Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new tracks. Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes) and at Apple Music here, and sign up for The Amplifier, a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs.
Rosé, ‘Toxic Till the End’Born in New Zealand, and skillful and disciplined enough to join the K-pop group Blackpink, Rosé is the epitome of an international pop strategist. “Toxic Till the End,” sung entirely in English, is from her solo debut album, “Rosie,” and it’s an indictment of an ex who was “jealous and possessive, so manipulatin’ / Honestly impressive, you had me participatin’.” It uses every device at her disposal, drawing directly from the Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff synth-pop playbook. Keyboard arpeggios lead to an arena-ready march, a breathy reconsideration, a shout that “You wasted my prettiest years!,” an acoustic moment and a big angry finish. Women’s rage at bad boyfriends is real — and commercial, too.
Sky Ferreira, ‘Leash’A tsunami of grungy distortion opens “Leash,” a song Sky Ferreira wrote for the thriller “Babygirl.” It’s her first release since leaving Capitol Records, which released her lone album, “Night Time, My Time,” in 2013; she has said her long-in-the-making second album, “Masochism,” will arrive in 2025. “Leash” could easily segue out of Ferreira’s debut, as she fortifies her pop melodies with armadas of guitars, keyboards, drums and backup vocals. She sings about submission and surrender — “Wanna be caught, go down in flames” — but the heft and crunch of the music insist on her power.
Bruses, ‘Coma Party’We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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