Some big returns this week, including a HUGE one the world has been waiting for...
Harry Styles - As It Was
The Pop King is back! Bringing with him a very-now woozy bedroom pop-influenced banger (we’re assuming he didn’t actually record it in the Styles family bedroom). Seeming to probe his own stardom and image, it’s a great track on many different layers and has already sent the internet into a frenzy.
Katy J Pearson - Talk Over Town
Sports Team - R Entertainment
If the music world had gotten a little bit quiet recently, Sports Team have marched back in to wake things up with last-minute pub gigs and this, their comeback single. R Entertainment, the first release from their second record Gulp!, is a suitably chaotic return to action for the band last seen selling out Brixton Academy last year.
Kae Tempest + Grian Chatten - I Saw Light
Wow. Over a moody, sparse synth beat, Kae and Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten deliver something exceptional in I Saw Light Almost hypnotic in its delivery, it is one of a number of exciting collaborations on Kae’s upcoming new album.
Everything Everything - I Want A Love Like This
A big dance banger from Everything Everything on the eve of their pushed-back UK tour, this track about the optimism surrounding a new relationship is another staggering moment of experimentation gone very well indeed. This push into new ways of exploring the process of writing music is paying off nicely.
Alfie Templeman - Leaving Today
Gloriously ‘70s tinged, almost psychedelic at points, this latest from Alfie Templeman is another certified bop. Co-produced by Jungle’s Tom McFarland, Leaving Today captures the feelings of returning to tour life after so long away.
Hot Milk - Bad Influence
Manchester’s Hot Milk bring the ruckus with this warm slice of riotous pop punk about the joys of being called a ‘bad influence’ since they were kids. Ripped from The King And Queen Of Gasoline EP, this feels like a real statement of intent.
Coach Party - Nothing Is Real
The title track from their new EP, contains all of the elements that are making Coach Party such an exciting new band. Scuzzy yet euphoric guitars, a planetary-sized chorus, Nothing Is Real makes for another flag in the sand and rallying call for the Isle Of Wight band.
Lauran Hibberd - Still Running (5K)
Staying on the Isle Of Wight for a moment more, with this new track from Lauran Hibberd that completely rips up any previous expectations of what she was about sound wise. Almost hip-hop at points, it is a real moment for her and her debut record (due out in the summer).
Mychelle + ENNY - Forbidden Fruit
A beautiful moment of neo-soul from Hackney’s Mychelle, a track about the perils of falling for someone that you know isn’t good for you. With an added guest rap spot from ENNY, this is very special indeed.
English Teacher - Mental Maths
Freshly signed to Island Records and announced as a support to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, English Teacher’s latest single shows their rapid and dizzying climb is showing no signs of slowing down. 'An expression of social anxiety and sensory overload through the catastrophising of a trip to the supermarket' is how the band describe this one.
Shelf Lives - I Don’t Think I’ll Go Out Today
With a super-cool stop-motion video, this final preview of Shelf Lives’ album is a blast. Repetitive as it builds in intensity, this is gloriously unhinged and a rampage of sound by its end. Play extremely loud.
Patrick Watson - Height Of The Feeling
Co-written with Ariel Engle (La Force), this is a beautiful track about 'using intimacy as a compass when you feel out of your skin.' Soaring, haunting vocals mix with ambient instrumental touches to make a gorgeous four minutes.
Rae Morris - Running Shoes
It’s lovely to have Rae back, and with Running Shoes, this track makes for another dreamy return to the action. Managing to sound equal parts Bjork and vintage Hollywood soundtrack, there’s also a glossy soulful sheen that glides through the whole track.
TV Priest - Bury Me In My Shoes
A track about 'bad news on no breakfast’ is how frontman Charlie Drinkwater poetically describes Bury Me In My Shoes, a pounding and soaring next glimpse of My Other People, the new album by the post-punters set for release in June on Sub Pop Records.
Bear’s Den - Blue Hours
A driving beat, exhilirating vocals and a warm fuzzy glow surrounding it, Blue Hours is a classic Bear’s Den track in many ways as they return before their fourth record drops in May. With more of an electronic twist this time round, it also shows a subtle evolution in sound that bodes well.
Braxe + Falcon - Step By Step
Having both worked with Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter (as Stardust and Together respectively), this new collaboration between Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon is as sublime as you would imagine. With Panda Bear also featured, this is a really special union.
Balancing Act - All Yours
The second single from new band Balancing Act, a track that fuses guitar music with drum and bass and even Krautrock. The group, formed from the embers of several previous projects, look like they are already up to speed as they explore leaving home comforts in search of new challenges here.
Lynks - Perfect Human Specimen
This sounds like all of the best bits of ‘80s synthpop smashed into one almighty banger, with an added saxophone solo at the end to really drive things crazy. There is no stopping Lynks in their ongoing assault on the indie dance floors.
Superorganism + Stephen Malkmus + Dylan Cartlidge - It’s Raining
An all-star cast come together for this second release from the return of Superorganism, with Pavement legend Stephen Malkmus joining UK rapper Dylan Cartlidge on a suitably bonkers track (which also features a sample of Scott Walker, just to add to the mix)