While the past couple of weeks have been hectic to say the least, this fall has seen a steady stream of music releases, though all are not uniform in their quality. Without further ado, The Singles Bar is back and ready to breakdown the songs worth listening to (or skipping).
“Don’t Wanna Know (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” – Maroon 5
While the Adam Levine-fronted band has explored reggae in the past, never has the group sounded more contrived than on “Don’t Wanna Know.” In a clear move to garner radio play, Maroon 5 has catered to the sound du jour of radio and someone made it even more bland with overwrought repetition and stale lyrics. Featured rapper Kendrick Lamar deserves a verse that is okay at best, and if he is looking to break big into the pop sphere as he did previously on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” (2015), he is going to have to try a lot harder than this.
Rating: 2/5
“24K Magic” – Bruno Mars
After a tour through '70s-inspired disco last year with the excellent “Uptown Funk,” Bruno Mars has turned to the '80s for his latest hit, “24K Magic.” Corny lyrics aside, Mars successfully manages his latest single with enough swagger that one cannot help but dance along to this ode to old school R&B. Once again, Mars has shown that throwbacks do not have to be repetitive and that drawing sonically from The Neptunes, the late '90s and early 2000s production duo, is indeed never a bad idea.
Rating: 3.5/5
“Chantaje (feat. Maluma)” – Shakira
Now this is the Shakira song the world has been waiting years for, after instant classics “Hips Don’t Lie” (2006) and “La Tortura” (2005). Drawing heavily from reggaetón, “Chantaje,” which means blackmail in Spanish, sees Shakira trading sexually-charged verses back and forth with rising Colombian singer-songwriter Maluma. The song’s effervescent, flirty nature is further enhanced by its sparse instrumentation as this puts full emphasis on the sexual tension these two stars are trying to sell, cementing the song as quintessential guilty pleasure pop.
Rating: 3.5/5
“After the Afterparty” – Charli XCX
Charli XCX is at a crossroads. After the underperformance of her sophomore album “Sucker” (2014) and the creative bust that was the EP “Vroom Vroom” (2016), the English songstress had to go back to the drawing board in order to fuse her pure pop sensibilities with her willingness to explore more experimental sounds. “After the Afterparty,” ends up feeling like a halfhearted attempt to do so, as it borrows from the genre of molly-infused pop Miley Cyrus popularized on “We Can’t Stop” (2013), thanks in part to the borderline generic production of experimental electronic producer Sophie and pop heavyweight Stargate.
Ratings: 3/5
“Fake Love” – Drake
Move over, “Hotline Bling” (2015). Drake is back at it again with another lush, tropical-inspired song, though this time, he leaves the casual misogyny at the door. Out of all the songs released from his upcoming playlist compilation “More Life,” due Dec. 10, “Fake Love” is the most promising, with Drake playing the role of sad boy once more and proving that no one plays the victim better than him. Sharp lyrics and topline melody make this track hard to get out of one's head.
Rating: 4/5
“Black Beatles (feat. Gucci Mane)" – Rae Sremmurd
Rocketing to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 this past week, Rae Sremmurd's "Black Beatles" is a catchy anthem about living life like, well, The Beatles themselves. Featuring production from hitmaker Mike Will Made It, the song is built around an almost-too-simple beat that does successfully manage to fuse trap and pop influences. The song's hook also stands as remarkably effective, cleverly alluding to The Beatles' own "Day Tripper" (1965), though in a slightly dirtier fashion than most will remember.
Rating: 3.5/5
“Slumber Party (feat. Tinashe)” – Britney Spears
After the relative failure of "Make Me...," the lead single to her eighth studio album "Glory" (2016), the princess of pop is back again with "Slumber Party," a highlight from the record, though she has decided to team up with rising pop star Tinashe in order to release the track as a single. Largely leaving Mattman & Robin's playful, minimalistic production untouched, the reggae, synthpop influenced remix is further enhanced by Tinashe's relaxed coos, which meld rather well with Spears' iconic vocals.
Rating: 4/5
The singles bar: playing catchup edition
