Boys problems? Carly Rae Jepsen has them in abundance on “Beach House,” a cheeky earwig from her upcoming album “The Loneliest Time.” Jepsen uses her deadpan sense of humor as she lists the red flags and deal breakers that make relationships with “Boy No. 1′ marred to ‘Boy No. I Can’t Keep Count Anymore’. But amid all the silliness (“I have a beach house in Malibu,” a prospect tells her, “and I’m probably going to hurt you”), the song effectively uses the romantic frustration of endless, “Groundhog Day”-esque. first dates and prolonged singledom: “I’ve been on this ride, this roller coaster is a carousel,” Jepsen sings on the haunted pre-chorus, “And I’m getting nowhere.” LINDSAY ZOLADZ
DJ Khaled with Drake and Lil Baby, ‘Staying Alive’
A curiously melancholy opening salvo to the upcoming DJ Khaled album “God Did”, “Staying Alive” nods casually to the Bee Gees en route to a far less ecstatic place. In this construction, staying alive is an act of resistance, not exuberance. Drake laments: “This life allows me to take what I want / It’s not like I know what I want”, while in the video he plays a doctor who smokes hookah in the hospital and draws absently on the charts of patients who may need some help in reaching the song title. JON CARAMANICA
Benny Blanco, BTS and Snoop Dogg, ‘Bad Decisions’
This collaboration is as unimaginative as the English-language BTS breakthrough hit ‘Dynamite’, but somehow less tacky. also believe very well what he has to do. CARAMANICA
The 1975, ‘Happiness’
‘Happiness’, the latest single from the eclectic British pop group the 1975, sounds both tight and a bit spontaneous; the dense, 80s-inspired production shines, but there’s always enough air circulating to keep the atmosphere well-ventilated. Frontman Matty Healy sounds unusually laid-back here, trading his usual arc, hyper-referential lyrics for simpler sentiments: “Show me your love, why don’t you?” he sings to an ecstatic chorus that is catchy without feeling overdetermined. The video, directed by Samuel Bradley, is a hoot, finding the group ambushed in all sorts of seedy, beautifully lit environments—basically the visual equivalent of the luscious saxophone solo that falls in the middle of the song. ZOLADZ
Bandmanrill, ‘Real Hips’
A surprisingly luscious and agile offering from Newark rapper Bandmanrill that makes clear the continuous lines connecting drill music, Jersey club and bass music. CARAMANICA
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom, ‘Edge of the Edge’
Fans of Panda Bear’s beloved 2007 album “Person Pitch” will likely enjoy the sunny, collage-style “Edge of the Edge,” which will be released next week on “Reset,” the Animal Collective member’s collaboration album with Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom. “Edge of the Edge” combines a playful sample of doo-wop group Randy & the Rainbows’ 1963 hit “Denise” with Panda’s serene melodic vocals, which cut the carefree, pop-psychedelic atmosphere with some light social critique: ” Can ‘don’t say you counted on it,’ he sings, wagging his finger at the frenzied escalation of technology, ‘it’s forever at the touch of a button.’ The song, in contrast, sounds pleased off the grid
Bonny light rider, ‘exile’
The voices of Eric D. Johnson and Anaïs Mitchell blend beautifully with ‘Exile’, the opening track of the folk trio Bonny Light Horseman’s upcoming second album ‘Rolling Golden Holy’. The song is a duet in the truest emotional sense, as Mitchell dives in to finish some of Johnson’s lines and provides a warm, glowing harmony in the chorus that satisfies his lonely plea: “I don’t wanna live in exile.” ZOLADZ
YoungBoy Never Broke Again with Rod Wave, ‘Home Ain’t Home’
The two loneliest howlers in hip-hop unite for a meditation on the joylessness of fame. CARAMANICA