Downloads of the Week

SHAWN MENDES

“Kid in Love”

★ ½

SINCE becoming a Vine star in 2013, Shawn Mendes has frequently been touted as the next Justin Bieber, but his debut album “Handwritten” has much more in common with Ed Sheeran’s acoustic pop. The 16-year- old-Canadian fluently speaks the language of adolescent crushes on “Kid in Love,” but there’s a sterility to his sound andd elivery that prevents Mendes’ emotions from landing with nearly enough force.

A$ AP ROCKY

“M’$”

★★★

THE recent death of his friend and compatriot A$ AP Yams hit A$ AP Rocky hard, but on the latest taste of his upcoming second album “At. Long. Last. A$ AP” the Harlem rapper is choosing to concentrate on what he has rather than what he’s lost. The money brags aren’t exactly original but Rocky’s swagger, the brilliantly menacing beats and a hook that’s almost as big as his wallet all make “M’$” a dynamic return.

TAME IMPALA

“’ Cause I’m a Man”

★★★

THE big riffs and psychedelic freakouts that have made Tame Impala sucha widely adored band in underground circles is nowhere to be heard on their latest single ( taken fromtheir forthcoming album, “Currents”). Instead, “’ Cause I’m a Man” is a hazy and gorgeous soul ballad that sounds like itwas written to accompany the slow- dancing section of a late-’ 80s high school prom. Hold your date close, because Tame Impala is ensuring that there’s still magic in the air.

LYKKE LI “Hold On, We’re Going

Home”

★★★½

IN the Swedish pop singer’s celestial cover of Drake’s 2013 hit, her sparse musical reworking and chilling vocals make an already great song sound utterly divine. Drake may like to let his music do the talking for him, but it’s actually Lykke Li who’s amplifying his work to new levels.