Welcome to “Cut Through the Noise,” an entertainment column from the St. Louis Park Echo covering new music releases. Every week, a different Echo staffer takes on the role as writer, reviewing recent single releases from a variety of artists.

‘After Hours’ – The Weeknd ★★★☆☆

“After Hours” by The Weeknd differs from the usual brand of music he produces, as it isn’t upbeat and lively. The Weeknd created the song to convey being remorseful. The lyrics perfectly push this emotion forward, with The Weeknd bringing his rough dating history to the table. The lyrics also can closely relate and hit home for some viewers, as he expresses his love for his significant other, which made the song all the better. Having the chorus and beat drop at the same time was a great decision, and along with the rhyme scheme, it excellently connected the song. Even though the song is great, The Weeknd is still new to this certain style of pop, as most of his albums have been cheerful and energetic, and some more experience would be beneficial for him.

‘Forever’ (ft. Post Malone & Clever) – Justin Bieber ★★★☆☆

“Forever” comes along with Bieber’s new album “Changes.” Bieber does a great job of connecting himself to the song, as the lyrics are about his relationships, which shows the effort put into the album. The melody flowed brilliantly, from the chorus to the verses. Post Malone and Clever’s verses really helped fill in the seams, as Bieber’s verses felt too repetitive. I enjoyed the beat, as it was very consistent. Something that I didn’t appreciate about the song was the number of lines allocated to Post Malone and Clever. Both of them are great artists, and it wouldn’t hurt to have more of them in the track.

‘Calm Down’ (ft. Summer Walker) – A Boogie Wit da Hoodie ★★★☆☆

Boogie dropped the track “Calm down” in his album “Artist 2.0.” Something that occurred to me was that this track eerily resembled “Come Closer,” which he released in 2018, but with a quicker, more upbeat vibe. Boogie and Walker harmonized very well together, and it shows in the track. Overall, the beat is satisfactory, as it fits the lyrics pretty well. However, I didn’t like how Boogie and Walker sounded, as it was flooded with autotune and almost made them sound robot-like. Other songs in the album overshadow “Calm Down” and dilute the worthiness of the track.