5 Seconds of Summer—“Don’t Stop”
#47
Pop-punk readymades perfectly applied, and this time without the irritating product placement. Not as deep (cough) or experimental (cough cough) as their pals in One Direction, and there’s still too much teen-boy leering for my taste, but they’re also less pretentious and less preening. God I hope I don’t start to like these guys.
Ed Sheeran—“One”
#87
Pleasant enough, but as a song “One” meanders and doesn’t get anywhere. The drums are a big mistake; as quiet as they are, they still suggest an intensification of emotion when there’s no such thing. Sheeran is always intense emotionally, so it’s impossible for the song to build. He doesn’t seem to know how to modulate his intensity or turn it on and off; the guy just vibrates all the time. This is appealing for about thirty seconds, then it gets irritating, and then you laugh. Not enough to make you want to go back and hear it again, but you laugh.
Dierks Bentley—“Drunk On A Plane”
#91
For the most part, Bentley is a second rate bro-country singer. Second rate, that is, if you consider Brad Paisley as the top of the heap. Since, on that scale, most other bro-country singers are third rate, that makes Bentley the closest thing to quality you’ll find aside from Paisley himself (not to mention those slightly outside the mainstream orbit, like Eric Church and almost every woman in country). “Drunk On A Plane” is funny, sad, angry, and all the other things it’s supposed to be in just the right combination. But it isn’t great. If all the verses were as good as the last one, it would be.
Kid Ink featuring Chris Brown—“Main Chick”
#92
With the support of Chris Brown (again), and DJ Mustard producing, especially since both bring their B+ game, this is bound to be a hit. It may even have something interesting to say about the life of fame. Whether Kid Ink would be worth listening to without his pals is another question. His flow is fine and he fills in all the details the way he should, but his rap doesn’t go anywhere. And with Brown and Mustard, that would probably be the state of his career, as well.
The Band Perry—“Chainsaw”
#94
This restores a little of the grace that was missing from their last two singles, and loses very little of the fire, but let’s face it, over the last few years spurned, angry woman songs have become as much a cliche as truck and party songs in bro-country (don’t call it sis-country, though; people might think you mean something else). “Chainsaw” doesn’t do anything to diminish the style, but doesn’t add anything, either. Still, I like this a lot better than “Done” or “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely”.
Jake Worthington—“Heaven”
#98