Hard pass: Lykke Li, “Hard Rain” — Lykke Li called this music video “a love story” on her Instagram, but there are elements of horror to it: namely, the opening shot, in which Li and her longtime partner/the father of her child Jeff Bhasker make out through a shower curtain. The pair make out in a few other scenarios throughout the video (a pool, the fish section of a pet store, underwater) that are all FINE, but unfortunately don’t make up for the damage caused to my retinas by the shower curtain scene. And I liked The Shape of Water! -Frida Garza
Nah, man: Zayn, “Entertainer” — My colleague Hazel Cills brought up an important question when “Entertainer” first entered Jezebel’s world—is a Zayn Malik flop nigh? As a life-long Directioner, it hurts my heart to say...yeah, probably. This song has a strong hook, and I’ll never complain about having to gaze upon that princely face, but it’s overwhelmingly “meh,” just like Z’s last single, “Let Me.” It’s an entirely unremarkable and inoffensive listen, pleasant yet unmemorable. But I am pretty sure this is about being in love with a stripper, which is chill. You do you, Z, as long as you’re not being an insufferable diva in the process. -Maria Sherman
Quiéralo: Downtown Boys, “Fotos Y Recuerdos” (Selena Quintanilla cover) — At the risk of hyperbole, and I’m gonna fucking go for it: Providence, R.I.’s Downtown Boys are the most important punk band—perhaps just plain ol’ band—doing the damn thing right now. From songs that serve as instructions to dismantle oppressive structures to Selena Quintanilla covers (complete with saxophone), most everything DB does feels revelatory, especially resonate with Latinx audiences who’ve been waiting for this band to enter our lives. Their take on la reina’s “Fotos Y Recuerdos” intensifies an otherwise romantic song—we are our memories—reminding us of the power inherent in personal histories. -MS
No, that’s all right: John Mayer, “New Light (Premium Content)” — Here’s John Mayer, noodling on a guitar, putzing around in front of a green screen, dressed like that RA on your floor sophomore year who also sold mushrooms, singing about “pushing 40 and still in the friend zone.” More fun than actually listening to the song for its merits or trolling aspect—it’s merely fine—is figuring out who or what Mayer is thinking of when he plaintively sings this: “But if you give me just one night, you’re gonna see me in a new light.” Will we? -Megan Reynolds
I’ll take it: Nick Jonas & DJ Mustard, “Anywhere” — In one part of this video, Nick Jonas, looking beautiful and jacked, stands with DJ Mustard in a front of a flashing jumbo screen that looks like the one in my spin class. Other parts of the video feature a couple laughing, kissing, and cuddling—basically enduring the best and worst of times. “What are we even fighting over/It’s not important any longer,” Jonas sings while demonstrating, by the end, how a couple can be so close and intimate and then so far and strange. Anyway, Nick Jonas is hot. -Clover Hope
A sigh and eh: Azealia Banks, “Anna Wintour” — In the tradition of Janet Jackson’s “Pleasure Principle,” this video is dedicated to single-room choreography in an empty studio. The thing about that (and other similar dance videos a la Jennifer Lopez’s Flashdance-inspired “I’m Glad”) is that the artists’ moves are singular enough to mesmerize us on their own. This, I want to go grab coffee while watching. The song nonetheless makes me wanna do sweaty pumping in a club. -CH
Omg, nooo: Will Smith, Nicky Jam, Era Istrefi, “Live It Up” — The first couple of times I listened to this song, I couldn’t make it past the halfway point. Most official World Cup songs are not, by any means, great, but “Live It Up” is particularly bad, the way the horns rev up and don’t stop...they just don’t stop. Still: Nicky Jam sounds great as ever and Will Smith is a warm addition, but none of them have GREAT lines. I literally felt peace once the song was over, giving a whole new meaning to Era Istrefi’s refrain: “That’s freedom when you reach that goal.” -FG
Yaaah: Christine and the Queens, “Girlfriend” — “Don’t feel like a girlfriend, but lover, damn I’d be your lover,” Christine and the Queens sings on this smooth, ’80s-inspired funk song feature musician Dâm-Funk. The French pop singer has adopted the new persona of “Chris,” a suave loverboy who, in the construction site-themed video, looks like he’s just stepped out of West Side Story. This has already made its way into my summer staples playlist, for sure. -Hazel Cills
Y: A$AP Rocky feat. FKA twigs, “Fukk Sleep” — The first two and a half minutes of this track, from the just-released Testing, feature Rocky mubling a cranky ode to grinding over a clanking rhythm track. But the track lifts off in its final 45 seconds, as twigs flutters over the outtro, turning it all surreal and otherworldly. -Rich Juzwiak
Perfect 10: Hatchie, “Bad Guy” — This is kind of a sad song, which is okay if you’re already having a crappy day. Or maybe it’s okay because Hatchie’s gauzy guitars transport you to an isle of tranquility, or at least make you feel like running through the halls of your high school, Breakfast Club-style. Her straightforward and candid lyrics are so goddamn relatable, it’s hard to pick just one to spotlight here. A crescendo builds as Harriette Pilbeam signs the line “You never really wanted to talk anyway” over and over, and then there’s a moment of letting go. -FG