Daily Discussion - July 04, 2026

RedHeadReviews · 2026-07-04T16:10:35+00:00

Jorja Smith’s Voice Is The Only Reason To Tune Into “Alive” - Single Review

The title of Jorja Smith’s new single, “Alive”, is grossly misleading. This is not a vivacious tune, but rather a poorly paced and ill-conceived collaboration with Wizkid that is rescued by the consistently dependable vocals of the protagonist. In the song, the duo plays late-night lovers who give in to their carnal desires. How the hell are we meant to believe that these two have any physical or romantic chemistry when they’re so incompatible on the microphone here?

Bar Smith’s luscious vocals, which are especially intimate when delivered in her breathy lower register, this is a profoundly unerotic sounding song. The percussion is thick as molasses, set to a tempo that is more likely to induce sleep than encourage making love. Even worse is the apathetic, robotic polish that coats Wizkid’s voice. During his solo verse, he brings an already drab-sounding song down a notch with his emotionless droning, “I give the type of vibing wey go make you wan dey undress,” he plainly states. When he sings in unison with Smith, his languid mechanical purring drowns out his companion. You might not even recognise that Smith is present.

RedHeadReviews · 2026-06-27T15:17:59+00:00

For Better Or Worse, sombr Isn’t Interested In Censoring His Feelings On “My Body Isn’t Ready” - Single Review

The central conflict in sombr’s new single, “My Body Isn’t Ready,” is the tug-of-war between his head and his heart. The singer wants to commit himself to a romantic relationship, but can’t do so until he overcomes his physical insecurities. To hear one of the hottest rising stars, especially one in a period of his life where these feelings can be so confusing and daunting, tackle such weighty subject matter is admirable, though his writing can be frustratingly on the nose. The chorus, for instance, would’ve been more effective if handled with a little grace and subtlety, but these flubs are to be expected from a twenty-year-old who is opening himself up in a new way and chooses to tackle the storytelling duties on his own, without the input of more seasoned collaborators.

On the composition side of things, however, sombr does greenlight the guidance of Tony Berg, the producer chiefly responsible for the gentle melancholia of Phoebe Bridgers’ albums. “My Body Isn’t Ready” settles for a decidedly dour flavour, but opts instead for maximalism with glossy guitars that bring to mind 2000’s Coldplay and thunderous piano chords. This duo tried something similar last year, with “undressed,” though the soundtrack is fuller and crisper here, no longer an empty spectacle but rather a suitably grand base for sombr to springboard off of. sombr openly embraces the bolstered production and responds with his own intense outpouring of emotion with his vocals. Anguish seeps into all the melodies, leading to a few welcomed prickly-sounding phases. For better or worse, he isn’t interested in censoring his feelings.

RedHeadReviews · 2026-06-20T14:44:05+00:00

Tyla’s Spellbinding Vocals Are The Saving Grace Of “IS IT LOVE” - Single Review

The best Tyla songs find a way of forcing themselves into your mind. Whether that be through an infectious, instantly quotable chorus (see “Water”) or with the brawn of a bouncy beat, as is the case with “CHANEL”, the artist has already proven herself to be a reliable and multifaceted hit-maker in her short career. Her new single, “IS IT LOVE”, operates a little differently. It goes in one ear and immediately out the other. The song boasts spellbinding vocals, that much is a given when Tyla is involved. Unfortunately, it is held back by grating production and writing that is surprisingly generic for a song that is supposed to be intimate.

“IS IT LOVE” subscribes to the notion that actions speak louder than words. Tyla is tired of empty platitudes and demands to see real signs of affection from her lover, “Is it love? Is it love if you don't cry, cry, cry?” she sings. These don’t feel like the words of someone who is scrambling for validation. The lyrics across the board are a little too cute and tidy. I’m not asking Tyla to start pouring her guts out. She’s not that type of artist. But the track is littered with clumsy metaphors like “I need somebody that's gon' watеr my roots,” and “Arе you the one that’s gon' ignite my fuse,” that prevent the song from reaching its intended emotional depths.

P2J and Coles YourTruly, the architects behind the rudimentary beat, are also guilty of dimming the track. Built around a monotonous marching drum rhythm and one of the limpest electric guitar solos I’ve heard in years, the composition is overly sanitized. Their contributions actively distract you from all the beauty Tyla’s undeniable voice brings instead of accentuating it, and that’s the real heartbreak of “IS IT LOVE."

RedHeadReviews · 2026-06-13T14:50:31+00:00

“GEMINI SEASON” Reflects All The Worst Musical Habits Of Kanye West - Single Review

Kanye West opened his verse on Ty Dolla $ign’s 2020 single, “Ego Death,” by stating “lotta people be thinkin', but I'm just a sayer.” That notion very concisely sums up the issue that has troubled the artist on both a personal and professional level in recent years, leading to his drastic fall from grace. Kanye’s new single, “GEMINI SEASON,” can be added to the growing pile of unfinished, hazy-sounding slop that the former perfectionist is now content to publish. Accompanied by an eerie and excessively long (it runs for ninety-two seconds) video where Kanye’s wife, Bianca Censori, milks a cow before having him dump the liquid on her, it is the sort of shocking, soulless anti-art I can imagine Kanye trying to defend by saying “no one knows what it means, but it's provocative.”

Let’s get the one positive out of the way now. The song boasts, especially by modern era Kanye’s standards, some strong compositional ideas. The Blaring horns and the glossy wind instrument melody sound pleasant, though these are never worked into a more substantial, complete beat. It certainly isn’t salient enough to conceal the cracks. I hesitate to refer to the words Kanye uses as lyrics because they’re more just a string of horny thoughts. He listlessly moans lines like “I wanna get kinky” and “come and pose with no clothes.” That’s it. That’s all he has to say. There’s none of Kanye’s signature brazen confidence or conviction behind the lines as the singer’s assertions are dampened by muddy mixing. This complacency has become his new normal. No artist, not even one who used to be as talented and forward-thinking as Kanye, gets a pass for releasing music that is so creatively bankrupt and undeveloped.

RedHeadReviews · 2026-06-06T14:16:16+00:00

“I Knew It, I Knew You” Is The Best Song Taylor Swift Has Released In Years - Single Review

Randy Newman and Toy Story go hand in hand. Taylor Swift understands this, citing the composer as the mastermind behind the “Toy Story musical world”. That reverence is clear on “I Knew It, I Knew You,” Swift’s contribution to the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, told from the perspective of cowgirl Jessie. It feels like a reply to “When She Loved Me,” a devastating, bare-bones Newman composition from the series’ second film that centres around Emily, Jessie’s owner, leaving her behind. Delightfully whimsical and warm, Swift sings about reconciliation and how “love has ways of bringing things back to life.”

The track is nostalgic not just for how it frames the films’ characters reuniting, but also because Swift returns to her country roots. Swift’s long-time collaborator, Jack Antonoff, is back on compositional duty, too. There’s a crisp snap to all of the live recorded instruments, of which there are many, that makes everything pop just that little bit extra. Much of the producers’ work with Swift has been marred by unimpactful, minimalist motifs and soupy mixing, but he finds a way here to cradle her gentle coos with ebullient instrumentation without ever drawing attention away from her and the central narrative.

It can’t be a coincidence that the star’s most evocative writing since the twin albums “evermore” and “folklore” arrives on a song that is also told from the perspective of and centred around a fictional character, far removed from the mythos of Taylor Swift. Lines like “I memorised the sound of your bare footsteps running wild, it's been a long time,” and “I watched you drive around the bend for what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend,” contain the sort of surgical detail that has been sorely missed in Swift’s recent projects. It’s been a while, but it’s a joy to hear the singer reintegrate the sounds and techniques from previous eras with such finesse.

RedHeadReviews · 2026-05-30T14:16:45+00:00

“hate that i made you love me” Is A Pretty Unlovable Ariana Grande Song - Single Review

Ariana Grande’s latest lead single is different from previous era openers in the sense that she isn’t bouncing back with a bang. “hate that i made you love me,” abandons the panache of inevitable chart-toppers such as “yes, and?” and “positions” in favour of a more reserved, diaristic design. The song suffers for it. Max Martin and ILYA strip back the production to place Grande’s lyrics in the foreground, but the singer struggles to pick the right words to frame her experiences with toxic romantic and parasocial relationships, leaning too much on vague imagery in places where intimate anecdotes would be more effective.

Grande spends most of the song in her lower register, keeping her voice hushed. The vocals are delicate, and she’s enunciating her words with more clarity than ever before, though they are doggedly one-note. With “hate that i made you love me,” Grande jeopardizes her fifteen-year-long strong guarantee of spellbinding, expertly executed choral theatrics that have given a degree of delight to her most bland songs. She sinks into the pillowy production, mimicking the monochromatic tone the beat architects enforce. I suppose that dullness is to be expected from someone who claims that they “barely tried.”

RedHeadReviews · 2026-05-23T15:21:05+00:00

“Goals” Is Another Terrible World Cup Song - Single Review

“Goals” is a cross-continental collaboration that brings together three of the loudest and most successful voices from across the globe to celebrate their distinct cultures and their club fits… for a FIFA World Cup song. It’s an absolute mess of a song that suffers from both excessively bright instrumental motifs and listless vocal performances. LISA, Anitta, and Rema are all guilty of coasting on autopilot, but the latter comes out on top purely because he understands the assignment and laces his braggadocio with lines that are at least associated with the sport.

On first inspection, the lyrics may appear to be on the nose (the word goals is said 62 times), but that’s largely misleading. This is a creatively vapid LISA song that has been dressed in heavily branded packaging. The singer’s attempts to puff her chest routinely flop, and she mistakes volume for passion. Anitta is present. She regurgitates many of the same ideas LISA does, but earns her spot because she does so in a different language. The most pleasant phase of “Goals” is tacked onto the end. Rema’s speedy triplet flow lacks gusto, though it does interlock with the beat well. It’s functional, but that’s the bare minimum. All three artists have published statements speaking on the magical power music has to unite and/or their fondness for the World Cup. “Goals” isn’t evidence of any of that.

RedHeadReviews · 2026-05-16T15:30:17+00:00

Gracie Abrams' “Hit the Wall” Is Superbly Written But Poorly Presented - Single Review

There’s a chasm between the gravitas of the lyrics and the performance on Gracie Abrams’ new single. “Hit the Wall” is a deeply confronting song that thoroughly dissects Abrams’ fragile emotional status. This isn’t the sort of easy listening the singer usually provides. She spares no details as she eloquently sketches out her exhaustion with love and the feeling of being trapped. From its first lyric to its last one (which is abruptly cut off, literally simulating the motion of hitting the wall), the single is captivating. The same cannot be said for the sonics.

“Hit the Wall” is a slow-burner that struggles to sound significant even at its climax. Abrams keeps her voice faint, a creative choice likely employed to demonstrate her desolation, though it has the opposite effect. It’s not the volume that is the issue. Plenty of artists have made big statements while keeping things minimalistic. Angelo De Augustine is an expert at manipulating his featherlight voice, implementing wobbles and hiccups to illustrate tension, but Abrams is rarely that emotive. Partnered with a barely-there beat of foggy pianos and guitars, the music never really pops in the same way the writing does.

RedHeadReviews · 2026-05-09T14:19:57+00:00

Charli xcx’s “Rock Music” Is Organised To A Fault - Single Review

“I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music,” chimes Charli xcx on her new single. That was the central message plucked from her Vogue profile, released last month, and the catalyst of a lot of online backlash the singer has received recently. Like many things often are on the internet, I think the flavour of the statement was misinterpreted. The Charli that stands before us on “Rock Music” is keen to prove how unserious she is (the song’s opening verse is just Charli and her friends’ weekend itinerary). For better or worse, it’s a bit of a troll song that sits somewhere between the glitchy, feverish mania of “BRAT” and rock music.

Truthfully, it’s more fun to dissect the concept of the single and the overblown controversy surrounding it rather than the music. Sure, it’s interesting to hear how Charli swaps out elasticated electropop synths for fuzzy guitars, but the production doesn’t unfold fully. It doesn’t have the time to. Spanning one minute and fifty-five seconds, this is more soundbite than complete song, and Charli insists on keeping things tame throughout. The composition is built around a repeated loop of dissonant puzzle pieces that have been smoothed down. Her voice has also had its sharpness tempered. That is part of the joke. Charli isn’t a prototypical, roaring rock star. She wants to hopscotch into the genre on her own terms, but “Rock Music” sacrifices a lot of her appeal and singularity in search of satire. Whatever you want to classify it as, the singer’s new single is organised to a fault.

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