Following her worldwide 2023 hit “Water,” 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’s songs toggle between approach — like “Water” — and avoidance. In “Safer,” 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 “This feels too good to be true” and decides, “As bad as I want you, I know that it’s danger.” Choral call-and-response vocals carry South African tradition into the electronic wilderness of 21st-century romance. JON PARELES
Olivia Rodrigo 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 “So American” — from the extended version of her 2023 album, “Guts (Spilled)” — she sums up a guy with “hands that make hell seem cold” who “laughs at all my jokes and says I’m so American.” For three frantic minutes, self-consciousness is no match for pheromones. PARELES
Remi Wolf, ‘Cinderella’
The pop singer-songwriter Remi Wolf’s colorful charisma courses through “Cinderella,” the fun first single from her forthcoming second album, “Big Ideas,” due July 12. Breezy, funky and prominently featuring a triangle, “Cinderella” is a showcase for Wolf’s personality, occasional insecurities (“Is there something wrong with the way I’m designed?”) and wacky wordplay. “Like Cinderella making babies on the company’s dime,” she sings, turning a non sequitur into a catchy hook. LINDSAY ZOLADZ
Marsha Ambrosius, ‘One Night Stand’
Marsha Ambrosius, formerly of Floetry, revels in remembering a night of sensual excess that “felt so right.” Her delight conjures swooping orchestral strings, jazzy horns, a cooing backup chorus, suave but unexpected key changes and a stretch of ecstatic scat-singing — bliss translated into musicianly flourishes. PARELES
“What About the Children,” which sounds like a late-breaking, guitar-forward sequel to Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City,” appears on the Texas bluesman Gary Clark Jr.’s new album, “Jpeg Raw,” which pushes every boundary of the blues. Wonder, who co-wrote the song, sings and plays harmonica as he and Clark consider poor parents’ pressures and responsibilities. Clark’s guitar riffs and pokes and wails, and he and Wonder shout together about “all the broken dreams.” PARELES
Alicia Keys featuring Maleah Joi Moon, ‘Kaleidoscope’
In this new single from the musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” which debuts on Broadway next week, Alicia Keys duets with Maleah Joi Moon, the actress who plays Keys’s autobiographical alter ego, Ali. “Light it up, put it in the air and let it go,” Keys sings, capturing the exuberance of youthful optimism. The track begins in the register of bright, minimalist pop, but midway through, Keys’s signature piano comes in and gives the arrangement the feel of a Broadway showstopper. ZOLADZ
Two Shell and FKA twigs, ‘Talk to Me’
“Talk to Me” is an authorized song, released after the London electronic duo Two Shell posted on Bandcamp — and then took down — 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 “even though I know you’re never picking up.” Her voice gets chopped up, bent and melted down along with all the other sounds, but her eagerness never flags. PARELES
The music sounds absolutely joyful: major chords, a waltzing but flexible beat, a supportive backup choir reinforced by orchestral strings. But Angélica Garcia is singing, in Spanish, “What is the color of pain?,” with vocal inflections that hint at both Latin pop and Indian ghazal. “Even though I will never sever the tie with my pains/I paint them full of colors,” she declares, as her voice affirms her determination to prevail. PARELES
Four Tet, ‘Daydream Repeat’
Four Tet — the electronic musician Kieran Hebden — thrives on taking sonic tangents from typical club beats. “Daydream Repeat” 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
