Are you jamming out yet? This week we're covering Alessia Cara, Shakira, Shawn Mendes, and more!
We're back! It's that time of the week where we dissect the top 5 songs released this week, July 11–18!
"Don't Wait Up" - Shakira
Released: July 16, 2021
Album: Don't Wait Up
Highlights:
- Shakira's throaty, high-pitched notes that transcend over everything else
- Dark, aggressive underlying vibe pulsating beneath vocals and heightening during chorus
- Perfect club banger for summer clubbing!
Standout Lyrics: "Why won't you put down your phone and look me in the eye? / Got all dressed up for you, but you seem so occupied / Maybe space is all it takes, it's time to fix us"
"Kesi" - Shawn Mendes & Camilo
Released: July 15, 2021
Album: Single
Highlights:
- Vast difference between Mendes's vocal range and Camilo's, especially when verses switch between Spanish and English
- Swift, round summer DJ-beats evoking a Latin feel
- Bouncing rhythm combined with quick-strung, subdued guitar plucks
Standout Lyrics: "What would you do if I got down on my knees? / What if I flipped our whole world upside down now? / You know that we fit together, you'rе my queen"
"Cherry Flavored Stomache Ache" - Haim
Released: July 16, 2021
Album: The Last Letter from Your Lover
Highlights:
- Mellow, easy-going pace flowing with the easy-going vocals, as if there's not a care in the world
- Introduction of ethereal synth combination and harmonica during the chorus, bringing tremendous nostalgia and emotional depth
- Seemingly a combination of all music flavors, including blue-grass, folk, country, and with hints of electronic pop
Standout Lyrics: "She gets so lonely, she can't relate to anyone / She turns on the television and slips into a dream / She woke up in a scream / Take it easy on her"
"Sweet Dream" - Alessia Cara
Released: July 15, 2021
Album: Sweet Dream
Highlights:
- Mirror imagery between dreaming and turbulence of emotions to describe how feeling
- Lazily skipping beats creating a circular, pleasantly peaceful effect opening up to flighty piano notes before chorus drops
- Cara's mellow vocals glissading over the music as if guiding pace and rhythm
Standout Lyrics: "Need a step back from my feelings / Life is not so bad when I'm sleeping / Is it too much to ask, too much to ask for a / A sweet dream"
"Can You Handle My Love?" - Walk the Moon
Released: July 14, 2021
Album: Heights
Highlights:
- Impressive switch between frontman Nicholas Petricca singing of gaping words to more aggressive, fast-rapped lyrics
- Funky percussion and jaunty guitar chord chords colliding with the lightly atmospheric piano composition
- Outro crescendo with fading, tip-toeing piano notes
Standout Lyrics: "I woke up this morning and my vitals were low / My eyes were red from crying I was up until four / Turned up the sound of silence lying dead on the floor"
Did you enjoy this week's music review? Let us know in the comments!
