THE PLAYLIST
Somkiat/ Khor The Pee Nee
Khor The Pee Nee (This year, please make it happen) is perhaps the most poppy-sounding track we’ve heard so far from Thai indie-pop quintet Somkiat. But this being a Somkiat song, we can always expect a gimmick or two. Set to a deceptively simple indie-pop melody, it manages to sneak in those crunchy riffs that they’ve perfected and made their own. “As long as the sky waits for the sun to shine/I’ll wait every second,” frontman Kanawin “Boat” Cheartaw yearns for that special someone to arrive. “Don’t know when we’ll meet/This year, please make it happen.”
Tinashe (ft Future)/ Faded Love
After their collaboration on her debut LP back in 2014, R&B singer Tinashe has reunited with rapper Future on her new single, Faded Love. Produced by Norwegian pop machine Stargate, the track further establishes Tinashe as a sensuous R&B songstress. “Don’t give me your name,” she teases over the understated production. “I don’t need your number saved in my phone/ Just follow me, follow me, follow me, follow me home.” Future then shows up with equally sexual statements as he vows to take her “farther than Jerusalem.” If all goes as planned, Faded Love should appear on Tinashe’s forthcoming third studio record, Joyride.
MGMT/ Me And Michael
Indie duo MGMT continues to get weird on their latest cut, Me And Michael, which marks the fourth single from their latest studio record, Little Dark Age. A solid follow-up to When You Die, Hand It Over and the title track, the song serves up dreamy ‘80s synth-pop and infectious new wave that will have some of you misty-eyed with overwhelming nostalgia. “Me and Michael/Solid as they come/Me and Michael/It’s not a question now,” vocalist Andrew Van Wyngarden sings, accompanied by a thick layer of hazy synthesisers and backing vocals.
Calvin Harris (ft PartyNextDoor)/ Nuh Ready Nuh Ready EDM king Calvin Harris has returned with a PartyNextDoor collaboration on his latest cut, Nuh Ready Nuh Ready. Jumping (or, rather, still staying) on the dancehall train, the Scottish DJ/producer follows last year’s Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1 with strong Caribbean vibes courtesy of the Canadian singer who befits it with some of his legit patois (“Dem want mi children and tings/Mi nuh ready fi all dem tings/So sweet, you’re so sweet/Mi nuh ready fi all dem tings”). The song itself is a nod to ‘90s house complete with bright, exuberant horns. Another banger under Harris’ belt.
Rina Sawayama/ Valentine (What’s It Gonna Be)
Yes, we’re aware that the Valentine’s has already been and gone, but this anti-Valentine anthem by Rina Sawayama will still be relevant come next year. Here, the Japanese singer-songwriter boldly rebels against “the boring age old narrative of heterosexual monogamy,” and straight up gives us a realistic, millennial’s point of view on love. “It’s not impossible for us to have it all/Your gendered principles were so incompatible … I don’t think about the future/Or whether we’ll stay together/Making promises is dangerous,” Sawayamacoos alongside lite-trap beats and futuristic R&B production.