Here are our top 5 songs to stream this week.
Joe Budden – Broke
Joe Budden has had a couple rough months. The Jersey City native rapper isn’t afraid to share parts of his personal life, as evidenced by his reality show Love and Hip Hop. Even with everything aired out for public consumption, things can get ugly. Budden breaks down his past relationships and shares his feelings in his latest single Broke.
Budden uses the track as an opportunity to vent. It’s not Budden at his most lyrically impressive, but the emotion makes up for it, as the rapper lays bare. It’s as much an airing of the grievances as it is an attempt to make up for mistakes, which even Budden would have to admit he’s made plenty of. More practically, the track also serves as a sample to his upcoming album All Love Lost, which is due out later this year.
Kurt Vile – Pretty Pimpin
Indie rocker Kurt Vile doesn’t sound like he’s in a hurry to go anywhere. He’s laid back, somewhere between relaxed and lazy, on Pretty Pimpin. His seeming lack of urgency may be because for the duration of the track, he’s trying to figure out exactly who he is. Atop an acoustic guitar and reverberating electric riffs, he floats along trying to identify himself at every turn. Once he finally recognizes who he is, he concludes that he’s “pretty pimpin,” which is a revelation we should all have about ourselves.
Sleaford Mods – No One’s Bothered
The Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods are on their third studio release. Key Markets, out this week, finds the polarizing group hitting its stride in the middle ground of a grimey punk sound and hip hop elements. No One’s Bothered, the album’s lead single, displays the group at its best. A driving beat gives an almost anxious, rushing vibe to the song, as the duo insist “no one’s bothered.” It’s a clever bit of irony built into the track that encapsulates the act’s style.
Ashley Monroe – Weight of the Load
If you’re interested in country music stereotypes, you probably won’t want much to do with Ashley Monroe. Though Weight of the Load and other tracks on her new album, The Blade, have some of the familiar elements of country music, there’s plenty of pop influence and flairs that make the sound all her own. Weight of the Load wouldn’t feel out of place on your local country or top 40 station, and the ballad doesn’t sacrifice Monroe’s style along the way to either.
Chvrches – Leave A Trace
Chvrches was a pleasant surprise when they debuted with the critically-acclaimed album The Bones of What You Believe back in 2013. On their upcoming record due out later this year, the trio do their best not to reinvent the wheel, but to build upon what’s already working. Leave a Trace shows the process in action, as the group maintains their powerful sound, but with a simpler musical arrangement and more comfortable, cool vocals from Lauren Mayberry.
That’s it for now, but check back every week for more new tunes to stream!
