Tracks of the week reviewed: Vampire Weekend, Jennifer Lopez and Tulisa

Vampire Weekend
This Life

Vampire Weekend released two singles this week, one of which is this and one of which is called Unbearably White and that’s … quite a title. I could have picked the song that’s probably a commentary about race and culture, or I could have picked the one with a fun hook. I think we can all agree I made the right choice. This Life has that happy-resolution-as-the-credits-roll feel that Dire Straits’ Walk of Life has, even though the aforementioned hook is all about infidelity and the general horrorshow that is love. But in, like, a fun way!

Victoria Monét & Ariana Grande
Monopoly

Ariana Grande gave an interview last year in which she explained she wanted to release songs “like a rapper”, as and when she felt like it rather than writing a song and sitting on it for two years until the album campaign. Which is good in theory, and is how we ended up with Thank U, Next. But the danger of releasing songs willy nilly is that sometimes you end up putting out a load of old shit like this, isn’t it?

Jennifer Lopez and French Montana
Medicine

You know when you start a sentence and you’re not quite sure where it’s going to end up, so you chuck in some kind of idiom to tie the whole thing together but you slightly mess up the saying and your mistake hangs in the air while people formulate a response? This song’s a bit like that. “I can be your medicine, give you a taste of what you give out …” is annoyingly almost the saying, the jaunty sax line is almost something I recognise, but I’m going to need a sec to work out quite how to respond.

BLACKPINK
Kill This Love

Cheryl wanted to fight for this love, but I prefer BLACKPINK’s scorched-earth policy. One of the very few pop songs to get away with Little Drummer Boy-esque “rum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum”s, it rings with military drums and ominous horns. A glorious cacophony that will have you dumping the love of your life. By text.

Tulisa
Daddy

I have long subscribed to the FREE TULISA movement, and I want to FREE TULISA from the shackles of this terrible song, from chasing social media currency by naming a song Daddy and from whatever half-thought-out production nonsense is going on under her vocals. Has there ever been a less sexy lyric than “You know just how to play me / Like a guitar hero”? I want only good things for Tulisa: chuck this song out and try again.