Hi everyone, Bigthony Sleeptano here, the internet's tiredest music nerd. Had a long weekend, a fun and action-packed weekend, but still gotta take a second to talk about the Weekly Track Roundup.

My thoughts on a bunch of tracks that have dropped over the past week or so, whether I loved them or hated them, or felt somewhere in between. Let's get into it.

Worst tracks of the week.

We have a few of those, and they are as follows:

Kicking off with Mr. Brandon Flowers, who's putting out more solo material. "Paradise" is the name of the single that he's treating us to, and it's kind of this hokey, over-the-top country number that I just don't really get the theatrics of. I mean, between his solo stuff and The Killers, he's pretty knee-deep in the world of Americana and rock music that has a rustic kind of American heart to it, but why he needs to go full country and do it in a way that just seems so hammed up, I don't know. So it just feels like a cringy kind of put-on to me, unfortunately.

We also have, of course, Nickelback hitting us with a new single, "Rattle the Cage" featuring John 5. It's kind of Nickelback, instead of doing a post-grunge thing, going for more of an alt-metal thing and I don't know... It's not quite their bag, in my opinion. In addition to this sound and vibe just generally being stale as heck right now and not really having a whole lot of gas left in the tank. There's also that, we can't forget.

Bloc Party has treated us to a new track as well. "Coming on Strong" though... I mean, the bass tone is fantastic, drums are pretty cool, but where's the song? No song there. Not only no song there, but the vocals are kind of just riffing the entire time, are grating and annoying, and just going nowhere fast. I don't get why the band kind of came up with a great groove in the studio and didn't really want to pair it with a compelling song, but there you go.

Meh.

The songs I was on the fence about, didn't love, but still thought they were worth shouting out. They are as follows:

We have Queens of the Stone Age, who are back with a new single, a new album on the way, a new era, but this new track is kind of a head-scratcher. "Easy Street," of course, is the title, and it's very chill, very moody, very acoustic, a little derivative as well. Definitely not that trademark Queens of the Stone Age sound. Even some bits of it sound like Peter Gabriel to my ears.

I mean, bands kind of change and evolve over the years and go in different directions. You can't expect a band to sort of deliver the same sound and style for the entirety of their existence. But I think Queens of the Stone Age is far from a pretty one-note sort of band. Records like Like Clockwork sound far different than their past early work, like their first three records.

So it's not like there's been no change over the course of the Queens of the Stone Age catalog. But this new track over here just feels really far outside of, not just their comfort zone, but what their strengths are musically and artistically. It's just a really forgettable tune overall. And just as far as acoustic ballads go, it's pretty meh. Very middle of the road. Very average in my view. Hopefully there are some, I don't know, either more interesting versions of this or just more rockin' cuts in subsequent singles or deeper cuts of this forthcoming album.

We also have Blu deTiger, who's hitting us with a "Shock!." Not a song that I love, but it's got a bass line that I love. Great bass line and great drum production. It's a groovy number for sure, even if I feel like the vocals are at least a little bit forgettable.

We do have Beck over here, who is still very much in his, low-key, downtrodden, sad boy country era. It's listenable. It's fine, but it's just kind of going nowhere fast to my ears.

We also have beabadoobee, who is hitting us with a new single over here, another one. "Switchblade" is the title of this one. I don't love the song attached to this track, but it's got some cool sequences and production for sure, really kind of glitchy, textured rock music with some cool drum loops. Definitely like the different sonics this track has to offer, even if the song itself isn't blowing me away.

We've also got Lil Baby, who amazingly is working with Pharrell on this new track over here. I mean, it's not the best Lil Baby song I've ever heard – far from it – but it's definitely not his most average, boring, or uninteresting track ever, I'll say that. It's somewhere in the middle, and hopefully in this new era of his he finds ways to work with a wider variety of producers, to kind of challenge himself and experiment a bit more and maybe do something new and refreshing.

Best tracks of the week.

We've got Twin Temple, the duo that got kicked off of the Charlie Crockett tour. They've got a new single out, which is a little vocal pop ballad – vintage, of course, in style, and really beautiful, really dramatic, really well-produced. Sort of seems like this whole kind of getting kicked off of that tour is panning out well for them, given the new influx of attention they've been getting lately. Apparently, they're going to be performing with and opening for Jack White very soon, which is pretty cool. So, nice stuff. Good luck to them in their future ventures. And if they've got more songs on the way that sound as good and as well-produced as this one, looks like we're going to be in for a pretty cool record from them very soon.

We also have Tkay Maidza, who's hitting us with, I think, one of her most chill singles ever, but still very beautiful on the ears and quite nice. A collaboration with Jenevieve, of course, "Romanticize" is the title of this one. Again, not quite the over-the-top trap banger style that she's typically known for, something a little bit of a variant here.

We've got Tinashe, who's hitting us with "Crash Out," a bit of a raw, stripped-back, very skeletal bop of a lead single with, I think, maybe a smidge of club appeal. Liking how groovy this one is, how unhinged it is lyrically. Really looking forward to what Tinashe is going to do during this new era.

We also have, whoa, hold the phone, stop the presses, The Olivia Tremor Control. That's right, I said Olivia Tremor Control, Elephant 6 / indie Atlanta legends are back with new material and a new project on the way that contains a bunch of different songs that have been recorded over the course of years and years and years. And it's now seeing the light of day. Our first taste of it is "Garden of Light," and it's actually a really cool single with, of course, those throwback, lo-fi, indie, vintage, '60s rock vibes through and through. And again, it's a good tune to boot. Damn. Looking forward to Olivia Tremor Control making an Olivia Tremor return. Didn't know this was going to be on the bingo card in 2026, and I am not complaining.

We've got Mastodon with a second lead single that I think rocks a lot more than the first. The riffs on this one are nasty as hell. "Snakes for Dinner" is a really dynamic and versatile track with some clean lead vocals, awesome drum fills, and, again, just fiery riffs from front to back, I'll say that.

We have Ginger Root, "Soarin'," a funky little single from him. Apparently a tie-in with an anime series, which is pretty cool. Liking that. That's a really cool opportunity for him, of course. Hopefully we get a Ginger Root-like new album cycle really soon, since the last record did so well.

We also have Evil Island. The sort of Blood Brothers connected rock and post-hardcore project is back with that kind of usual, nasty Blood Brothers vocal chemistry, but over riffs that are like a lot more rockin' and straightforward, which I really appreciate. Not quite the weird hardcore chaos that they were known for. This is a little riffier, a little bit more kind of fun and straightforward.

We also have Standing on the Corner who are back. "Mr. Postman Wait!" is the A-side of a new single that they have out and about. It's like this crazy, melting organ jazz bit that has multiple sections to it that's absolutely maddening and weird and just messy as heck and odd, but I'm kind of loving it, and it smoothes out toward the very end in a really interesting way. I just continue to love the band's just avant, weirdo, freako chemistry. I think it is really endearing and interesting for sure.

And finally, of course, Carly Rae Jepsen is treating us to another single. After all, seems like a lot of the ladies these days are embracing kind of breathy lead vocals, vintage sheen on the production, and just like super dancey, old-school grooves / vibes. Some disco touches here and there as well I would say, and it's not too bad. It's not too bad. It's not a bad fit for Carly at all as we kind of barrel toward this new full-length album from her.

Anthony Fantano. Weekly Tracks. Forever.