The Singles Jukebox

Hands up if you thought we’d cover them more than twice. No, be honest.

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[4.25]Crystal Leww: It is deeply unsettling to me that The Chainsmokers, the same fuckers who got famous off a song making fun of women and femininity, have relaunched the second wave of their careers with women vocalists and femininity at the core of what they’re doing. The worst part? These assholes are actually really good at it! “Roses” was an extremely effective EDM-pop single at a time when that sort of music doesn’t really do well anymore, and “Don’t Let Me Down” rests on Daya throwing her whole fucking heart and soul and body and voice into it. This is good, too. I’m furious.
[6]

Alfred Soto: Oh, honey, they do, starting with that air horn.
[2]

Micha Cavaseno: You know it’d be clever if like, they kept up the “Don’t Let Me Down” motif by never actually having a drop. But I mean, how do you flog a formula to death by having a sense of wit? It makes sense they wouldn’t do something like that, or anything memorable for that matter.
[2]

Cassy Gress: Daya sounds like she is trying to sound like Rihanna, and she completely doesn’t sound desperate, like the lyrics would imply; this confused me until I realized the song was going to have a drop and thus the desperation part didn’t matter so much.  The best part of the song is the last 30 seconds or so, when Daya begins wailing, and those saxes extend into broad platforms.
[6]

Brad Shoup: The drop sounds like someone trying to push a baby through a kazoo. Not sure if the klezmer brass that comes after is any better.
[4]

Thomas Inskeep: Not as good as “Roses” nor as fresh-sounding as “Hide Away,” and utterly spoiled by its where’s-the-drop 2013 chorus.
[4]

Edward Okulicz: Love Daya’s vocal acting on the “losing my mind” bit in the middle. Would love to hear a whole song of that, not just her, the whole song jumps into gear around her at that point, suggesting that The Chainsmokers are pretty proficient. Not all of this works, but it’s a good sound on them, just not all that good of a song beyond one particularly compelling section.
[5]

Will Adams: The emotion of The Chainsmokers’ strong EP from late last year, Bouquet, isn’t replicated here. Daya gurns over some guitars swiped from The xx, leading into a thumping drop that hits the right notes but fails to leave any lasting impression. It’s tempting to give props to a duo who’ve moved past the crassness of teeth-grinding fare like “#Selfie” and “Kanye,” but when they start rehashing a formula, I’m less charitable.
[5]