Best New Tracks Of The Week: February 19th, 2023
Sometimes the best song of the week is very predictable, but there are still four more slots to fill behind it. Enjoy <3
5. Gonna Go - serpentwithfeet
While I'm not particularly impressed by this song in a weak week (ha ha) for new songs it slipped onto the list. I mostly just think it's a great idea for a song and I particularly love the recurring idea of "going back to your friends" as a mantra for turning someone down. With that in their pocket as well as the talent serpentwithfeet possesses the bassline for how good this could be was high.
4. That Girl - El Michaels Affair & Black Thought
This track surprised me quite a bit and while I wish it was longer and I have some issues with the mixing I mostly just enjoy Black Thought really putting his all into just pouring his heart out for a woman. His creativity alongside that level of topical focus works perfectly.
3. Pahrump - Xiu Xiu
This is a minimal and spacey but still extremely chilling turn from Xiu Xiu after the crushing noise of their previous single. The disjointed presentation of the droning synths, saxophone, and various vocal contributions are certainly formless but they work together to create something quite mentally crushing in execution.
2. Hollywood Baby - 100 Gecs
Gecs songs tend to grow on me so I'm fully anticipating loving this song at some point. For now, it gets off to a decent start with even if the pop-punkiness of it is SO heavyhanded that I almost wish they would have gone all the way and just made a pop-punk song without their hyperpop frills which feels like what they want to be doing. It does have the explosive force of personality in tact and that helps a lot even if I wish some of the songwriting was smoothed over.
1. A&W - Lana Del Rey
If there's ever been a week in the history of Music Corner where the best new track of the week was more obvious than this one, I must be forgetting it. I'm pretty much used to almost every Lana era having numerous brilliant songs on it and while the lead single was a great start, this is another level entirely. The 7-minute track presents a pretty linear development musically but it shows off absolutely everything great about Lana along the way from her most earnestly emotional to her most sensually evocative. This has the potential to be one of my favorite songs and singles of the year.
