BRUNO MARS
24K Magic ★★
Atlantic
If you caught Ariana Grande on SNL this year, you'll know the singer is a top-notch vocal impressionist. Britney, Whitney, Rihanna or Celine? Grande can nail 'em all. Bruno Mars is also a world-class mimic. But it's not something he mines for laughs on comedy shows. It's his entire act. Think about it. What was Locked Out of Heaven, if not a blatant Sting and The Police impersonation? And for all it's swagger, was Uptown Funk really anything but a generic 1980s funk pastiche? Hearing this latest retro effort on the radio this week, it wasn't until Twitter hashtags were referenced in the second verse that I realised it wasn't some old Grandmaster Flash deep cut. As imitation, that's fine. But it's no substitute for originality.
CHARLI XCX ft. LIL YACHTY
After The Afterparty★★★
Asylum Records
On which Charli XCX and Lil Yachty ponder the age old question: where to go after the afterparty? Actually, R Kelly settled this years ago. (The hotel lobby, duh.) Also, what attributes does Lil Yachty really have in common with a yacht? (Bunks? Grab rails? Adequate seating?) Nothing here quite adds up.
PIKO-TARO
PPAP Pen Pineapple Apple Pen ★
This track by Japanese comic Kosaka Daimaou recently became the shortest ever to make the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to a Twitter endorsement from Justin Bieber. Honestly, it's so misconceived in every sense, the Iraq War seems like a good idea by comparison.
KEVIN MORBY
Beautiful Strangers ★★★★
Dead Oceans
As a keen student of Sixties-era male songwriters, ex-Woods bassist Kevin Morby will be aware that "white guy ruminates on various topics for several minutes while gospel choir harmonises quietly behind him" is a cliche as old as Dylan's Brownsville Girl, Cohen's Tower of Song and Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby. However, gun violence is his subject and it's quite a touching song. So we'll let that one slide.
