Every week Vulture highlights the best new music. If the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the year’s best music.
Kacey Musgraves, “Slow Burnâ€
If there was one music story to get excited about in the last week, it should’ve been the arrival of Kacey Musgraves’s third body of work, a near-perfect album which many have already (correctly) called an instant classic. An album of this quality and collectively agreed upon acclaim typically comes once a career for an artist, if it ever comes at all. It’s lightning in a bottle. Let us step into the golden hour with Kacey, spark a fat blunt, and allow “Slow Burn†to illuminate our lives until the very last ash falls. I can’t say anything about this exquisite song better than my colleague Craig Jenkins already did in his review: “‘Slow Burn’ is the kind of effortless double entendre a songwriter can spend an entire lifetime chasing.†—Dee Lockett (@Dee_Lockett)
The Weeknd, “Wasted Timesâ€
Pop Star Weeknd is fine and all, but we don’t listen to the Weeknd for that. We listen to the Weeknd because he speaks to our worst tendencies, the grimiest things we do, say, and think about sex, relationships, and heartache. We fell in love with Mixtape Weeknd because at, our core, we’re all kind of the worst and he’s unafraid to be the bad guy and say it loud and proud. The Weeknd we want is the Weeknd of old, like on “Wasted Times,†being equal parts spiteful, full of himself, and weak enough to tell an ex, “I hope you know this dick is still an option.†The one crooning over a slick beat asking questions he has no business asking about the sex life of a past lover who has clearly moved on, but is there still room for him in her rotation? Men just can’t live until they’ve had the absolute last word. This song is smutty and shameless and delightfully self-aware. Let’s have a toast to this douchebag. –DL
Hayley Kiyoko, “Palm Dreamsâ€
In the story of Hayley Kiyoko, it often gets shuffled into the middle of the deck that she just makes really fun, really pretty pop songs. Like, all the time. Before she was anyone’s Jesus, she was churning out rich, dreamy pop numbers with hooks you can’t deny. And as much as she’s an emerging gay icon, she’s a Southern California girl who grew up soaking in the sun and the sea. “Palm Dreams†is one of those Golden State tributes that sounds best when you’re driving and you’ve got warm wind on your skin — not “The Californians†kind of driving where you take six freeway interchanges in rapid succession, but Sunset Boulevard toward the coast or through Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway. If the term “palm dreams†has a sound, this is probably it. —Jordan Crucchiola (@jorcru)
Sabrina Claudio, “All to Youâ€
SoundCloud R&B princess Sabrina Claudio released a pair of new songs this week — a delicious summer slow jam with Khalid and the seductive bedroom jam, “All to You.†I love them equally, but “All to You†is intoxicating and striking for how much it knows the spell it’s casting in real time. Claudio plays with her power, seeing how far she can tease, tempt, and taunt a man before he breaks. There’s self-esteem and then there’s Sabrina Claudio speaking of her vagina like it’s some technologically advanced weapon of mass destruction engineered by Wakanda. –DL
Tyler, the Creator, “Okraâ€
Pure joy is witnessing Tyler the Creator live as happily and carefree as he has since releasing Flower Boy last year. He seems at peace and confident in his creativity in ways that haven’t always translated well into the art he’s produced. “Okra†is a song he released simply because he wanted to, because he’s having fun in this new headspace and probably isn’t sure how long it’ll last, so he may as well take advantage. He’s rapping (in a higher tone than his typically deep range) about racking up Grammy nominations, cutting off toxic friends, and admiring Timothée Chalamet over a booming bass-blowing beat. Honestly, he’s never sounded better. –DL
Snakehips ft. Jeremih and Aminé, “For the Fuck of Itâ€
Though I’m still waiting patiently for Jeremih to achieve the solo shine he’s capable of (last month’s Chocolate Shop just didn’t cut it), this new song with Snakehips will tide me over for the meantime. “For the Fuck of It,†is the second single from the U.K. production duo’s new EP, The Stay at Home Tapes, and features Jeremih’s vocals in all their sweet glory, as well as a verse from Aminé. Now all we need is a new Jeremih album, or even MihTy, his collaborative project with Ty Dolla $ign. —Corinna Burford (@coriburford)
Lizzo, “Fitnessâ€
There are three things to know about this song: Lizzo has been working on her fitness, we’re her witness, but she’s not doing any of it for us. Lizzo interpolates Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls.†Lizzo is the queen we don’t deserve. Need I say more? –DL
Gallant, “Gentlemanâ€
I don’t know who told Sabrina Claudio and Gallant it was okay to drop so much NSFW heat in the same week, but I’m guessing they weren’t asking for permission. When I spoke to Gallant, the young R&B singer with one of the most satisfying falsettos I’ve ever heard, back in 2016, he named Joe’s “I Wanna Know†as an influence. Well, sir, after hearing “Gentleman,†I believe you. It’s a difficult thing to make a person feel sexy but not sexualized. We want to feel desired, not owned. “Gentleman†understands that balance, steps right up to the line, but keeps both hands in bounds. Except there’s just that one pesky finger daring to push a little further and it’s enough to make the whole song drive a person wild — in a good way. I’ll just leave you with these two lines and the D’Angelo video homage below and give you some privacy: “Eat you out for dinner like a gentleman / Knock before I enter like a gentleman.†–DL