Downloads of the Week
Lady Gaga
“Applause”
★★★
AFTER two years of waiting for something new, Gaga’s monsters have been rewarded for their patience. “Applause,” her just-leaked new single, has thunder to spare. It’s a pulsating dance-pop extravaganza that invokes the memory of her fantastic early singles and finds the native New Yorker singing like Madonna at the peak of her pomp. “Pop culture was in art/Now, art’s in pop culture in me,” she sings at one point. It’s the sort of gloriously pretentious statement that few others in the pop world would dare utter. Her new album, “Artpop,” arrives on Nov. 11, and judging by this track, the leak of that can’t come soon enough.
KATY PERRY
“Roar”
★½
OTHERWISE known as “Hey Russell, Katy’s Not Gonna Take Your Crap Anymore.” After last year’s divorce from Mr. Brand, Perry seems to be launching a more mature phase of her career, with a comeback single (from the album “Prism,” out Oct. 22) that’s the kind of scripted self-empowerment anthem that you could see coming a mile off. Perry’s spirited delivery of the chorus briefly gets the blood rushing — but overall it’s not enough to save the song from the plodding pace and hackneyed lyrics. It’s less like a roar, and more like an unusually loud belch.
MGMT
“Your Life Is a Lie”
★★★
AFTER attracting flak for the lack of pop songs on their second album, “Congratulations,” MGMT is back with a track that repeats one hook repeatedly for two minutes. But the New Yorkers aren’t just being contrary for the sake of it; the lead track off their self-titled third album (out Sept. 17) brings together madcap psychedelia with a cutting lyrical satire of suburbia to create something oddly profound — and quietly brilliant.
DRAKE
“Hold On, We’re Going Home”
★★★½
HAVING teased several new tracks online throughout the year, Drake has caught fire with his latest offering. A sexy, soulful ballad sung beautifully and pinned to the slickest of disco beats, “Hold On, We’re Going Home” is simple but divine. Details on the Canadian’s forthcoming album, “Nothing Was the Same” (due Sept. 17), are scant, but this will definitely play a starring role.
BLOC PARTY
“Obscene”
★★½
THE Londoners are signing off for another hiatus by releasing a mediocre set of songs on the “The Nextwave Sessions” EP. The one moment of distinction is this wistful breakup song which finds the quartet putting down their guitars and channeling a post-dubstep influence with impressive results. Let’s hope their next wave continues in this direction.
GLEN CAMPBELL
“Rhinestone Cowboy”
★★★
ALZHEIMER’S disease may be slowly ravaging Glen Campbell’s mind, but his voice remains unfettered as heard on his new album “See You There” which finds the country legend re-recording some of his big hits. Especially striking is the stripped-down version of “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Backed with a lone electric guitar, Campbell sings loud, proud and with an almost tear-jerking defiance.
WASHED OUT
“It All Feels Right”
★
IN the guise of Washed Out, Ernest Greene has become the epitome of the psychedelic laptop pop often referred to as “chillwave.” His second album, “Paracosm,” will probably underline that status in the world of the tragically hip — but for the rest of us, this is just one of many tracks that sound like it was written specifically for New Age yuppies to soundtrack their weekly flotation tank sessions. Overrated and boring.
JANE’S ADDICTION
“Another Soulmate”
★
AS much as Jane’s Addiction wants to deny it, the last 20 years did happen and that’s why new tune “Another Soulmate” (designed to tie in with their summer tour) sounds so dated. Singer Perry Farrell huffs and puffs over a boneheaded guitar riff during the chorus, and the whole thing comes to an abrupt halt in a way that suggests they simply couldn’t be bothered to write a decent ending.
FUTURE
“Honest”
★★
THE Atlanta hip-hopper’s second album is due in November and the title track indicates that Future is not overly keen to mess with a successful formula. His signature Auto-Tuned warbling and R&B sensibilities dominate throughout, but there’s very little here that he hasn’t already done. For someone who calls himself Future, this is surprisingly backward looking.