"Think U the Sh*t (Fart)" - Ice Spice
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
RIYL: Flo Milli, Baby Tate, Sexyy Red

A wise woman once said “You’re not even the fart,” and that oracle would be none other than the ubiquitous Ice Spice. Ahead of her hotly anticipated debut album Y2K, which is slated to be released later this year, Ice Spice has a sure-fire viral hit on her hands with “Think U the Sh*t (Fart)” thanks to its brilliantly penned hook. However, those expecting her to switch up her sound or get more creative and varied with her lyricism will likely be disappointed with what she’s served up here.

“(Fart)” more or less sounds like scraps from the cutting room floor of last year’s Like..? EP, but that’s not an entirely bad thing. Considering how massively the Bronx rapper’s profile has grown in the past year or so, it’s a relief to hear that Spice still sounds like she’s having oodles of fun on the mic, and doing so with her reliably goofy producer RIOTUSA. Like “Bikini Bottom,” “(Fart)” is proof that Spice and RIOT’s creative alchemy shines when they’re unafraid of embracing wacky production and flows—it’s a shame then that Spice’s verses don’t quite seem up to par. Here’s to hoping that Y2K will be more than the fart.

- DJ Beep Bop AKA Chris Turino

"Sadness as a Gift" - Adrianne Lenker
Genre: Folk
RIYL: Waxahatchee, Jess Williamson, Wednesday

“Leaning on the windowsill / You could write me someday, and I think you will / We could see the sadness as a gift and still / Feel too heavy to hold” goes the chorus of Big Thief frontwoman Adrianne Lenker’s exquisitely beautiful new single “Sadness as a Gift” from her forthcoming record Bright Future, which is out March 22 via 4AD. Lenker has long exhibited the kind of songwriting that snaps you out of passive listening and commands your full attention thanks to its sheer poeticism, and “Sadness” is a continued testament to the beauty she extracts from seemingly simple yet knotty emotional conclusions.

“Sadness” succeeds instrumentally as well, marrying clear-eyed guitar work with heavenly strings and piano. The latter musical flourishes, which are hard to come by in both Big Thief’s and Lenker’s previous solo material, push Lenker into new sonic terrain that undeniably complements Lenker’s musings on holding two stark truths evident: that sadness can provide both clarity and misery. If “Sadness” is any indication of what might wind up on this album, we Big Thief and Lenker fans seem to have quite a Bright Future ahead of us.

- DJ Beep Bop AKA Chris Turino

NEW ADDS: Ice Spice, Adrianne Lenker