Tuesday, May 2, 2017

NMF Thoughts from April 28 - featuring Katy Perry, two Toves, and at least 3 Charli XCesque Songs!!!


Katy made Song of the Week!



Afrojack and David Guetta have teamed up with songwriter extraordinaire Ester Dean on the worst song of the week "Another Life". Unfsortunately, it's the most Spotify sounding song this week and since summer is coming, this is now worse than tropical house. Sorry to all involved but maybe do better?



 Sigrid returns after conquering last week with an acoustic version of new song "Dynamite". Considering how explosive her last two singles were, I bet this was released to show her diversity with a ballad. It's nice but I can't wait to hear the normal version of "Dynamite". 

Estonian pop queen Kerli returns today on the new Illenium single. "Sound of Walking Away" is a fairly generic dance track but Kerli remains exquisite the entire time. 

OneRepublic has decided to go tropical but their metaphor of a heart as an apartment building is pretty good. "No Vacancy" could still benefit from a better chorus though, or even a double chorus like "Kids". 

Following in his sister Noah's famous footsteps, Cyrus sibling and Metro Station singer Trace Cyrus has made a strangely passionate and elegant electroballad. Seriously Miley, you better hurry up!

As if she wasn't satisfied with her absolute monster of a ballad banger from last week, Dua Lipa has popped up on a new Wale track. It features Major Lazer and Wizkid too so that's nice but let's just enjoy Dua okay?

Cashmere Cat has released one of the more disappointing albums this year. After the small deluge of disappointing tracks, there is a silver lining involving as certain dangerous woman. "Quit" was written by Sia and is fairly obvious as Ariana Grande sweetly screams along the track. 

Danny L Harle of the constantly amazing PC Music has a new song out today that is the usual cartoon pop. Just something different but not groundbreaking. 

Good News: Ellie Goulding has returned for the first time since 2015. 
Bad News: it's a tropical house single with Kygo.
 Luckily, Ellie's lyrics save the song from the onslaught of typical trip-pop songs into something of substance. 


The Vamps have decided to be a boy band that teams up with DJs?! It's certainly unique. After going trop-pop "All Night" with Matoma, they release another nocturnal anthem called "Middle of the Night" with Martin Jensen. It's very Spotify esque but since a boy band hasn't probed this territory yet it sounds quite fresh!

"Love Myself" hitmaker Hailee Steinfeld has gone back to making decent pop tunes with "Most Girls". Weirdly, the chorus is my least favorite parts as the verses are quite introspective. It's nice to hear Hailee back in her element but we need a power pop anthem to really get us on the Steinfeld train. 

My new favorite Scandinavian ice prince is Gabriel Gassi whose new track "Heartbreaker" is equal trop-pop, Spanish guitar, and Swedish electropop. His other single "Street Phone" is worth a look also. He's one to watch, and not just for that gorgeous face. 

Fall Out Boy have sampled Britney Spears to create the most outrageous rockstep song I've ever heard before. It's on the listenable side so I can forgive the heavy-handedness. 

The new triple single by Foster The People is just as ineffective as when Jojo did it, but the best song is quite bouncy and fun. "Doing It For Money" would pair well with the Bleachers' "Don't Take The Money". 

You know what we could all use right now? A new Swedish boyband. To fill the void until FO&O release their album, QUEST have arrived with their summery and chill "Walking On The Moon". I would have put this with all the other trop-pop songs but there is something special and hypnotizing about the chorus. We'll have to see if they're the next 1D but this is a solid start. 

The new Phoenix song sounds like it's from 2009, a very good year for music indeed. More songs this year could use the magic that "J-Boy" has. 


The Swedish Firefox AK has returned with her best single since "Boom Boom Boom". I should make a playlist consisting of just amazing songs called "Wildfire". I can think of three off the top of my head. 

Lady Leshurr's new EP is sort of everything you could want from the British spitfire. "Glucose" is my favorite because the ravy bits in the chorus are 10/10. 

Born Stranger are slowly working towards becoming the best elegant dance-pop superstars in the world. After last year's magnificent "Be Someone", their new single "Generation" continues their hot streak. If there was a real chorus thrown in, it might have beat Katy for track of the week. 

Niia sounds like Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish on her new song "Nobody". As if that wasn't enough, there is a FLUTE!!!

Harper is another new talent breaking out in 2017. Her new song "No Love In The Jungle" feels like a really amazing version of Marina doing trop-pop. After this one, I would keep your eyes on Harper because she seems full of surprises. 

"White House" by Dolores Haze is the perfect mix of Charli XCX and Uffie. Slightly ridiculous pop by a charismatic singer tends to be the best kind. 

In what might be the greatest title for a pop song, Rebecca & Fiona have released the pop punk "Pop Bitches". While they do disparage pop bitches like me, I can forgive them as the song is ace and sounds like something from Charli's second album Sucker



"Best Behaviour" hitmaker Louisa Johnson is slowly becoming my favorite X Factor winner. She pops up on AJR's new mix for their single "Weak". It's not available in the US but if you manage to get a hold of it, it really makes a Friday morning worthwhile. 

Allie X is in full on promotion mode now as her first full album comes out in June. Lead single "Paper Love" is absolutely magical and the whistling bit is such an Allie stroke of genius. I really think she could be the next Gaga and hopefully she gets to showcase that on her album. 

Both Toves have returned to pop today! Tove Lo has been busy touring so she has settled for releasing a remix of new single the drug lovers anthem "Influence". It's the kind of stoner pop that made Tove famous in the first place but I prefer the original, much the same way I loved "Habits" unedited.

But it looks like 2017 has chosen a different Tove as the best one. I'm talking about the equally fantastic Tove Styrke! After having us call her name in 2011, Tove wants us to simply say it this time around. "Say My Name" is on brand alt-pop for Tove but adds some Asian influences. It's a good palate cleanser for whatever she has coming but reminds you of just how amazing she was to begin with. 



K.I.D released one of my favorite EPs of the year with Poster Child and have chosen the very best song "Boy" as a single. As if things couldn't get better, they have brought in rapstress extraordinaire Cupcakke to make the track that much dirtier and fun. The best part is still the "I like my tongue in your mouth" line but it's an overall triumph for everyone involved. 

Emily Vaughn has released a dramatic and orchestral song called "Mood". It's hard to pull off annoyed and bitchy without coming off as an asshole but Emily does a very good job at being a relatable pop star here. 

BLENDA has appeared out of nowhere with her cool new single "Chill". It's such a weirdmazing song and sounds like nothing else out there right now. V exciting. 


The Japanese House has been on the brink of pop brilliance for a while. Her atmospheric electronica is lovely but it wasn't until "Face Like Thunder" that I could see her as a star in her own right. That is until today, when her new single "Saw You In A Dream" wrecked me with its obvious beauty. It's the kind of song you want to fall in love to at the beach. 
Charli XCX appears on her thousandth feature. This time it's a industrial pop track with Whethan that's quite lovely which is a nice contrast to the crunchy production of "love gang". But it's just natural to have a unique pop song on your hands when Charli is involved. 



Katy Perry's "Chained To The Rhythm" was absolutely fantastic. But it was getting a little stale so Katy has returned with a new treat "Bon Appétit". It could have benefitted from the rumored Ariana Grande collab but Migos will have to do. It's one of the most pop things you'll hear all year and has the perfect vibe for the upcoming summer months. The Max Martin production is much more obvious on this one and the fact that the full-on chorus doesn't come until 2 minutes in makes it just that much more interesting. By the time it comes, you feel like the smart sexy and summery electropop of "Bon Appétit" deserves to be a number one single but is just a little too weird to be one. I remember thinking the same about Ariana's "Into You" and we all saw how amazing that was. So just bone app the teeth and enjoy Katy's new single.

Here is a playlist of all the highlights of this week, with "Bon Appétit" as the finale. If you want to catch up with the best of the best, here is another playlist for 2017 pop hits!




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