POP/ROCK

The Smile, "The Smoke"

The Smile — Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead with Tom Skinner, a drummer from Sons of Kemet — has quickly demonstrated its range. The trio snarled through its first single, "You Will Never Work in Television Again," only to play things cool on its second, "The Smoke." A minute-long instrumental intro sticks to syncopated bass and dub-echoed drums, in a 10-bar pattern that threatens to trip up unwary dancers as it seems to switch between 4/4 and waltz time. Yorke's high vocals and a hazy horn arrangement join the rhythmic crosscurrent as he sings about what might be the heat of desire or destruction, crooning, "Smoke wakes me from my sleep."

JON PARELES, New York Times

Glaive, "Icarus"

This ostensibly summery, midtempo song shows off the relatively less hyper side of hyperpop star Glaive, though its lines still hit like angst-ridden daggers: "We're flying too close to the sun," he sings to his romantic partner in crime. A highlight from the deluxe edition of his 2021 EP "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (cheekily retitled "Old Dog, New Tricks"), "Icarus" has an instantly catchy hook that shows why many hail Glaive as the potential breakout star of his underground subgenre. But the song still retains an appealingly edgy sense of emotional mayhem: "I'm setting fire to my room, 'cause I don't know what else to do!"

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times

R&B

Raveena featuring Vince Staples, "Secret"

Raveena's "Secret" is a pulsing after-hours affair. With her barely there voice, the R&B singer whispers silken come-ons over a muted tabla drum. It's retrograde but futuristic, like the forthcoming concept album it appears on, which tells the story of a space princess from ancient Punjab.

ISABELIA HERRERA, New York Times

NEW RELEASES

  • Mitski, "Laurel Hell"
  • Bastille, "Give Me the Future"
  • Animal Collective, "Time Skiffs"
  • Korn, "Requiem"