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Following her worldwide 2023 hit \u201cWater,\u201d<\/a> the South African songwriter Tyla has now released her self-titled debut album, merging African rhythms with English lyrics and R&B delivery. The album\u2019s songs toggle between approach \u2014 like \u201cWater\u201d \u2014 and avoidance. In \u201cSafer,\u201d Tyla pulls away from temptation. The song harnesses the log-drum beat and sparse, subterranean bass lines of South African amapiano as Tyla worries that \u201cThis feels too good to be true\u201d and decides, \u201cAs bad as I want you, I know that it\u2019s danger.\u201d Choral call-and-response vocals carry South African tradition into the electronic wilderness of 21st-century romance. JON PARELES<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> knows all too well how susceptible a young woman can be to physical attraction and a good line. With the speedy, pumping new wave rock and breathless vocals of \u201cSo American\u201d \u2014 from the extended version of her 2023 album, \u201cGuts (Spilled)\u201d \u2014 she sums up a guy with \u201chands that make hell seem cold\u201d who \u201claughs at all my jokes and says I\u2019m so American.\u201d For three frantic minutes, self-consciousness is no match for pheromones. PARELES<\/p>\n The pop singer-songwriter Remi Wolf<\/a>\u2019s colorful charisma courses through \u201cCinderella,\u201d the fun first single from her forthcoming second album, \u201cBig Ideas,\u201d due July 12. Breezy, funky and prominently featuring a triangle, \u201cCinderella\u201d is a showcase for Wolf\u2019s personality, occasional insecurities (\u201cIs there something wrong with the way I\u2019m designed?\u201d) and wacky wordplay. \u201cLike Cinderella making babies on the company\u2019s dime,\u201d she sings, turning a non sequitur into a catchy hook. \u201cWe\u2019re making pennies out of paper, better find a new slime.\u201d LINDSAY ZOLADZ<\/p>\n Marsha Ambrosius, formerly of Floetry, revels in remembering a night of sensual excess that \u201cfelt so right.\u201d Her delight conjures swooping orchestral strings, jazzy horns, a cooing backup chorus, suave but unexpected key changes and a stretch of ecstatic scat-singing \u2014 bliss translated into musicianly flourishes. PARELES<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhat About the Children,\u201d which sounds like a late-breaking, guitar-forward sequel to Stevie Wonder\u2019s \u201cLiving for the City,\u201d appears on the Texas bluesman Gary Clark Jr.\u2019s new album, \u201cJpeg Raw,\u201d which pushes every boundary of the blues. Wonder, who co-wrote the song, sings and plays harmonica as he and Clark consider poor parents\u2019 pressures and responsibilities. Clark\u2019s guitar riffs and pokes and wails, and he and Wonder shout together about \u201call the broken dreams.\u201d PARELES<\/p>\n In this new single from the musical \u201cHell\u2019s Kitchen,\u201d which debuts on Broadway next week, Alicia Keys<\/a> duets with Maleah Joi Moon, the actress who plays Keys\u2019s autobiographical alter ego, Ali. \u201cLight it up, put it in the air and let it go,\u201d Keys sings, capturing the exuberance of youthful optimism. The track begins in the register of bright, minimalist pop, but midway through, Keys\u2019s signature piano comes in and gives the arrangement the feel of a Broadway showstopper. ZOLADZ<\/p>\n \u201cTalk to Me\u201d is an authorized song, released after the London electronic duo Two Shell posted on Bandcamp \u2014 and then took down \u2014 versions of the song with vocals assembled from recordings by Taylor Swift, Jungkook from BTS, Chris Martin and Frank Ocean. The track races forward, thumping and galloping as assorted sounds and chords go in and out of focus, FKA twigs sings breathily about constantly redialing someone \u201ceven though I know you\u2019re never picking up.\u201d Her voice gets chopped up, bent and melted down along with all the other sounds, but her eagerness never flags. PARELES<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The music sounds absolutely joyful: major chords, a waltzing but flexible beat, a supportive backup choir reinforced by orchestral strings. But Ang\u00e9lica Garcia is singing, in Spanish, \u201cWhat is the color of pain?,\u201d with vocal inflections that hint at both Latin pop and Indian ghazal. \u201cEven though I will never sever the tie with my pains\/I paint them full of colors,\u201d she declares, as her voice affirms her determination to prevail. PARELES<\/p>\n Four Tet<\/a> \u2014 the electronic musician Kieran Hebden \u2014 thrives on taking sonic tangents from typical club beats. \u201cDaydream Repeat\u201d is paced by crisp techno hi-hats and an insistent syncopated bass line. But Hebden tops them with, by turns, harshly distorted scraping and fairy-tale harp plucking, hinting that both noise and prettiness are always within reach. PARELES<\/p>\n The English saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings<\/a> has made a reputation with hard-riffing fusion jazz in his groups the Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kemet. But his next album, \u201cPerceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace,\u201d turns toward the ambient. This track has Hutchings on flutes and whistle, joined by vocals from the ambient pioneer Laraaji<\/a> and synthesizer from Floating Points<\/a> (Sam Shepherd), backed by a studio lineup including Andr\u00e9 3000 on Teotihuacan drone flute (from ancient Mexico), Esperanza Spalding on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums. \u201cI\u2019ll Do Whatever You Want\u201d is ambient but highly changeable. It begins with blurry electronics and bits of flute melody that coalesce into a staccato pulse, then dissolves and reconfigures with a bass riff and Laraaji\u2019s free-form vocals. Hutchings stays self-effacing, guiding the flow. PARELES<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRemi Wolf, \u2018Cinderella<\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Marsha Ambrosius, \u2018One Night Stand<\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Alicia Keys featuring Maleah Joi Moon, \u2018Kaleidoscope<\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Two Shell and FKA twigs, \u2018Talk to Me<\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Four Tet, \u2018Daydream Repeat<\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Shabaka featuring Floating Points and Laraaji, \u2018I\u2019ll Do Whatever You Want<\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n