Ariana Grande returns with a forceful, crimson-lipped goodbye kiss on “Yes, And?”, a feather-light confection that sits safely, but still pleasantly, in her comfort zone. Grande has been filming the film version of the hit musical “Wicked” since her 2020 album “Positions,” so this comeback single lets her have some fun with the house music resurgence (à la Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul”). ) which has become popular in its absence. The most obvious sonic reference that Grande and her fellow writer-producers Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh are evoking here is Madonna's “Vogue,” and while the song does its best to sound like a communal rallying cry (“Boy, come on, get on lipstick on/Come on and walk this way Through the fire”), its most pointed lyrics are about the particular and seemingly disconcerting experience of being Ariana Grande. “Don't comment on my body, don't respond,” she intones in a suddenly serious spoken word bridge. “Your business is yours and mine is mine.” It's a relief when the rhythm returns and she ascends once more, happily resuming her dance in the air. LINDSAY ZOLADZ
Lil Nas (She also comes face to face with the devil on a basketball court and swings like a cheerleader in a skirt and pom-poms.) The underlying song is solid but secondary: a touch of piano, a percussive melody and a forceful attempt at notoriety. The hook is “Bitch, I'm bad like J. Christ,” but another line is the point: “Is he about to give them something viral?” Let the algorithms decide. JON PARES
Jeymes Samuel, D'Angelo and Jay-Z, 'I love you forever'
Jeymes Samuel, Jay-Z and the elusive D'Angelo are in no particular hurry on “I Want You Forever,” a loose, sprawling nine-and-a-half-minute reverie from the soundtrack of Samuel's new film, “The Book of Clarence. “All I want to say is that I love you so much that I don't want to be without you,” D'Angelo sings repeatedly, until his language seems to liquefy. Under such hypnosis, even Jay sounds unusually cold, but his relaxed flow cannot hide the anguish in his words: “I slept on the couch, because the bed isn't a bed without you.” ZOLADZ
serpentwithfeet, 'Safe word'
Confidence is an aphrodisiac in “Safe Word.” Josiah Wise, who records as a snake with feet, promises that “The safe word is me” and “I am your refuge,” while he adds that he is “insatiable” on “Safe word.” Plucked guitar notes, sparse percussion, and whistling accompany the high-pitched croon of his voice, which he insists on intimacy even as he receives some Auto-Tuned embellishments. PAIRS
Waxahatchee singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield marvels at long-term love as she admits how much it tests it. “I let my mind go crazy / I don't know why I do it,” she sings, “but you just settle in like an endless song.” The track is laid-back and country, complete with down-home banjo licks, and MJ Lenderman provides vocal harmony and supporting electric guitar. But the rough tension in Crutchfield's voice betrays her continuing doubts. PAIRS
Faye Webster with Lil Yachty, 'Lego Ring'
Indie-folk singer Faye Webster and iconoclastic rapper Lil Yachty have been friends since high school, and their easy chemistry makes “Lego Ring,” a single from Webster's upcoming album, “Underdressed at the Symphony,” sound more cohesive than expected. Amid crunchy guitars and percussive piano hits, Yachty's auto-tuned trills provide textured backing vocals for Webster, singing an ode to one of the cheapest pieces of jewelry ever coveted in a pop song. “You and me, the dream team,” Yachty sings, jokingly, when he takes the lead, “always together like green beans.” ZOLADZ
Sheryl Crow, 'Evolution'
Sheryl Crow reflects on artificial intelligence in “Evolution.” She listens to her fake music on the radio; She asks herself: “Where are we headed in this paradise? We are passengers and there is no one at the wheel.” The song is a broad-shouldered rock anthem, bolstered by strings and a screeching lead guitar solo. He posits the superiority of human feelings and hopes for a “great solution,” but the best odds Crow can offer are “maybe.” PAIRS
Can love be renewable energy? “You carry me,” Jhené Aiko coos in “Sol / Son,” as she connects the warmth of a hug with “solar energy.” She is surrounded by cascading vocal harmonies over a purring, melodic bassline, basking in romance; an alternative piano-centered version turns the same sentiments into an anthem. PAIRS
BrhyM, 'Deep blue'
Bruce Hornsby collaborated with contemporary chamber group yMusic on the upcoming album “Deep Sea Vents,” announcing their merger as BrhyM. “Deep Blue” touches on minimalism, psychedelia, and traditional jazz, with a steady backbeat, a polytonal piano lick, an electric sitar, and a trumpet, clarinet, and violin response. It's casually philosophical. “I told the universe, 'Lord, I exist,'” Hornsby sings. “The universe responded: 'The fact does not create in me a sense of obligation.'” PAIRS
Ben Frost, 'The River of Light and Radiation'
Composer Ben Frost cuts through brutally distorted electric guitars and programmed kick drums to drive “The River of Light and Radiation,” which begins as a sinister beatdown and grows increasingly dire, adding jolt after jolt. PAIRS
