POP
Kylie Minogue
“Into the Blue” (4:10)
Producer: Mike Del Rio
Writers: Kelly “Madame Buttons” Sheehan, Mike Del Rio, J. Kash
Publishers: Prescription Songs/Sony-ATV/Paradise Publishing/Universal (BMI)
LABEL: Parlophone/Warner Bros.
In the years since her surprise 2002 comeback single “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” Kylie Minogue’s joyous, unabashedly sincere brand of bouncy dance-pop has had a hard time translating to U.S. shores. Giddy, hyper-pitched “Into the Blue” may not reverse that trend, but it’s a new gold standard for Minogue’s uptempo singles. From the delectable “yoh-oh-oh” pirate-pop intro to the cathartic chorus that somehow turns “blue” into a three-syllable word, this is Kylie writ extra large. -Andrew Hampp
ALTERNATIVE
Vance Joy
“Riptide” (3:24)
Producers: John Castle, James Keogh, Edwin White
Writer: Vance Joy
Publisher: Copyright Control
Label: F-Stop/Atlantic Records
For his debut single, Aussie newcomer Vance Joy drops a mandolin-flecked jam stocked with an insatiably breezy hook, the perfect counterbalance to the cruel chill of this never-ending winter. “I was scared of pretty girls and conversations,” the singer/songwriter admits, combining aching social anxiety with chiming arpeggios. -Dan Hyman
ROCK
Cloud Nothings
“I’m Not Part of Me” (4:36)
Producer: John Congleton
Writer: Dylan Baldi
Publisher: DB91 (SESAC)
LABEL: Carpark/Mom + Pop
On Cloud Nothings’ energetic new single “I’m Not Part of Me,” singer Dylan Baldi rebels joyously against the hazy memories of his youth, wrangling pop-punk release through an even-muddier-than-usual wall of distortion, hiss, snare rolls and cymbal crashes. “I’m not, I’m not you,” he sings into the mirror, his reliably nasal yelp splattered over classic power chords and a relentlessly driving drumbeat. -Ryan Reed
EDM
Zedd featuring Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant
“Find You” (3:24)
Producer: Zedd
Writers: Anton Zaslavski, Matthew Koma, Miriam Bryant, Victor Radstrom
Publishers: various
Label: Interscope
With a spot on the upcoming “Divergent” soundtrack and a synch in a Super Bowl ad for Bud Light Platinum, “Find You” is already Zedd’s most high-profile single launch to date, and it lives up to the hype of the starry rollout. After beginning softly with a robotic piano-ballad lead, the track unwinds into full-fledged, hands-in-the-air EDM territory 90 seconds in, as Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant rise to the occasion with a yearning pop hook over the DJ’s pulsing synths and kinetic drum fills. -Nick Williams