Weekly Track Reviews 08/5/26 exposed two extremes of modern music: artists taking real creative swings and artists releasing music that sounds algorithmically assembled. The best tracks this week felt alive. The worst felt manufactured before the first chorus even landed.
Hi everyone, it’s Anthony Stirford from Anthony XO.Music, and I’m back with another weekly track review.
This week was genuinely interesting in both directions. The best tracks surprised me in ways I wasn’t expecting coming into the week. The worst ones confirmed patterns I’ve been noticing for a while now. Same format — five tracks that delivered, five that didn’t. Let’s get into it.
TOP 5 BEST TRACKS OF THE WEEK
5. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr – “Home To Us”
At five is Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr with “Home To Us.” I’ll be straight with you — the Beatles catalogue isn’t really my world, and I didn’t love Ringo’s last album either. But this is impossible to ignore. Two surviving members of the most important band in music history on the same track is a cultural moment that goes beyond taste, and there’s a real emotional weight to it when you sit with what it actually represents. It’s a good song. Not gonna cap. It earns its place on this list even if it sits at the bottom of it.
4. Basement – “Time Waster”
At four is Basement with “Time Waster.” After spending time with Friko, American Football, and My New Band recently, my ear has been tuned into this kind of indie rock sound — and “Time Waster” caught me instantly. This is exactly the kind of guitar-driven banger that rewards the listener who’s actually paying attention to what’s happening in that space right now. If you’ve been on the same run I have, this one lands immediately.
3. BABYMONSTER – “CHOOM”
At three is BABYMONSTER with “CHOOM.” The best Korean release of the week, and it wasn’t particularly close. What impressed me most here is the chemistry between them — it feels natural rather than manufactured, which is harder to pull off in K-pop than it looks. The production is confident, and the group sounds fully locked in. A strong showing from a group that keeps delivering.
2. Madison Beer – “lovergirl”
At two is Madison Beer with “lovergirl.” The locket vibes are fully intact here, and that’s a good thing. This track doesn’t try to be a reinvention — it’s an extension of what made that album work, and it does that job cleanly and confidently. If you’re already in Madison Beer’s world, “lovergirl” gives you exactly what you came back for. Strong replay value and a natural fit in her catalogue.
1. Bea Miller – “depressed on the internet”
At number one this week is Bea Miller with “depressed on the internet.” This wasn’t a difficult decision. The theme alone is sharp — the kind of title that sounds like a joke until you actually press play and realise how seriously and how wildly she’s committed to it. “depressed on the internet” is genuinely crazy in the best possible way, and that combination of a razor-sharp concept and a sound that fully backs it up is exactly what earns a track of the week. This is the most surprising and most rewarding listen of the week, and it wasn’t close.
TOP 5 WORST TRACKS OF THE WEEK
Now for the other side. A couple of these are from artists I’ve rated before, which makes writing this harder — but also more necessary.
5. Jessie Reyez, Elyanna, FIFA Sound – “Illuminate”
At five is Jessie Reyez, Elyanna, and FIFA Sound with “Illuminate.” Look — it’s better than the Jelly Roll World Cup song, I’ll give it that. But that’s not the bar we should be measuring against. This is supposed to be the soundtrack to one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, and it sounds like it was designed by a committee trying to offend nobody. Corporate is the only word for it. The World Cup deserves a track that actually feels like something. This doesn’t.
4. The Chainsmokers, Oaks – “Love Is Kind”
At four is The Chainsmokers and Oaks with “Love Is Kind.” I came into this one expecting something — anything. I left with nothing. The Chainsmokers, in their most anonymous mode is a specific kind of disappointing, and “Love Is Kind” sits squarely in that category. It’s not kind at all, actually. It’s just empty.
3. French Montana, Max B, Rick Ross – “Smoking Pt. 2”
At three is French Montana, Max B, and Rick Ross with “Smoking Pt. 2.” An instant skip. Three names on a track should mean three reasons to stay — this one gives you none. No memorable moments, no creative lift, no reason this needed to exist. A sequel nobody asked for from three artists who clearly had nothing new to say.
2. Key Glock – “Go”
At two is Key Glock with “Go.” Garbage. Instantly forgettable. No version of this track warrants a second listen, and I genuinely have nothing more to say about it.
1. Charli xcx – “Rock Music”
The worst track of the week is “Rock Music” by Charli xcx. I know this is a take that’ll get pushback, and I’m prepared for it. Charli is making a deliberate shift — moving away from the electronic dancefloor energy of brat and stepping into a distorted, gothic rock direction. And on paper, that’s an interesting creative swing. But “Rock Music,” as the first statement of that new era, is genuinely awful. It doesn’t capture what made Brat exciting and it doesn’t make a convincing case for where she’s going next. For an artist who turned the dancefloor into a cultural moment, this sounds like a step backwards dressed up as a reinvention. An embarrassment of both the brat summer era and the Wuthering Heights gothic direction she’s reaching for. The worst track of the week, no question.
That’s the full list for the week. Five tracks worth your time, five that aren’t.
The Best side this week leaned personal and specific — an indie rock banger, a K-pop standout, a Madison Beer extension, and a Bea Miller track that genuinely caught me off guard. The Worst side had a theme running through it: corporate output, artists coasting, and one genuinely surprising disappointment from an artist who should know better. The gap between the two halves was wide this week. That’s worth naming.
I’ll be back soon with more. Until then, keep listening carefully.
Listen To My Playlist of “Best Songs Of 2026” on Spotify:
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