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Favorite Songs of the Week

SPIN’s 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

Welcome to our weekly roundup of the SPIN staff’s favorite new songs. Below, sample the best from R&B stars, power-punk favorites, and more.

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

21 Savage and Metro Boomin, “Ocean Drive” (Slaughter Gang)
The appropriately named 21 Savage raps like he’s been numbed to murder. His latest mixtape, Savage Mode, produced by Metro Boomin, is dead-eyed and menacing, a trip through Atlanta with a hard-hearted killer. It’s an ode to violence. But then there’s its placid closer, “Ocean Drive,” which moves gently on the winding strings of a harpsichord and the hums of a disembodied chorus. In verse, 21 takes a calming cruise through the city with his favorite things — codeine, $20k, and his glock. But it’s in this moment of comfort that he’s plagued by all he’s lost. — SHELDON PEARCE

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

Bibi Bourelly, “TIDES” (Def Jam)
Bibi Bourelly was the songwriter behind one of the most talked-about hits of 2015 (Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money”), and with a North American tour set to start at the end of summer, she’s finally stepping into the spotlight. Her new track “TIDES” is less a song about going with the current and more about stealing the wave. Over a dreamy melody, Bourelly’s unmistakable croon builds as she belts out, “And I’ma ride, ride, ride, the wave / Ain’t no tide gonna slow me down.” But the cherry atop “TIDES” is the end quote from the original Badass Queen, Nina Simone, urging the listener to be “more aware of themselves and where they came from.” — MAYA LEWIS

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

Jeremih, “Belgium (Get Down)” (Def Jam)
The theme is Europe but the sound is Chicago: Despite its name, “Belgium” roots itself in the Windy City’s high-octane footwork sound. Jeremih’s charisma ties together Late Nights: Europe’s “shoop, baby, shoop” atmosphere, but on “Belgium (Get Down),” he leans back and lets the head-twisting bass take over. Unsurprisingly, footwork Jeremih ain’t a bad listen. — BRIAN JOSEPHS

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

MIYNT, “After the Gold Rush” (B3SCI Records)
It shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that MIYNT’s newest single was produced by Daniel Nigro, a frequent collaborator of alt-pop stars like Sky Ferreira and Carly Rae Jepsen. Full of warped, “Clint Eastwood”-sounding percussion and off-kilter piano solos, “After the Gold Rush” is an odd blend of musical analog and digital, but more importantly, it’s a home run for yet another rising electropop act warming Sweden’s chilly winds. — MATTHEW MALONE

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

Låpsley, “Operator (He Doesn’t Call Me)” (DJ Koze 12-Inch Extended Disco Version) (XL)
What for veteran electronic anthem-inverter DJ Koze to do with British pop maven Låpsley’s glitteringly anachronistic disco throwback “Operator (He Doesn’t Call Me)”? Wisely, not all that much: just some extra dial-tone pulses, cowbell cascades, and enough patient, stretched-out grooving to recall Indeep’s dance-floor salvation three decades earlier. There wasn’t a problem that Koze really needed to fix here, but he did it in the mix anyway. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

PWR BTTM, “Projection” (Father/Daughter Records)
I’d rather not tell you about one of the most anxious nights of my life, but: I was holed up in my bedroom, listening to the Strokes and fervently avoiding the places I genuinely wanted to go. My roommate kindly tried to talk me down, but I couldn’t bring myself to listen to him. Judging by “Projection,” PWR BTTM have been right there with me. It’s in their ragged vocals, sharply electric guitar riffs, and quietly monotonous accompanying animation. It’s the childhood disappointment of a rainy day, when the rain is all around you and inside of you, too. — ANNA GACA

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hn1NED1ufQA

SPIN's 7 Favorite Songs of the Week: Jeremih, PWR BTTM, and More

Two People, “If We Have Time” (Liberation Music)
Australian synth-pop pair Phoebe Lou and Joey Clough — a.k.a. Two People — conjure big feeling with minimal arrangements on their urgent new single. “If We Have Time” starts small with understated keys before building with electronic drumbeats and swelling synths, which are topped by Lou’s doleful, reverberating vocals. You’ll want to make time for this one. — RACHEL BRODSKY