"Guy For That" by Post Malone feat. Luke Combs
Third time's the charm with regard to this country album Post Malone is rolling out, right? "I Had Some Help" feat. Morgan Wallen has only gotten more shrill and insubstantial since it's release and while "Pour Me A Drink" feat. Blake Shelton was marginally better however forgettable it is but again, there's apart of me wondering if Posty is pulling on a few too many old country tropes, well thankfully this song isn't about drinking, it's more about how he has people for fixing things like flat tyres etc but when it comes to fixing a broken heart..there's no one that can do that for this girl.
Now this song has problems, its too short and could have afforded a third verse and a bridge plus why does Post Malone's vocal pick up sound so choppy and why is Post allowing Luke Combs to just steal the show from him on a song that's for his album? Overall the song isn't terrible but it's by no means good either.
"Guess" by Charli XCX feat. Billie Eilish
2024 is almost certainly the year of being incredibly horny and Brat so when Charli XCX invited Billie Eilish onto a remix of this song which is all about underwear and what Charli has got going on "down there" and yeah...it god damn works better as a duet than it did as a Charli XCX solo song. Billie absolutely nails the incredibly horny vibe of the song with her verse claiming the underwear being worn is a pair brought in Tokyo...fucking love this. Check it out.
"Big Dawgz" by Hunamankind and Kalmi\
So Indian rap has crossed over to the charts with this song from Indian rapper Hunamankind and his producer Kalmi and you know I do hear the appeal with the warping instrumentation courtesy of the production from Kalmi but Hunamankind's vocals just don't do anything for me and when the lyrics don't do any heavy lifting...yeah...I'm going to move on real quick from this.
"Apple" by Charli XCX
The slow drip of songs charting from "Brat" has been interesting to say to the least especially as this is probably one of the better songs from the album to have charted, probably because it reminds me the most of the early 90s big beat era and Charli XCX is introspectively exploring the relationship between her, parents and the rest of her family. I dig this, check it out even if like me you are having an "Well, there is other music" winter.
"Backbone" by Chase & Status feat. Stormzy
So Chaase and Status are a UK electronic duo who have gotten a lot of praise from UK critics for their production work and that is certainly true here as the production on this song has a lot of bite and menace to it, it certainly sounds intimidating but then there's the track's guest feature and why this song has gotten so big out of the blue...Stormzy. I am sorry but his vocals do not add to the menacing or intimidating atmosphere set by Chase and Status especially when tbe lyrics are mostly just empty as hell flexing. I'll take the instrumental and move on.
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"I Love You, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams
Oh yay, another Gracie Abrams track hitting the charts and it's just not very good at all. on between the clingy "I just cannot get over you, I still love you" and yet it comes across as bland and cookie cutter as oatmeal biscuitsand cardboard. It just sounds like bog standard indie nonsense that got cut to ribbons in the 2010s, Pass.
"Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
In the early 2010s, this collab probably would have seen erections so big in the music industry, sales of Viagra would have probably taken a dip however in 2024, there's been an oddly sedate reaction to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars finally getting on a song together and it's hard to gage why especially as Lady Gaga hasn't really been that active in the music scene since Chromatica in 2020, you'd think people would be chomping at the bit for new Lady Gaga music
All that preamble to say that I absolutely love this song, yeah, the song is a bit too squeaky clean to really pull off the throwback but this harmonies connect even if I think Bruno is a tad too loud in the mix but yeah this works as something of a pop/rock power balla. It's worth giving a chance, check it out.
"Taste" by Sabrina Carpenter
So I haven't heard all of Sabrina Carpenter's new album "Short 'n' Sweet" but I have been able to hear this song on the radio and via streaming and I think this song might be the best of the three singles more because it's got this coursing guitar on the verses that I am actually a sucker for however I will also add that it does sound like a "great value" Olivia Rodrigo song that Olivia would perform vocally with much greater hitting impact than Sabrina does, in any case, it's still good, check it out.
"Kisses by Bl3ss x CamrinWatson feat. bbyclose"
So I cannot find any information about any of the artists involved in this song. I'm not surprised this is charting either it sounds like something that is pretty Brat by Charli XCX adjacent except without the swagger or punch that puts the aong over the top especially those vocals that sound like they had a child filter put over her voice. Other than that and some pretty generic lyrics that I forgot moments after hearing them, there's just not much to this song, Time to move on.
"The Door" by Teddy Swims
Oh look it's the better of the two Teddy Swims singles, thankfully "The Door" isn't as stiff and as controlled as "Lose Control" and does have a looser vibe to it which Teddy Swims can play into a lot more convincingly The content of this song is incredibly dark with Swims singing about walking out and getting away fron an abusive relationship in order to save his own life and yeah this one does hit hard. Damn good song that deserves to be a bigger hit than "Lose Control" ever was. Please check this out!
Worst of the Month: "I Love you, I'm Sorry" by Gracie Abrams
Honourable Mention: "The Door" by Teddy Swims, "Guess" by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish
Best of the Month: "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
