The Singles Jukebox

Would you settle for “Lyk”?

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[6.12]

Ryo Miyauchi: “Oops, I think you got me” sums up my surprise with “Luv.” The “One Dance” wave got Tory Lanez more upfront about what he really wants, and I prefer him being open about his business than faking smoothness. His awe at a visa has no match to the dude who inspired the sound he’s rocking, but at least he sings with more joy and energy than the other guy from Toronto.
[7]

Katie Gill: Discount vocals with a discount beat. Something that you wouldn’t turn off if it’s on the radio but nothing that you’d actually remember. It’s not BAD, it’s just kind of there. In fact, I’m finding it hard to write about this song, that’s how exceedingly middle of the road it is. A for effort?
[5]

Iain Mew: “Luv” sounds like going for a lazy swim on a hot day, like the first moment of being underwater and seeing beams of sunlight shimmering on the surface.
[8]

Andy Hutchins: Tory Lanez is on one heck of a run with three very different singles: “Say It” was great mid-tempo falsetto-y R&B, “LA Confidential” was stunningly competent Miguel-ish rock&B, and “Luv” is a confident, lush reworking of one of the best riddims ever, good enough that its spot in the pantheon of patois-inflected jams of the last two years might even be ahead of Drake’s finer genre tourism. Tory’s no more Jamaican — Jamaica Queens doesn’t count — than his fellow Torontoan, but he is Bajan, and he can pull off a “We ah.” He’s also got enough faith in his pen to tease the hook mid-verse, and if it weren’t for a touch too much Auto-Tune slathered on everything, this would be one of the strongest songs of the summer.
[8]

Thomas Inskeep: Pretty boilerplate, heavily Autotuned minimalist trap-soul. If you tend to like this kinda thing, you’ll probably go for it, and if not, you won’t be moved. 
[4]

Brad Shoup: He cuts through the chill with big flapping arms, sending out stagy air-kisses, bubbling about freakiness, trying out all kinds of lines. The dancehall bassline errs on the side of deftness, unlike Tory, thankfully.
[7]

Alfred Soto: Rather garrulous trap music with hints of Trey Songz and Ne-Yo. Lane’s high, pinched Autotuned voice annoys me like a mosquito hovering above my ear, but I’ll admit to being charmed by how badly he wants to smooch in the back seat.
[6]

William John: This song posits romantic love as quotidian rather than elusive, which is both cheesy and deluded. Certainly, if you’re going to justify a sentiment like “everyone falls in love all the time love is incredible but also so normal!!!” (which to me sounds hopelessly quixotic), then you’ll need a better denouement than a few wheezy hums. I appreciate that Lanez isn’t afraid to show pride in his Bajan heritage via vocal inflection, but that just makes me think about how much more Rihanna could’ve done with this glassy beat.
[4]