Y/N is a guide to the week’s music releases based on our very scientific, non-subjective Yes/No rating system. It’s very serious.
Y: “Rainbow,” Kesha - Kesha’s new album Rainbow is finally here and the theatrical title track is fit for a Disney princess whose head is a little “fucked up.”—Hazel Cills
Ya: “Angel,” Fifth Harmony—The four-member girl group sounds great on this icy Skrillex and Poo Bear collaboration. Though I have to admit it would be an even better song if Normani just sang the whole thing. *Shields myself from being hit with tomatoes* - HC
Y: Macklemore feat. Lil Yachty “Marmalade” - This might be the most adorable video of the year and it dually does the hard job of making me like a Macklemore song. Anytime you have a pool, a water slide and some dancing kids, it’s a triumph. The video is an exact replication of the youthful joy adults feel when they hear a happy song, plus these kids can really dance in ways that make you feel pathetic. —Clover Hope
Y: Cassie “Love a Loser” - Cassie’s first self-titled album is a lesson in subtly and lightness that made the best of her average vocals and, likewise, this song, her first release in four years, fits her strengths. I just don’t know why everyone is so into G-Eazy. —CH
Y: Iglooghost “Bug Thief” - This single from Iglooghost’s forthcoming debut album, Neō Wax Bloom, has the slapstick malice of Aphex Twin and the sugary cheer of PC Music. Two great tastes that taste great together (and such a balance of flavors!), and it’s way less tedious than A.G. Cook’s recent cover of “Windowlicker” to boot. -Rich Juzwiak
Sustainable beauty
Caprea’s Essential Organic PH Cleanser is just $10 with promo code TEN. Normally $19, this foaming face wash is crafted with organic Monoi oil. It’s meant to target the production of oil secretion while protecting your skin against air pollution. Normally $19, you can save big on this richly-lathering face wash while supporting a brand that keeps the environment top of mind.
YES!: For my grime heads, this three-deck mix by the British DJ A.G. lit my face on fire, and constituted a fair amount of at-desk exercise for me in the form of office-chair twerking. Stick around til the very end, because at around 35 mins in shit gets truly mental. —Julianne Escobedo Shepherd
Y: Also grime: Skepta’s technicolor new video for “Hypocrisy” paints a technicolor landscape using classic ska, rocksteady, and ‘90s hip-house visual cues, and it’s super cute—maybe too cute for a song that lays out such a strong M.O., you might think, until he just sets the whole proposition aflame. —JES
IDEK: I think I would better understand “Lettuce,” the new song/video from Trippy Turtle and Soulja Boy, if I were maybe nine years old, but at the same time it has a charmingly freaky-deaky quality that cuts through the slovenly sameness of most trap production these days. I guess what I’m saying is, I’m ready for the kids to start making LSD tunes again. —JES