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5ingles

The Songs We Can't Escape

By Ray Cummings

Published on May 21, 2008

DOUGLAS ARMOUR
"Fall Apart Again"

The Social Registry label's normal fare is experimentalist stoner drift, so Armour's MOR moves are an odd fit—especially this one, a should-be synth-pop hit so catchy one can forgive its lyrical banalities.

RISKAY
"Smell Yo Dick"

Philandering dudes everywhere can rest easy; this R&B shock tactic isn't likely to catch on strongly enough to become common practice, though it may net Riskay a contract.

R.CITY
"Losin' It"

This Atlanta-by-way-of-St. Thomas production unit's résumé is nothing if not star-studded: Akon, Usher, Pussycat Dolls, Jesse McCartney, etc. Now they're angling for stardom themselves; "Losin' It," a skittering, mid-tempo urban pop-R&B jam, seems a fine enough first crack at that dangling-just-out-of-reach fame piñata. Given the laudable, oft-neglected theme—the narrator's mate effortlessly inspiring his perpetual arousal/awe—this summer single's audience appears to be the grown 'n' sexy. That makes sense from a marketing standpoint, but let's hope the kids are listening.

SANTOGOLD
"My Superman"

Oh, that over-admired Gwen Stefani: so little body fat, so much to answer for.

STARVING WEIRDOS
"Summon"

Semantic accuracy demands that this group number in the millions, but a glance at the Weirdos' website reveals—disappointingly, kinda—that they're a quartet. Shadowy and abstract, "Summon" is an improvisatory mist: cymbals tittering outta nowhere, needlepoint guitars spiking randomly, and shuddering drones offering a loose coherence. When it's gone, you want it back.



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