Pretending everything is fine is like the worldwide general “mood” I think, so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch of the imagination. Really the only clue that something is up should be the fact that I am listening to the Taylor Swift album and liking it. We are truly into the final stages of the end of the world. Will it end up on my end of year list? Whomst knows at this point. I have listened to it as many times as I have listened to BROCKHAMPTON’s latest record GINGER, and while I am not feeling Lover deep in my soul like I am with GINGER, it’s definitely enjoyable to my ears. So there we go. Anyway, I’ve had a busy couple weeks but regular service will now resume. Here’s the big name releases for this week. Check back on Wednesday for things you might have missed. Have a gorgey weekend!

JAX JONES – ‘JACQUES’ w/ TOVE LO

Jax Jones is really reliable when it comes to earworm pop tunes – my suspicion is that this reliability is in no small part down to MNEK’s involvement – and while I haven’t been particularly enamoured of the latest Tove Lo material, I am still what you would call a stan so I’m always keen to hear anything new from her. ‘Jacques’ is the most house-y track I’ve heard from Jax Jones, more house-y than I am generally into honestly, but the topline with it’s weird little talky parts and vocals lightly skimming the surface, gives me ‘disco tits’ vibes and I’m really into it.

KANO – ‘TEARDROPS’

I read a really great Kano interview earlier in the year where he discussed how his album – which is out today – is really about the album experience and not loose singles or features. Based on this taster, a track that paints a vivid picture over a minimal beat that evolves into something orchestral and beautiful a minute before the end, I’m excited to listen to it. If you enjoyed the Dave album, I reckon this is gonna be one for you.

SNAKEHIPS – ‘SUMMER FADE’ ft. ANNA OF THE NORTH

I cannot think of a single vocalist more perfect for a song called ‘Summer Fade’ than Anna of the North. I am generally a fan of Snakehips and their sound – shot through with that sort of listless existentialism I would describe as “the mid-twenties” – and this is a perfect capsule of it. Sad and swirly, a love in decline, this is going on my secret crying playlist. It’s a secret playlist for my secret crying. Cheaper than therapy, completely ineffective, definitely recommend.

POST MALONE – ‘CIRCLES’

Post Malone is just… not for me. There’s nothing wrong with him, he clearly makes a lot of people very happy, but to my eyes and ears, is he not just the mega-evolution of Ed Sheeran? Ed via small town America rather than small town United Kingdom? Ed with a producer mate instead of a loop pedal? I don’t know. I don’t care. This track, which sounds somewhere between a gazing out of the windows of cars and a lighters up moment, I guess, will stream 50 billion times and break whatever record was set last week by someone else and the world will spin on its axis, into night and back into day, over and over and over and over until we die.

CHARLI XCX – ‘WARM’ ft. HAIM

My understanding of the Charli album is that it is a compilation of collaborations more than it is an album particularly? In that case every track should sound like a single, right? Wrong! This is very track 9 territory. Tapering down energy. It’s nice enough, it will perhaps work better “in situ”, but I do think Charli’s precision has been compromised by HAIM’s meandering – this isn’t a particularly long song but I feel like I just listened to both parts of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience back to back.

PUSHA T – ‘COMING HOME’ ft. LAURYN HILL

I have actual chills listening to Lauryn Hill on this track. I think it’s partly because she hasn’t released anything truly new in so long and partly because her vocal is always so rich and spiritual that you can’t help but really feel it. In any case, Pusha is an excellent rapper and Kanye West and Mike Dean are excellent producers, so this was always going to be of a certain standard, but Lauryn is really just the most perfect cherry on top. Perhaps this is my favourite release of the day. It’s the only thing I’m itching to play again, put it that way.

BENNY BLANCO – ‘GRADUATION’ w/ JUICE WRLD

I don’t like this song – that weird pant that Juice WRLD does in the chorus is giving me actual anxiety – I just wanted to take this moment to say that it really is time that grown adults worldwide (WLRDwide?) got the fuck over school and the people they were there with. At your big age, singing “tell the girl in my math class I’m rich and you broke, bitch”. Sad. This is absolutely a subtweet @ most of you tbh. Prom queens aren’t necessarily bitchy, nerds aren’t necessarily misunderstood, and using your success to flex on people who highkey have not thought of you even a fraction as much as you have thought of them is tragique. Get, and I cannot stress this enough, a grip.