on self worth and acceptance, acknowledging the what ifs that plague us while settling on authenticity over a smooth beat. —Carson Mlnarik
  
  
  
  
  



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  Matt Copley & No Resolve: “The Greatest Show”
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=jLPhqdODPyM
  
  
  
  Broadway buffs and emo kids alike will dig this new track from composer, vocalist, and Unwell frontman Matt Copley backed by No Resolve. “The Greatest Show” is a cover from the 2017 movie musical The Greatest Showman with a surprising pop-punk twist. Copley’s creative arrangements paired with his undeniable charisma and stage presence make his latest album Broadway Does Punk (and all of his assignments, frankly) impossible to don't think about. Nevertheless you don’t have to take my word for it — millions on TikTok and Instagram have already cosigned. —Farah Zermane
  
  
  
  
  



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  Yard Act: "The Overload"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=tQ2ANR_vF2E
  
  
  
  in case you simply can't get enough wiggly, fidgety, British post-punk in the vein of Dry Cleaning and Black Midi, you're gonna desire to know Yard Act. You're gonna hope to embrace the pure Jarvis Cocker energy frontman James Smith deploys on "The Overload," the title track to their upcoming new album to be released by Island Records. And you're gonna hope to play it again and again and get lost in its spinning, frantic carnival. —Patrick Hosken