The Singles Jukebox

Look out, weekend — here we come!

[Video]
[5.00]

Will Adams: A “Work. Work. Work. Work. Work.” hook isn’t the freshest idea out the oven, especially in a year when Rihanna’s more than revamped it for the better. That said, “Work From Home” is harmless hyper-extended metaphor nonsense (the line that made me laugh hardest was “Imma get you fired”), which Fifth Harmony are able to sell.
[6]

Lauren Gilbert: I’m…less than thrilled with the vision of femininity that Fifth Harmony seems to espouse. It is pop music, never known for its egalitarianism (“Blurred Lines”, anyone?), but Fifth Harmony seems to expect women to be assertive outside the home (“Bo$$”) and sexy at all times. In the private sphere, they should defer their sexual partners (“you’re the boss at home”) and like it rough (“Worth It”). It feels like a restrictive vision of female sexuality; women are still required to make their (assumed male) partner desire them, defer to them. It feels “empowered” when “empowered” only means that women still have to jump through a specific set of hoops. Oh — it’s “Worth It” minus an amazing sax hook.
[3]

Thomas Inskeep: The vibe is ’90s girl-group, but the sound is totally now, stripped down and minimalist pop’n’b: playful, enhanced by a PG-13 verse from Ty Dolla $ign. And really must watch the video, which is delightfully over-the-top.  
[6]

Crystal Leww: Camila Cabello’s opening notes sounded a bit like rnbass robot rock, but the rest of Fifth Harmony managed to course correct. She is easily the weakest link in this song — from her synthetic opening to her strained wailing in the final choruses, but luckily there’s plenty here to like. RnBass went away as quickly as it got hot, but a well done comeback wouldn’t be unwanted. “Work from Home” is icy and sexy, and the girls of Fifth Harmony play off each other well, trading turns with goofy lines turning a job into a metaphor for a relationship. One of the original scumbags of the genre, Ty Dolla $ign, puts in fine work here as prince, with cute little nicknames of “bae” and “boo.” This is sooooo early 2014, but who cares? The internet’s shrunk our comeback cycles already.
[9]

Micha Cavaseno: More and more I feel bad for Dijon McFarlane. For years, he’s been talking about his attempts to maneuver into the high-stakes world of EDM while EDM has been fascinated with how he propelled the grooves of ratchet into the world of mainstream pop, only to be constantly ravaged by the buzzards. None other than former Dr. Luke pinch-hitter Ammo provides a shimmering Lite-Brite pop take on Mustard’s sound for Fifth Harmony, who sound paint-by-numbers yet serviceable. Worse, listen to none other than Ty Dolla $ign happily loaning out his magic to the girls. Meanwhile Dijon plays “trap,” running further from the next logical step in which others are beating him. Quite unfair.
[6]

Cassy Gress: This wants to be “Worth It,” except they left out the indispensable sax part. It’s unfortunate that this “work work work” song came out a month after Rihanna’s because I don’t like the Rihanna one but made its point — this doesn’t sound sexy or seductive, just, again, a lot like “Worth It.” I’m going listen to that now; it was better.
[4]

Katherine St Asaph: I suppose it was inevitable that the “sharing economy” propaganda would make its way, however loosely, into song concepts. This sort of working-class pop isn’t quite new — see “The Way I Are,” Shut Up Stella’s “On My Bed,” or others that hit about when the recession did — but this particular iteration is bleak. The forced peppiness of the xylophone hook and cutesy tone of certain vocalists are queasy-making in the same way “play” or “naughty” are when used for sex, and the setup — guy works, girls don’t work but hey, at least they have get to cheerily sext! — is retrograde even if “you’re the boss at home” didn’t seem like such a deliberate retcon of “Bo$$.” At least Ty “put in overtime on your body!” Dolla $ign realizes how ridiculous this is and plays it as such; unfortunately, it’s still ridiculous.
[2]

Alfred Soto: The artists could’ve have known that another song called “Work” would become inescapable, but it doesn’t excuse the banality of the hook. From Karyn White’s “Superwoman” onward R&B has seen excellent records about women struggling to reconcile how they present themselves as professionals with what they think are their domestic obligations. “Work From Home” does neither: it’s a request for Ty to stay home so she can show her moves, denoted by that strip club beat. Of course it’s unfair to penalize a song for what it doesn’t do, but I give the grades.
[3]

Brad Shoup: Work is really having a pop moment, huh. In this economy, Fifth Harmony trying to get their partners fired is particularly unconsciable, but it’s a funny angle. A full almost-tropical house melody does the job they’re not willing to; Ty’s got melodies on his résumé, and he proves to be a smart contract hire here.
[6]