TRACK OF THE WEEK
Zayn & Taylor Swift
I Don’t Wanna Live Forever
Looking set to continue the current trend of “soundtracks that are better than the actual film” that was kicked off by last year’s Suicide Squad, I Don’t Wanna Live Forever is Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift’s single for Fifty Shades Darker. A breathy, sexy slow jam, Zayn seems like a version of the Weeknd you could take home to your mum, while Taylor sounds incredible, hitting notes she hardly ever attempts. The track also contains a finger snap so pleasingly sharp it sounds like the crack of a whip, which, considering this is for the soundtrack to a basic-bitch BDSM movie, is the most on-brand thing ever.
Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello
Bad Things
Bad Things is like the, er, bad version of I Don’t Wanna Live Forever. Machine Gun Kelly literally talks us through sex, step by step (we’ve all done it, mate!) and former Fifth Harmony singer Camila Cabello’s interpretation of “breathy” sounds like she’s straining to reach the high notes. Uncomfortable.
The xx
On Hold
Everyone’s favourite dancey misery-goths are back with On Hold, their first new music since 2013’s Together. A back-and-forth about a relationship-status miscommunication, it’s like Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft are singing an urgent WhatsApp breakup conversation, and it’s both mournful and beautiful. “I thought that I had you on hold?” asks Sim, painfully unaware that women and phones are totally different things.
Fickle Friends
Brooklyn
Warning: Fickle Friends’ cheerfully electropoppy Brooklyn changes pace several times during the track – sometimes bouncing along, sometimes slowing down – making it ideal for both Zumba teachers and anyone wanting to confuse a party full of nervous dancers.
Afrojack & Jay Karama
Diamonds
If you’ve ever lived near a pub, you’ll know the worst sound in the world: when the staff tip the empty bottles into the glass bin out the back first thing on a Sunday morning, and the loud, inescapable crashing and smashing and scraping sounds cut through your brain and somehow physically hurt everything inside your head. Afrojack has taken that torture and made it into a dance track by adding someone shouting the words “Illuminati!” and “fucking!” over the top. Truly, a rare talent.
