Bop Shop: Songs From Tove Lo, Bas, J.I.D, Jay Som, And More

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  UMI: "Down to Earth"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=JsQOymdrun0
  
  
  
  In May, rising R&B singer UMI released a two-track “mini EP” called Balance. Of these songs, "Ordinary" is your more customary bop; it streams the '80s, complete with a beautiful Jazzercise-themed video. Yet it's the other track, "Down to Earth," that I think demonstrates what the Seattle-born, L.A.-Based singer does best. Here she is setting the scene: "Can't get no sleep / The moon, it is aware I / Don't want you to leave / I think you're divine." It's a warm, sweet love song, nevertheless it's also a weak confessional about craving transparency and security in a new relationship. "I need to believe / I'm worth the work / I need you to be able to see / Parts of me I hide," she sings, recognizing that the person who makes her feel so high is also the reason she needs to fall back down to earth. There's nothing ordinary about that. —Madeline Roth
  
  
  
  
  



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  Tove Lo: "Glad He's Gone"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=h1Tn1H7Sg8s
  
  
  
  Who hasn't wished their friend would stop seeing some creep who treats them like dirt? The indomitable Tove Lo sings about supporting her bestie, who's been wronged by a veritable loser, on "Glad He's Gone." This spunky dry-those-tears-and-party anthem is about shedding the dead weight that comes in the form of a particularly awful ex, and while it's no slow jam, it moves along at a comfortable enough pace to pat your BFF on the back and remind her he's no longer ruining her life. And right now that Tove Lo has successfully convinced me I don't require a male in my life (despite having a fiancé who I love very much), she can probably do the same for anyone tripping over some deadbeat. Share it with love and share it with concern. Protect those friendships, and support each other. Life's also short for "suckers." Right now, can I be Tove Lo's BFF? I'm still not over "Disco Tits." —Brittany Vincent
  
  
  
  
  



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  Seventeen: "Happy Ending"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=cA1b99JSQq0
  
  
  
  Getting into K-pop is a commitment — of time, money, and emotions. For starters, there really are a lot of groups. (A lot!) And these groups have countless members. Seventeen, as an example, has 13 members. (I know, it's confusing.) Then, there's the fact that K-pop groups frequently promote in Japan — where there is a lot of interest in idol groups along with a lot of cash to be made. So it's not irregular for groups to release Japanese-language singles. The latest: Seventeen's "Happy Ending," a moody pop song that assignments the cinematic fantasy of "happily ever after."
  
  
  Though not quite as explosive as their first Japanese release "Call Call Call," Seventeen stay true to their sound with a smooth guitar line along with a catchy hook bolstered by the sheer power and charisma of vocalists Seungkwan, DK, and Woozi. Known for their ability to write, produce, and choreograph their own music, Seventeen are one of the more popular groups, and also a song like "Happy Ending" proves why. They're so shockingly consistent and proficient at what they do that it even makes me forgive them for dabbing in the year of our Lord 2019. (Hoshi, you get a pass this time.) —Crystal Bell
  
  
  
  
  



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  Bas ft. J.I.D: baked Rice"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/UAUX-Yhdy0k
  
  
  
  Do you carry your city on your back? Bas does for New York. And in the manner that he does it, the city is baked rice and he is a chicken wing. Sounds tasty. This creative metaphor is the centerpiece for the abrasive cooked Rice," a variety of lyrical flexes packaged with each other by a flimsy rubber musical group. Drums and cymbals are pounded on in the background with what initially sounds like no care up until after awhile you recognize the pattern in the chaos. It's an ominous sound also, one that Bas's voice embraces lovingly with a jittering however consistent barrage of rhymes. "'Beware the dogs' is what the sign mention / I did it my way,” he spits, smiling.
  
  
  His Dreamville Records label mate J.I.D has 30 million things to mention, all slightly more creative boasts than the rest. He squishes them into a verse that's much less than a minute long with casually anarchistic poise. He sounds like a madman accidentally unleashed, prepared to resume his reign of terror. The spittle drips from his lips, and the tricks of his dreads are singed. He is a hurricane unfiltered — and cooked Rice" is an ecstatic showroom of the pair's talents with words. —Trey Alston
  
  
  
  
  



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  feelswithcaps: "Drains"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/BwSyrntIpnA
  
  
  
  I was not familiar with Finnish sort feelswithcaps before they popped up on a Spotify playlist, yet I was immediately suckered in by the first lyrics on "Drains" that go "I look for you in Google Earth." While you get past the Google Earth stuff, "Drains" is quite a melancholic track about loneliness and longing that's masked by a propulsive dance beat, culminating in brilliant pop to sad-dance to in your bedroom. —Bob Marshall
  
  
  
  
  



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  Doja Cat: "Go to Town"
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=TLiGA_wrNp0
  
  
  
  All Doja Cat had to mention was, "Bitch, I'm a cow," in last year's silly-but-sensual "Mooo!" and we were all ears. Place on Earth and raised in L.A., The singer has charisma and confidence to spare, with music that evokes elements of R&B, pop, and rap with a sickeningly sweet twist. Since her 2014 debut EP, she's kept up her game touring with the likes of Lizzo and Theophilus London, and the recent deluxe release of her album Amala is a brilliant possibility to savor some of the bops you may have missed.
  
  
  Enter "Go to Town" – a bouncy track that will have you hooked from its immediate high-voice refrain. Beyond a beat that feels like a mix of club, schoolyard, and candy shop, Doja packs innuendos by the pound. She offers her man an one-chance-only invitation to "go to town" and show her what he's got. She shows no signs of complacency, throwing in winks and jabs between bars, and she is aware what she wants and will not stand for any emoji clownery ("He text me an eggplant, I text him a peanut"). With a chorus that won't quit along with a wide-eyed smirk you could hear, Doja Cat will have you grooving up until you can't help although bust it down and go to town – whichever that demonstrates to you. —Carson Mlnarik
  
  
  
  
  



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  Jay Som: "Superbike"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/jJYr1_XeNbs
  
  
  
  It's called "Superbike," yet Jay Som's wonderful new single is better built for swimming. You don't actually require a pool — creative force Melina Duterte has fashioned a prosperous, oceanic dream-pop ecosystem for you to cannonball into and splash around in for a while. Like any good swim, it's over also rapidly ("Gonna breathe up until you're...," She ends her lyrics). Nevertheless luckily, Jay Som's second album, Anak Ko, drops in just a number of months on August 23. Up until then, everybody back in. The atmosphere's brilliant. —Patrick Hosken
  
  
  
  
  



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  Whitney: "Giving Up"
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/c4Ad19dXIGM
  
  
  
  The kings of Chill Summer Vibes 2K16 are back with their first new single in three years. "Giving Up" finds Chicago indie musical group Whitney embracing the more twangy parts of their great debut album, Light Upon the Lake, and demonstrating nevertheless again their mastery of creating the audio version of lounging in a hammock. The band's rather anticipated sophomore LP, Forever Turned Around, is due out August 30. –Bob Marshall