Hey, hi, and hello, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. I hope you are doing well. It's time for a weekly track roundup: my thoughts and feelings on a bunch of tracks that have dropped over the past week.

Well, really two weeks because last week we didn't do one of these, so this week I'm playing a little bit of catch-up and rounding up a handful of songs that are from pre this week. There are a lot of tracks in the best section in this article, so a lot of recommendations coming your way. It's going to be a fat one.

Worst tracks of the week.

First off, Xaviersobased is hitting us with "Off Tha Meter." He is off the tempo on this track. That is the whole deal. He is rapping way faster than the beat is going most of the time. And the track isn't even structured or mixed properly. What is this mess? While I haven't been the biggest Xavier fan so far, his past material was at least listenable or sensibly performed. This is a mess.

We also have U2 coming through with "Silencio," which is a new single from them, and it sounds generic, bland, terrible. And what the hell is this God-awful Abbey Road album cover? Please spare me. Don't do this.

Queens of the Stone Age have a new record on the way, and they just cannot seem to put out a good single to support it. "Where The Goth Girls At?" is the latest one. And it's corny as hell. I just don't know how else to describe how far the band has fallen. This album cycle. What is going on? I am so desperately confused. We have acoustic cuts that are boring. We have attention-seeking singles like this that are attached to preposterous music videos - what is even going on? I guess they're just getting kind of silly. Whatever.

We also have a new one here from Polyphia, who are sounding like Ratatat with much worse blown-out production. "WITH EYES TO SEE" is the title of this one. And it's, like a nightmare. I guess I would say if you happen to enjoy any of the band's earlier stuff, it's just basically like all that terrible, flashy Instagram musician influencer virtuosity over the worst beats you can imagine.

And Lil Nas X, unfortunately, returns with one of his weakest singles, "World's Greatest!" and not only does it have grating vocals, but the more I listened to it, the more it just kind of sounded like he was going for kind of a "Hey Ya!" moment, but his attempt just resulted in a far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far worse song.

And also over here, 2slimey is sounding a mess on "Die for this" too.

2hollis is also sounding a mess on this “Warhorse” track as well. Both these artists continue to just make me kind of scratch my head because while I think they both kind of burst onto the scene with recognizable styles and sounds, I feel like they both kind of devolved and stagnated simultaneously - a little bit of devolving, a little bit of stagnation and are failing to kind of elevate their craft in any way and build out any compelling songs or incorporate any new aesthetics that sound interesting.

Also, and don't get mad at me now, okay, because there will be something positive to say about this artist later in this episode. But brakence with "ready or noT" the first single from the forthcoming album, and I could not stand this track. I am maybe possibly open to this growing on me a little bit as we near a brakence new album, which will be dropping very soon. But I felt the overly glitchy production on this one was obnoxious, and the vocals constantly hitting that weird little cracked inflection was just way too much and totally unnecessary. And to me, more of a sign of bad vocal technique than passion. So yeah, could not stand this one whatsoever. Just really out of the gate. It was a no for me.

Meh tracks.

Songs I was more on the fence with, but still thought they were worth shouting out. You might like them more than me. They are as follows.

We have a new one from Ugly (UK), who are kind of sounding very harmony-deep, a little proggy, a little folky, per usual on this new "Nat Cora & The Nations" one. I haven't been really kind of blown away by this new run of singles for this forthcoming record. I felt like the performances on their kind of debut breakout EP were more rockin' and a little more raw. The new material is sounding more polished by comparison. But I'm still hoping that all of these tracks end up wowing me when I hear them in the full scope of the album.

We also have a new one over here from Snõõper, whose "Mouth Closed" single I think is sounding like maybe a little too fried and bland for them. I feel like they've written way more eccentric and quirky songs in the past. But if you're looking for a very, I guess, like abrasive punk rock number, this is your jam.

We also have a new one from The Rolling Stones who are doing, like, a little bit of a duet within the band on this one, "Mr Charm." It's kind of an extra single post the release of their latest record. And it's all right. It's just merely okay to my ears.

And we have "Danceteria," Madonna expanding the new song and single with Charli xcx, who was added to the track because they recently did, like, a whole VMAs performance thing around it. And yeah, it's, it's fine. It doesn't exactly make me love the original track anymore. But I love, love that Charli is in the mix, of course, and Madonna is a legend.

Best tracks of the week.

We have best tracks of the week, quite a few of these. So get ready.

We have Shabazz Palaces, who was hitting us with "Tongue in Chic," a flirty little, like almost new wave and post-punk number, which is kind of new and different for this project; Palaceer Lazaro, almost rocking out on this one in an interesting way, and I like it a lot. Honestly, this is like some of the best teaser material we have heard in the lead-up to a Shabazz record in a long, long time. So I'm really looking forward to this one.

We also have Remi Wolf, who I think gives an incredible vocal performance on "I Won't Cry," and while it is not quite as bouncy or as over the top as the production on her past couple of records, I think her singing on this one is incredible and and it's incredible and it's incredible. It's really just a super catchy track as well. Definitely favorite single from the album cycle so far.

We have also Rachel Chinouriri, who's hitting us with like kind of a straight-up 2000s indie pop indie-tronic little bop with some super catchy production and choruses on this one. "Broken chair" is the name of this. This is also my favorite single, I think, from this new album cycle of hers. Really loving kind of the growth and the variety and the range that we're hearing between all these new tracks.

Loving also this new one from PISS, a very kind of radical, hardcore punk outfit that are gearing up for a new album release via Sub Pop. And this lengthy track, "blocking a scene you can't remember," is like really an intense meditation on trauma. It's lengthy. It's heavy. The vocals are and that's how it is. Just ugh. And they reach such an amazing peak. While I have sort of like painted them as a hardcore outfit, I will say the appeal of this particular track, in terms of the story that's being told, the passion that's being relayed, the pain that is being described, it runs a lot more like La Dispute, in terms of who it's going to appeal to, the kind of itch that it's scratching. Clearly the lyrical subject matter deals in something that is super, super personal. I'm not saying this is like kind of a La Dispute type story or anything like that. But in terms of like the screen spoken shouted word and the progression of the riffs and the heaviness and the super crazy crescendo on the finish, it's just an amazing progression overall. So shout out to them. Two really cool heater singles for this new record.

We have Phoebe Bridgers, who is kind of treating us to an extra song from this Primetime soundtrack because she was involved in the movie. She acted in the film. So this new track from her kind of sounds pretty standard, fair, when you kind of consider the aesthetics of her latest full-length LP. But you know, "On Video," it's still a very good, compelling song, and Phoebe is definitely on a roll right now. So this track is further proof of that.

We have freaking Olivia Rodrigo doing an acoustic version of "stupid song," and it sounds good because it's "stupid song." And you know what? It's such a great song. It sounds good acoustically. So shout out to her. She's currently on tour, and I caught a date from the tour, and the show is incredible. So go out to the show if you can and see it, and check out this acoustic version as well.

We have Ninajirachi, who is hitting us with an amazing track from her latest record. "CSIRAC" is the name of the cut, but it's a Dylan Brady remix of the song, and Dylan goes crazy. The super bassy dubstep. The inspired drops on this track sound incredible. And love that Dylan is giving us more reason to go back to this album, which seems to gain more and more and more momentum in the EDM scene in recent months. Ninajirachi is proving to be such a force and I'm loving that.

We also have Michael Kiwanuka, who has a new record, Fudge, that has been announced. And we are getting our first taste of it through "Summer Close." It's a very kind of syrupy, beautiful string kiss, 70s soul kind of ballad, but with like kind of relaxing instrumentation, not like too much of groove behind it or anything. Of course, Michael's killer vocals as well, kind of swimming in all of that beautiful atmosphere and string work. It's a lovely one for sure. And looking forward to this new album of his as well. And I like the cover art a lot too. It's kind of surreal and funny.

We have Jill Scott, who is treating us to a new collab single over here and lending her incredible voice to pretty much just a house song, just a straight up house banger, nothing too crazy in terms of like production or orchestration. I would say it's doing something that is pretty standard for this style, but Jill's voice works so well in this context. You don't mind hearing a lot of these similar kinds of familiar formulae all over again because it's kind of just Jill Scott, fucking smashing it, so "Right Here, Right Now," it's a bop and a half and great grooves, great vocal runs all around.

We have also Jane Remover, whose new album is on the way album announced and the first single over here moves in kind of a poppy suite, I would say like a bit of a dance pop direction, but still kind of hits you with all of those heavy distorted kicks and mixes and everything. It's very abrasive, but also very. Amped and very, I would say, sweet and very fun by Jane Remover standards as of late. "Beauty Sleep" is the name of the track.

We have also "Cuntry Girl Rock," with horsegiirL treating us to more material post the release of her latest full-length LP, which I recommend a lot of highlights on there. This one also brings not only some country vibes, but a lot of hard style vibes as well. It's silly. It's fun. And also, Dylan Brady is involved on this track as well – with two Dylan Brady appearances in this article, lo and behold. And yeah, it's a fun one for sure. horsegiirL continues to kill it.

We have also this is an interesting one. HMLTD, "Umami," another one of many different singles that have been dropping as of late. And yeah, incredible range, insane variety of influences in all of these songs. I feel like I'm having to describe each new single in a wildly different way. And this one is no exception. I think the only way I can describe this track is this is what would happen if goths discovered party rock, or if goths decided to party rock, if goths suddenly were very into party rocking and they wanted to write a party rock anthem, but one that could be played at goth night. So, miraculously, I enjoy it. There you go.

We have "Tongue," which I think is hands down the best single of this Fontaines D.C. album cycle so far. I think the material so far has been a little weak, but this one is picking things up. In my opinion, it's groovy. I would say even at points, it's like a tad bit Gorillaz-influenced in the best way.

We have Father John Misty. He is back with a lengthy piano ballad, a piano-rocking single that has a lot of downtrodden lyrics, poetic imagery, a beautiful vocal performance, and amazing arrangements. I am pumped for a new Josh Tillman era. "The X-panded Universe" is the title of this one.

We have Death From Above 1979 rocking out and melting faces on this new one, "Private Lives." They actually sound like old Queens of the Stone Age on this track. Honestly, the grooves and the riffs rule, and the chorus is awesome as well. The band is sounding better than ever in my opinion. And they have a new record on the way as well.

We have also "Punched In The Head" by Cowboy Hunters, a bit of a funny, weird alt viral single that I've been catching on TikTok a little bit here and there from these guys, and it's just like very weird, odd electro with some zany ass lyrics, weird attitude, but very fun and feels like a punch to the head. It delivers on its promise.

We also have brakence again. Now, this is a second single that has dropped over the past two weeks, and miraculously, I actually like this one. The vocal performance is more measured. The songwriting is actually catchy, and the production is compelling as well. Brings a little bit of that glitchiness, but it's not going so overboard that it becomes annoying and obnoxious. "death rolL" is is the name of this one. And I actually do like this single of the two that have been dropped so far quite a bit.

We have also a couple more, a couple heavy ones.

This one comes from a band by the name of Assumption. They have a new album on the way as well. "Tombs Upon The Sun" is the name of the track. This is some very beefy doom metal with, I would say, like some slight post-metal vibes as well. And the, the guttural lead vocals, those death metal style guttural lead vocals are so deep and so throaty and it sounds insane. It sounds like the voice of a monster coming from the center of the earth. It's crazy. And the riffs are really solid too.

And shout out finally to Artificial Brain, who have a new album on the way as well. The band isn't changing their sound up too much on this one, but still they sound very solid, kind of remaining in that dizzying technical death metal pocket with a bit of a future. Artistic twist and a lot of angular and difficult to decipher, but still impressive, flashy guitar work. But performances that still have a nice human touch to them, which is what I always kind of like appreciate about Artificial Brain, because no matter how technical they get, they're still like a very kind of human component to the way that they play the songs and kind of how it all comes together.

So that is basically everything in this massive weekly track roundup.

Anthony Fantano. Music. Forever.