The Mixtape 7/24/18: Snail Mail, Camp Cope, Vic Mensa (again)

It's the same top three as last week, but there's plenty of action elsewhere on this week's Mixtape.

Snail Mail sits comfortably on top for a fourth week with Heat Wave while another track from their album-of-the-year contender Hush, Full Control, climbs from 16 to 8.

New tunes, familiar faces

The big news this week comes from Chance the Rapper, who returned with four new songs. Two of them, I Might Need Security (12) and 65th and Ingleside (22), both make impressive entries after spending the last few days on repeat.

DRAM also released some new singles this week. He also has two of them popping up here for the first time. Sundress charges enters at 21 in all its funky glory. Down at 34, Best Hugs shows up drenched in 80's Sitcom Theme Song swag with lyrics that would probably make the Cosby's (sorry, still too damn soon) Keatons blush.

After back-to-back super successful Mixtape outings earlier this year with Your Dog and Cool, Soccer Mommy return with Scorpio Rising (35), the third single to make the 'tape from Soccer Mommy (aka Sophie Allison's) fantastic album, Clean. If it follows in its predecessor's footsteps, it will be near the top of the list very soon.

Other new entries include first-time 'tape-ers Menace Beach (33) and Guerilla Toss (38), as well as the latest from old favorites of mine, Death Cab For Cutie (37), and Waxahatchee (39). The latter is Katie Crutchfield's band. Katie's sister, Allison Crutchfield, just released a new song today from her band, Swearin'. Perhaps we'll simultaneously have siblings in separate bands on the Mixtape next week if both Crutchfields find themselves amongst the other 38 songs that rule my ear-waves during this last week of July.

Things I didn't expect to see this past week

Chance the Rapper coming back this week with four great new tracks is just the kind of blindside I live for. The ones below; however, are not.

1. Demi Lovato apparently overdosing today. 💔 Get well and be well, Demi.
2. 311 and the Offspring making like it's the mid-90s again and covering each other's ubiquitous tracks.  Offspring covers Down by 311. 311 return the favor and cover the Offspring's classic Self Esteem. I loved both of the originals when they were inescapable, but neither of these cover versions work for me. Maybe I'm too old for this shit? 
3. Former MTV VJ Missing. Before the winner of MTV's 1998 "Wanna be a VJ" competition could have his face plastered on milk cartons, he was found and "not in need of any assistance" according to the Riverside Police. If you weren't born after 1987, Jesse Camp won a contest with MTV still sort of played videos and cared about such things. I always liked the runner-up, Dave Holmes, better.