These are our favourite 10 new tracks we’ve heard this week

Here are the best new songs we’ve heard in the past week, tried, tested and ready for your ears.

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1.

Charli XCX X Christine & The Queens

Gone

English pop maestro Charli XCX flexes her collaborative muscles again on new pop anthem ‘Gone’. We were especially excited to hear this one once we heard it’d feature superb French pop artist Christine & The Queens. The finished product doesn’t disappoint. Charli has always been a flexible songwriter, ‘Gone’ further illustrates this point. The track features the sort of bombastic power-pop instrumental that could have easily featured on Chris last year. Two pop titans from either side of the channel.

2.

Four Tet

Dreamers

English producer Four Tet is well on the way to dropping a new project. We’ve had three new singles from the man over the past few months, culminating in the very sharp ‘Dreamers’. It’s a track very much aligned with Four Tet’s usual mode of operation. That being, minute attention to detail – clearest in the sharp breakbeat rhythms littered throughout ‘Dreamers’. Here again, Tet freely interviews different textures and sound palettes. At some points ‘Dreamers’ is house or future garage or even ambient. Roll on the album.

3.

YBN Cordae

RNP ft. Anderson .Paak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbxdhepeM3I

XXL Freshman listee YBN Cordae seems to be a lyrical counterweight to much of the new generation of emerging hip-hop artists. ‘RNP’ hears him trade bars with a heavyweight like Anderson .Paak in style – all set to a very cut up the soul Kanye beat. Production duties on this one are handled by none other than Dreamville boss man J Cole. Cordae’s new LP Lost Boy is out this Friday.

4.

Slam Dunk’d

No Price ft. Chromeo (Dr Packer Remix)

Veteran American producer Arthur Bakar is a dab hand at throwing together dancefloor bangers. He’s been responsible for gems from New Order, Pet Shop Boys & Afrika Bambaataa. Now, operating under the Slam Dunk’d moniker – he’s made a summertime disco gem in ‘No Price’. Dr Packer steps up to give the track an instant club appeal. No tired feet with this one.

5.

Steve Lacy x Daisy

Like Me

A long-form boogie from The Internet member Steve Lacy. The track details Lacy’s experience of coming out and some of the discrimination he’s faced as a result, it’s a moving lyrical account. It’s all fuzzy synth basses and syncopated drum grooves. Very nice sense of movement and progression on this one. 9 minutes feel like far less.

6.

Tom Tripp

TAM

Here’s some state of the art noire pop from emerging London artist Tom Tripp. I hear loads of the early Weeknd EPs on this, Niall reckons there’s a touch of the Paul Insitute there somewhere. Either way, it’s a cracking bit of pop music.

7.

Chelsea Wolfe

American Darkness

Taken from her forthcoming Birth Of Violence album, out on September 13th, ‘American Darkness’ is the sound of Chelsea Wolfe officially returning to a more familiar dark gothic sound. Recently, Wolfe has become every bit as renowned for her doom metal material. ‘American Darkness’ certainly has morbidity to it, but it’s undercut with beautiful harmonies and shoegaze textures.

8.

Ider

Saddest Generation

A highlight from Ider’s Emotional Education, ‘Saddest Generation’ is a slow builder, pop music always teetering on the edge of bursting out, then refraining. We like the very subtle synth lines that decorate the verses. The duo continues to vocally complement one another excellently. Key to the song’s appeal is the forthright lyrics concerning mental health and a palpable anger felt by millennials about the future. Lines like “One in four, one in four / Where is the emotional education we’re all looking for?,” and “You hated the world and you told me you wouldn’t work out / Cause you didn’t want kids,” really cut through the song like a knife.

9.

Lauer

Inkel Jet 880

Frankfurt native Lauer kindly delivres us some cutting edge modern synth-wave on ‘Inkel Jet 880’. It’s all here, heavy snares dosed in ‘verb, arpeggiated bass lines and a strong sense of melodic progression throughout. Suitable for headphones and dancefloors. It’s a big thumbs up from us.

10.

Nkono Teles

Love Vibration

Cameroonian-born producer and composer Nkono Teles is one of the big figures in the wave of superb funky pop music that swept Nigeria during the 80s. Now being reissued by the Tabansi label, much of Teles music has just become available on streaming services. Check out ‘Love Vibrations’ for the perfect introduction into Teles infectious sound. Tyler actually just sampled the drums off one of his tracks on IGOR’s ‘I THINK’.

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