The Singles Jukebox

We too say a lot of things!

[Video]
[5.14]

Kayla Beardslee: Two artists with overly stylized names enter the ring; only one pleasant, “Drunk in Love”-esque, slightly repetitive collaboration can leave.
[6]

Thomas Inskeep: Nicely woozy R&B with a smart pairing of singer (The Bonfyre) and rapper (6LACK) in a way that, for once, actually makes sense. They’re coming from the same place and fit each other on the song.
[8]

Oliver Maier: The suffocating beat implies a level of drama that the lyrics don’t match, but The Bonfyre reminds me of Kehlani in her deft movement along the sweet/scathing continuum. 6lack reminds me of wallpaper.
[4]

Brad Shoup: The Bonfyre is so short on melodic ideas it’s like watching a single wave crash endlessly.
[3]

Katherine St Asaph: A great beat, sinuous and sumptuous, particularly on the second verse where it recedes into one steely wub. But the vocalists — The Bonfyre more than 6LACK — sing like they’re hearing something entirely different, with a wholly different mood. “You know how to kill a vibe,” indeed. And while we’re on the subject of lyrics, it just doesn’t work to turn “you say a lot of things” into a chorus composed of that one solitary repeated thing.
[4]

Ian Mathers: You say “you say a lot of things” a lot, yeah. Uncharitably it’s like they forgot to write half the song; charitably, more like they’re trying to get at the draining, monotonous process that leads to this kind of impasse. The (partially backwards?) production is nice enough I’m tipping into the latter. 6LACK doing more with the guest verse than necessary doesn’t hurt, either: a low bar, but one he keeps crossing.
[6]

Will Adams: Good atmosphere from the trap&B backing, a vocal that hits the midpoint of acidic and spurned, and hey, a guest rap that’s both good in its own right and befitting the song. And then The Bonfyre has to go and repeat “you say a lot of things” approximately five trillion times.
[5]