10 songs you need in your life this week

Troye Sivan has long mastered the art of the coming-of-age soundtrack. With “Trouble,” the landscape of that broadly defined experience of navigating the thralls of teenagedom into early adulthood moves far beyond sound – here demonstrated by the plucky acoustic production that carries with it a sense of nostalgia. With the help of Jay Som, the singer tackles the anxieties of time and the unanticipated emotional factors that throw off any sense of having it all figured out. “You've got a funny sense of timing,” Sivan sings. “Showed up on the night that I stopped trying for something more.” The song appears in his latest film Three Months, opening up more of a space for his audience to find their emotions reflected and validated. – LP

Atop strobing production recalling the experimental footwork of Jlin at its most kinetic, Ugandan rapper Ecko Bazz delivers at unrelenting sonic free-for-all in “MMaso.” His voice is hoarse with fire-and-brimstone urgency and follows its own rhythms, like a sermon delivered just after the apocalypse breaches the earth. It says a lot about Ecko Bazz’s conviction that its forcefulness is the most intense thing about the record, surpassing the instrumental – in a distracted world, Ecko Bazz knows how to command our attention. – JD

death insurance’s i’m in your walls is nightmare music of the most premium grade, and “dead meat” is the tune of choice for your sleep paralysis demon as he hovers above your bed . It’s not only Kat Liu’s harsh shouting that’s caustic — it’s the static that clouds around the drums and gives the fuzz guitar line porcupine quills; the McDonald’s cash register bleeps; the slippery tempo that refuses to give your ultradian clock a moment of respite to calibrate. Listeners beware. —RH

On “BLEACH,” Isaac Dunbar is as much an expert in self-sabotage as he is in self-production. Lyrically, the 18-year-old musician uses the track to drive a final nail into the coffin of shame, instead taking responsibility for the past while simultaneously letting it drift from the preoccupation of his mind. But it’s on the sonic end that Dunbar truly excels. There’s ambition in the variations of sounds presented from verse to verse, building on an ability to subvert expectations by keeping away from the pop formula. Where his early EP releases dating back to 2019 find a musically inclined teenager sifting through the embodiment of his influences within his own artistic identity, “BLEACH” is ten steps forward in his own unique direction. – LP

The self-proclaimed Worst Band in Connecticut™ has announced a forthcoming album titled (Randy) Alex G, the follow-up to their 2018 debut LP, Reggaenomics. Per a press release, the record’s eponymous character is “Weird Al, but he’s coursing with toxic masculinity and buys pre-cuffed jeans (borderline capris), is playing a Fender Telecaster with a capo, and can only grow a very thin wispy mustache that he fishes cigarette ash out of while scrolling through Juulsexual’s Instagram feed.” If this character resonates with you, you’ll probably enjoy lead single “Asymmetrical Bangs Pt. I,” a painfully self-aware, inanely written, badly sung, off-tempo song that is — against all odds — very good. It comes with an animated music video by New Haven-based artist and musician Jake Gagne (Wonton Death), who also recently teased new music on the way. —RH

Mura Masa has described “Bbycakes” as his “Avengers Assemble moment” and it’s easy to see why. Recruiting one of Lil Uzi Vert, PinkPantheress or Shygirl would be an exciting prospect but to have all three feels almost indulgent. Loading up on guest stars is not a cheat code though, just ask anyone who has listened to a DJ Khaled album, so credit to Mura Masa for making this work.The track samples a 2004 U.K. garage song by 3 Of A Kind and lets the addictive melodies of that original do the heavy lifting here. Then it’s just a case of letting his talented friends do their thing. The result is undeniable. – DR

You can’t help but respect a rap song that puts violent threats against shit talkers over the kind of beat you’d hear in a Sesame Street video game when your character gets dizzy. It makes the promises feel that much more durable. iayze (pronounced Jayce) has found some of his biggest successes in the melodic, enveloping world of pluggnb, but “556 (Green Tip)” attempts the same formula as hits like Tay-K’s “The Race” and 18veno’s “Fuck Rap”: take a absurdly pleasant beat and fill it with armour-piercing bars. It still works. – JD

Bad Boy Chiller Crew, a three man collective currently reviving the energy of sticky-floored clubs in the north of England circa 2005, released their debut album this past week. Disrespectful is a fizzing gem of a record, packed with relentless bassline production, unrefined but colorful raps, and big pop choruses. “Always Be My Baby Boy” is BBCC in crystalline form, a loved-up back-and-forth between a couple who can’t get enough of one another in which guest vocalist Becce J keeps things simple (“You'll always be my baby boy / My love for you will never end”). It’s in the verses where BBCC come to life, packing in references to both busting court cases and Owen Wilson dog movie Marley & Me. Bradford Boys keep winning, indeed. – DR

Los Angeles-based singer SEB makes woozy, lovesick jams that pluck at your heartstrings. His latest song, however, is more on the scornful side of things. On “fuck it, i’m the man,” he sings about cutting off family members who pester him and living life by his own rules with frustration he hides behind passive-aggressive songwriting. “You think I’m a disappointment, I know you do,” he croons over the slinky bassline. “You don’t gotta go and tell me twice, ‘cuz I know it’s true.” You can’t blame SEB for wanting to keep his peace; sometimes the price of sanity is making a few people mad. —BC

RealYungPhil knows how to keep a good thing going. Last year, he dropped Philvinci with North Carolina producer Dylvinci and Dr. Phil with Surf Gang’s EvilGiane, and his new mixtape, Dr. Philvinci, brings both producers back in the mix to chop up R&B and soul songs until they become barely recognizable earworms. The beat for the Kanye-flipping “Everything We Need,” handled by EvilGiane, is featherlight and hallucinatory. EvilGiane’s shuffling drums and chopping put the song in motion, transforming the gospel sample into the backbone of an irresistibly danceable beat. Phil is always talking about some fly shit, but the lush beats of Dr. Philvinci completely submerge him in luxury. —BC