Best New Tracks Of The Week: April 16th, 2023
5. Portraits - Panchiko
There's been at least something to admire about pretty much all of the new Panchiko singles so far and this one is the best so far at pinning down the crackling nostalgia and lo-fi textures of their surprise classic material. The glitchiness of the song impugns a character that's entirely unique from their other songs while also feeling physically aged as you listen to it.
4. FaceTime - billy woods & kenny segal (feat. Samuel T. Herring)
If you're familiar with the names involved in this song then it sounds exactly what you're imagining it will. There are no surprises here just a successful blending of styles with kenny's often poignant and jazzy production serving as a perfect middle man for the vocals. The high contrast of billy's gritty vocal delivery on the verses and Sam's subtle hook sounds great.
3. Back In Office - Saba & No I.D.
Saba and No I.D are teaming up for a mixtape coming soon and the first taste is a pretty clinical display of fundamentals. The instrumental is rich and combines classic sampling with impressively on point mixing and production which really means there are no distractions from Saba's bars and for the most part he delivers. While this isn't a pair that I think was serving as anyone's dream collab, they have a ton of potential to make something great.
After she released one of the best singles of last year and followed it up with one of the best singles of this year so far, I was pretty excited for the next offering Jessie Ware was going to give us. While Begin Again may not be THAT caliber of song, it's still very good with an instrumental arrangement that most throwback pop songs could only hope for and another steady vocal performance from one of the most reliably great singers in all of pop music.
1. Kill Bill (Remix) - SZA (feat. Doja Cat)
Normally I wouldn't do this, I try to keep remixes off this list unless it's closer to being a new song entirely and this one isn't. But in a week where nothing really blew me away there was at least one new single to knock my socks off. Doja Cat fits FLAWLESSLY into this song and her snappy opening verse on the remix lets that be known right out of the gate. Even though remixes which do nothing but add an extra verse don't typically entice me that much, this one is so good it feels like it was meant to be all along.
