Yes or No, Vol. 4: Kiesza, Gwen Stefani & Nick Jonas

By Clover Hope  |  October 22, 2014 | 8:30pm

Y: All the busy colors and patterns in Gwen Stefani’s “Baby Don’t Lie” video look like L.A.M.B fabric samples. This makes me feel like shopping. The song itself is your standard Gwennish poppy rap anthem that’s slightly reggae. I’m not super into it, but it’s good. [Idolator]

Y: Kiesza’s Sound of a Woman, released on Tuesday, validates my newfound love of house music. Besides the heavy bass and pulsing, there’s also a cool combo of ’80s pop and hip-hop, a la the slinky chopped-and-screwed hook on “So Deep.” The EDM movement felt like a bodily infection, but the ’90s house revival is the opposite for me. Here, Kiesza’s vocals are piercing without feeling overpowering — “What Is Love” gets a thumbs up for stripping that classic house record down into a naked, somber ballad. [iTunes]

N: AlunaGeorge’s baby coos on Baauer’s “One Touch” turn me off, but the “carefully orchestrated chaos,” as Idolator describes it, works. I dunno; this has potential to grow on me after 50 or more listens. [Idolator]

N: PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “Sex on the Beach” is basically a sexier version of Disclosure’s “Latch.” I like the idea of it, but Frank Ocean would do a better job, sans AutoTune. [This Is RnB]

Y: If I still had a car and was driving it, I’d put HAERTS’ “No One Needs to Know” on my cross-country road trip playlist. [Stereogum]

Y: Clean Bandit & Jess Glynne’s “Real Love” has just enough melodrama and turn-up to hook me. I’m normally anti-excessive-PDA, but this video is cute. [YouTube]

Y: What I love about Jessie Ware’s Tough Love album (I’m like a week late) is that she’s great at describing how the wrong type of love, the confusing type, can be sickening. Some lyrics from “Say You Love Me”: “I don’t wanna fall in love if you don’t wanna try/But all that I’ve been thinking of is maybe that you might.” Another standout is “Kind Of… Sometimes… Maybe.” Sounds familiar.

N: Nick Jonas’ “Wilderness” is a single about fucking like Neanderthals. “Naked as the day we were born/Did you know it could feel like this, feel like this,” he sings. “I’ll take your body back, take it back, take it back to the wilderness.” I know he’s going for a sexed up sound, but I’m not fully sold. [Idolator]

Y: Drake and his falsetto are the indisputable best part of ILOVEMAKONNEN’s “Tuesday” song and video. This is how the club looks on any given Tuesday. Why Tuesday? Because, per Drake, “Ain’t got no motherfuckin’ time to party on the weekend.” The theme of this roundup is ALL CAPS BAND NAMES. [Miss Info]

Y: Speaking of Drake, I didn’t really ask for a moodier version of his song “Own It,” but I’m into this Jarell Perry cover. [Fader]

Y: Thelonious Martin’s “Her” featuring Mac Miller would be a good soundtrack to a mellow nightcap. It’s very laid-back and “jazzy” is the right word for it. [Fader]

 
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