The Singles Jukebox

It’s “Blinding Lights” Tuesday, apparently…

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Juana Giaimo: The beat in the first part of the song reminded me of Bad Bunny’s sad-core reggaeton, and when the beat sped up, I immediately thought of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.” I don’t mind these similarities, because I think the song is still strong — I especially like all the ghostly backing vocals and slightly eerie sounds that surround Aron Can’s voice.
[7]

Katie Gill: Weeknd-influenced sad boy rap/R&B transcends all national barriers! Truly, that is the universal language. In all honesty, this song’s a jam, I just can’t help but sigh dramatically when at around 2 minutes in, we go remarkably After Hours.
[7]

Samson Savill de Jong: I may not speak Icelandic, but English is enough of a mongrel language that I can correctly interpret the title as being about flying up / away. But even without that deduction I’d still get it, because the song sounds like the feeling of floating away, and it’s a good to song to just sit and vibe with, maybe have on in the background whilst you’re doing something else.
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Natasha Genet Avery: “FLÝG UPP”‘s mid-song transition from reggaeton-lite to synth pop is as surprising as it is satisfying — somehow, Aron Can’s laid-back, breezy delivery bridges the divide. 
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Thomas Inskeep: Sounds like Aron Can is rapping/singing (should we just call it “Drake-ing”?) over a track from Rosalía’s debut album, with some added trappish drums, for the first two minutes, before it suddenly turns into a Weeknd track. Unfortunately, the Weeknd-ish portion is so boilerplate it’s ridiculous; should’ve stuck with the original idea.
[5]

Alfred Soto: Shimmering arena-ready synth pop is the craze, and after a dull reggaeton-trap-influenced first half, “Flýg Upp” transforms into the visual equivalent of Clark Kent ripping off his shirt. The parts don’t connect. Did Aron Can leave the first part because they thought they could legitimately surprise?
[5]

Katherine St Asaph: “Carcinization,” in biology and in meme, is the term for evolution’s compulsion to turn everything into a crab. Pop music, as we have seen, has developed a similar compulsion to turn everything into “Blinding Lights” — although to be totally fair to Aron Can, this also has a tinier version of “In the Air Tonight” break. There are far worse songs to put on influential repeat, and “Flýg Upp” replicates both the melancholy and the driving pulse — the outrunning in outrun.
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