The Singles Jukebox

What’s that? More car songs?

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[6.86]

Alfred Soto: The guitar and synth play sparely, and Yxng Bane rides the dumb hook. She reminds him of his jeep, getting out of his dreams and turning into his car. 
[6]

Iain Mew: Realising that women-as-cars metaphors are corny as fuck, Yxng Bane leans in and owns that totally, taking all chances for “Livin’ La Vida Loca” references and Rita Ora/aura puns with a relish not seen since prime Tinie Tempah. The music has personality to match, and while the results aren’t stunning, standing out from the crowd counts for a lot in a crowd as big as this one currently is.
[7]

Will Adams: Through little more than committing to playfulness, Yxng Bane refreshes an admittedly tired concept. The references to “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” “Ignition” and “Gimme the Light” triangulate the lighthearted vibe, while the title hook approaches “I’m in my mum’s car” silliness. In a just world, “Shape of You” would have been released after, a pale recreation of “Vroom”‘s smash success.
[7]

Nortey Dowuona: A drifting guitar strip follows clipped synth hits as the drums slowly curl up and down and Yxng Bane slowly creeps across the ends, a tiny cloud of synth drifting past as he sticks his head out of the window and hops out to ghostride. The bumrushing synth breakdown feels like rain, but it will never touch him. Then a slippery guitar line slips in to sneak out a dub, leave a dashiki, and head back.
[8]

Jonathan Bogart: The recolonization of the Western world by Afrobeats continues apace, as an East London singer/rapper who a decade ago might have been slotting into grime does his best Wizkid instead. The actual song is less impressive than Team Salut’s beat and Bane’s own silky charisma: “her body goes vroom vroom vroom” is a child’s idea of a sexual metaphor. But he’s earned attention; I want to see what he does next.
[6]

Jonathan Bradley: Yxng Bane’s iced-over dancehall is infectious, and he inflects his rap with inflections and curios to match: the Rita Ora wordplay, for instance, or the hurried and muffled finish to his boast of being the “UK’s new age Rockefeller.” The sing-song hook grates after a while though. The melody is uninspired — even more than the motor metaphors.  
[6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Exquisite production from Team Salut, detailed enough to maintain interest without stepping on Yxng Bane’s toes. It’s safe to say, though, that it only feels this way because Bane’s equally as impressive. His rapping and singing have been on a constant upward trajectory since his “Shape of You” breakthrough, and he’s in constant lockstep with the beat’s developments here while sounding completely effortless. That his ebullient demeanor is transmitted through cheeky lyrics — the Ricky Martin interpolation, the Rita Ora pun, the self-referential Batman line — solidifies “Vroom” as one of the year’s most likable hits.
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