Monthly Report: May 2021 Singles
1. Dustin Lynch - "Momma's House"
I love a good misleading country song title, I assumed "Momma's House" was a folksy song about family until I actually heard Dustin Lynch sing "I'd burn this whole town down if it wasn't for my momma's house," kind of an angrier variation on Eric Church's "Give Me Back My Hometown." It's an ugly sentiment, to say the least, but the song does a good job of building up that breakup song bile but sweetening it a little with the melody and the distance between the idea and the reality of a guy who blocked a girl on his cell phone but still can't stop thinking about her. Here's the 2021 singles Spotify playlist that I add songs to every month.
2. Fredo Bang - "Top"
I like the clash between Fredo Bang's kind of downbeat lyrics and the saccharine beat that sounds like it sampled the guitar from some yacht rock song, really an incredibly catchy track.
3. Giveon - "Heartbreak Anniversary"
I didn't like this song much at all at first. I didn't know what to make of Giveon's voice, which sounds so much like a cross between Sam Smith and Sampha that I was surprised he's American, and that weird distorted keyboard (?) part dragging behind the beat. But it's really grown on me as it's become inescapable on R&B radio, excellent ballad.
4. All Time Low - "Once In A Lifetime"
I've been rooting for All Time Low for a long time as these Baltimore County survivors of the late Warped Tour era who've finally become radio stars. But I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about the song that took All Time Low to their all time high, "Monster." Their new single, however, is a little closer to what they do best, without a rap verse from Blackbear or anyone else, and I like the way most of the song is midtempo and then they shift to a punk pop rave up for the last chorus.
5. Silk Sonic - "Leave the Door Open"
I like projects like this where an A-lister starts a group with someone who's more of a cult favorite or opening act, Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak are kind of like The Raconteurs of retro R&B. But in a weird way, I think Bruno doing this song outside of his proper solo catalog was a canny move -- he's had huge hits with uptempo '70s/'80s R&B pastiches, and with pop ballads, but the only time previous time he released an R&B slow jam as a single, "Versace On The Floor" was damn near the only flop of his career. By putting "Leave the Door Open" under the Silk Sonic banner, the song kind of got to take on a life of its own and become a #1 that sounds unlike any other #1 in recent memory.
6. Ariana Grande - "POV"
I love that Ariana Grande's still in her prime and just completely dominating the field, for the last couple weeks all three Positions singles have been in the pop radio top 10 at the same time. And "POV" is the kind of gentle swooning midtempo track she's done on her albums many times but has not really gotten on the radio before, so she's getting a fuller picture of her sound out there too.
7. Lainey Wilson - "Things A Man Oughta Know"
Everybody loves Dolly Parton and many artists are influenced by her, but very few people actually sing like Dolly. So one of the things I really like about Lainey Wilson is that I hear a lot of Dolly in her voice, in a very natural and unforced way. I totally missed Lainey Wilson's Jay Joyce-produced album Sayin' What I'm Thinkin' when it came out in February, but now that the single has become a hit I've gone back and checked it out, it's an excellent record that happens to feature a song called "WWDD" (as in "what would Dolly do?").
8. Sevyn Streeter f/ Chris Brown and A$AP Ferg - "Guilty"
This isn't any profound or novel observation to make about a James Brown classic, but recently "The Payback" came on the radio and I was really struck that it might sound better on a car stereo than any song I've ever heard, it's really just incredible. "The Payback" is sampled on "Guilty" via the muffled and subdued style it was sampled on Total's "Can't You See," but in any form it's just an unstoppable groove. I always root for Sevyn Streeter, I love her voice and her writing, and it kind of bums me out that her biggest successes have always been songs featuring Chris Brown (or songs she wrote for Chris Brown). And "Guilty" is even more depressing in that regard because I can't imagine a rapper I'd want to hear on an R&B record less than A$AP Ferg, but it's still a good track.
9. Queen Naija - "Pack Lite"
I haven't really cared for any of Queen Naija's stuff since "Medicine," and I'm surprised I don't hate a song where she borrows the sample and the hook of one of Erykah Badu's biggest hits, but I really like the sound of "Pack Lite."
10. Lake Street Dive - "Hypotheticals"
I don't really follow the Triple A (Adult Alternative Airplay) charts, but "Hypotheticals" is apparently a big hit on it, and the freeform college station I listen to, WTMD, has been playing it a lot, catchy song and Rachael Price has a great voice.
The Worst Single of the Month: Imagine Dragons - "Follow You"
Imagine Dragons are kind of an easy target for derision like the biggest rock band of its era often is, and I'd rather defend the occasional song by them that I enjoy than just smugly make fun of Nickelbag or whatever. But holy shit this song sucks. Imagine Dragons released two songs at the top of the year, and the Rick Rubin-produced b-side "Cutthroat" might actually be worse than "Follow You," but this is the one that's on the radio and it's easily the worst hit of the band's career.
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