Friday Five: Haim and T-Swift bring the gasoline, Ariana goes for a test drive
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; Chelsea Lauren/WireImage; Hanna Lassen/Getty Images; Jason Kempin/Getty Images; Avalon/PYMCA/Gonzales Photo/Flemming Bo Jense/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Every Friday, EW's music team runs down the five best songs of the week. In today's edition, Taylor Swift joins Haim's hook-up anthem, more positions from Ariana Grande, Iceage go on a vendetta, Kelly Rowland tells you what to expect from your partner, and Carly Pearce can spot a lie from a mile away.
"Gasoline" — Haim feat. Taylor Swift
"Cancel the DNA test I'm the 4th HAIM sister," Taylor Swift tweeted on Thursday. It's hard not to agree after listening to her contribution to the group's new version of "Gasoline," off their deluxe version of Women in Music Pt III. Swift provides seamless background vocals throughout, and takes on the track's sassy second verse, literally squealing in delight on the line "You did me bad." Between this and Swift's "No Body, No Crime," which the Haim sisters joined in on, this foursome shows why they need to collaborate more often. —Lauren Huff
"Test Drive" — Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has jumped on the deluxe issue bandwagon with an updated release of her 2020 album Positions; "Test Drive," one of five new songs, is the highlight. The short (it clocks in at just over two minutes), sensuous track has plenty of double entendres — "Pull up, pull up on me/Might just recline the seat when I want it/Give you a set of keys 'cause you own it," she sings over a lullaby riff — but avoids dipping into the album's more lustful moments. —Alex Suskind
"Better" — Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland makes it clear what we should expect from a partner on "Better," a piano-led cut off her new EP K. The song is an intimate reflection of what it's like to be in love, with Rowland's soothing yet powerful voice front and center on lyrics like "You better love me 'cause I'm not going nowhere." The addition of steel drums midway through makes for a surprising shift, as the song moves from heartfelt R&B to reggaeton. —Alamin Yohannes
"Vendetta" — Iceage
The Danish rockers add some groove to their punkish edge on this grimy, guttural new single from forthcoming album, Seek Shelter. The distorted vocals of Elias Bender R?nnenfelt sound like he's journaling from the ends of a dying empire: "The plates from which we eat from/Life in the trenches of a Ponzi scheme to come/Cutthroat contract jack leg wildflower." The further he goes, the gnarlier things get. —Alex Suskind
"Liability" — Carly Pearce
Pearce's "Liability," off her just-released 29 EP, is filled with the kind of ugly truths you can only find in a broken relationship. (The song's title is a play on words: a former beau's "lie ability.") "The way those words roll off your silver tongue/Your fabricated love's become a liability," Pearce sings in a snappy, no-nonsense delivery. The lyrics take on a sharper edge when you realize what the 30-year-old has been through in the last year, having divorced fellow country singer Michael Ray after a year of marriage. —Alex Suskind
Related content:
Solve the daily Crossword
