Alicia Keys slings schlock on the new ‘Spider-Man’ soundtrack

Downloads of the Week

Alicia Keys Feat. Kendrick Lamar

“It’s on Again”

★★

This soundtrack cut from the new “Spider-Man” sequel (Prequel? Reboot? It’s hard to remember.) is pert, professional, pleasant and forgettable, just like nearly everything else Alicia Keys does. It is awfully difficult, though, to suppress the urge to laugh out loud when she sings, “I sacrifice my ego.”

Lana Del Rey

“West Coast”

On Del Rey’s single from her upcoming second album, “Ultraviolence,” she still can’t sing — or, here, simper — worth a damn. When she knowingly recycles bits from The Beatles’ “And I Love Her” and Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen,” it adds up to nothing. At least “Video Games” had a hook.

Future Feat. Kanye West

“I Won”

From his second album, “Honest,” this Atlanta rapper-singer warbles us to sleep Auto-Tuning about a woman he refers to, explicitly, as “a trophy.” Who could object to such a thing? (Besides the woman?) Better question: Who could listen to it? Kanye’s awful guest verse doesn’t help.

Bruce Springsteen

“American Beauty”

★★

You know how people imitate Springsteen by yowling like they’re clearing their throat? That’s how Bruce sounds on the title track of the limited-release four-song EP he issued for Record Store Day. (It’s also available digitally.) He even yodels a little — anything to distract from the song’s core.

Neon Trees

“Sleeping With a Friend”

★★

Tyler Glenn, the frontman of these cheery Utah new wavers, sings so overstatedly — think Adam Levine’s yelpy little brother — he sounds like he’s constantly auditioning for “The Voice.” The song, from Neon Trees’ third album, “Pop Psychology,” has a similarly tiring hook: “Ooh! Ooh!” only carries you so far.

Kelis

“Rumble”

★★½

The Harlem-bred R&B singer’s first album, “Food,” for London label Ninja Tune — known mostly for electronic music — was produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, and it’s actually her most organic-sounding to date. That means that this slow-burning ballad (hook line: “I’m so glad you gave back my keys”) is Kelis at her least exciting.