12 new tracks you need to hear 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.

Skinner

Headroom

‘Headroom‘ is one of the best tracks that we’ve heard in a long time. It’s the first track we’ve heard from Skinner since 2016’s album Skint and we’re glad he’s back. This track is a semi-autobiographical account about excuses and avoidance that sees the 22-year old discuss the lengths people will go to mask their true emotions. He does this through some pretty gruesome imagery, “paranoid, run my hands through my hair, blood stained vomit and phlegm on the chair, asking ever tie why the time won’t fly by, cause I’m a nice guy – I live a nice lie”. Grungy guitar lines meet thrashing drums complimented by his quirky, accented vocal melodies.

2.

Jessie Ware

Adore You

Jessie Ware‘s new material has had a more disco-edge to it than material we heard on her last album and we like it a lot. Her new single ‘Adore You’ was produced by Metronomy’s Joseph Mount (her last single was produced by Bicep) and arrived just in time for Valentine’s Day last week. Glitchy synths open proceedings before a deep kick drum enters and renders the track into pure disco goodness territory. Ware is a fantastic vocalist and this is showcased in the chorus in the cascading, descending melodies before the vocoder drenched hook enters.

3.

Nealo

Just My Luck (feat. Molly Sterling)

‘Just My Luck’ is the latest single from Dublin based artist Nealo. The track was written from the perspective of someone losing their partner because of their alcohol use, and Nealo’s vocals come through with so much in the way of warmth and clarity in that light. The instrumental was written and recorded by Irish instrumental group INNRSPACE (comprised of Uly, Fiachra Kinder and Adam Garrett) and it is pure smooth nu-R&B cut. The lyrics stand out as having a real human edge and a universality working in tandem with his narrative style, and Molly Sterling’s vocals add a real undercurrent of intimacy to that.

4.

Stats

Raft

Stats are a six-piece London based band fronted by La Roux and Dua Lipa’s former guitarist Ed Seed and their new album Other People’s Lives saw release last week. The music is indie-disco pop and is reminiscent of The Pet Shop Boys or Talking Heads, and this is no more prominent than in ‘Raft‘. Seed’s vocals are particularly David Byrne-esque here, not to mention the bright chorus synth melodies that verge on being cheesy.     The track has the feel-good ingredients to remedy a bad day.

5.

Lakker

A Whisper In Your Ear

Lakker are the Irish production duo Ian Mc Donnell and Dara Smith and their upcoming album Época is due out next month. The latest single from it is ‘A Whisper In Your Ear‘ and it makes for a compelling listen: bódhrán lines meet warped synths and violin bowings, all of which blends together seamlessly thanks to some impressive production and mixing. If this track is anything like the rest of the album, we’re in for a treat.

6.

Holy Ghost!

Epton On Broadway

Holy Ghost!‘s third album (name TBC) is set to drop later this year and they’ve just released the latest single from it. ‘Epton On Broadway‘ showcases what the band do best with a steady back beat and chorus-drenched guitar riffs, and of course an irresistible, catchy chorus melody. A chunky piano line is an unexpected but welcome addition to the primarily electronic instrumentation.

7.

Fehdah

Saharakungoh

Fehdah’s ‘Saharakungoh’ is a glamorous blend of house and afro-soul. Self-produced and arranged herself, the track demonstrates how much her talents as a producer have evolved since we last heard from her in 2017. There are new electronic elements there in the trapped high-hats and jittery synths but there are also traces of earlier material in the tight backing vocals and melodies; it feels like a real fusion of a mix of styles and influences, past and present. Her new EP is due for release later this year and we can’t wait to hear it.

8.

Roses Gabor

Turkish Delight

Roses Gabor is a London-based artist that first came to prominence by providing live vocals for acts like Gorillaz and SBTRKT (we featured her regularly here). Her debut album ‘Fantasy and Facts’ is due for release this February 22nd and ‘Turkish Delight‘ is the latest single to come from it. The track is irresistible: R&B drum beats are fused with stabs of analogue synths and this, married with Gabor’s smooth vocals, is a fusion we like a lot indeed.

9.

Icarus

Echoes

Icarus‘ new EP This Must Be The Place came out last week and ‘Echoes‘ our favourite track from it. The track boasts sweeping, hypnotic synth melodies and arpeggiators over a relentless high-hat rhythm, all complimented by warped vocal lines at the top of the mix. The track feels progressive and perhaps is the most stylistically faithful to the duo out of the tracks on the EP, it makes sense that it was the lead single.

10.

ELLLL

Febreze

It’s been three years since ELLLL released her EP Romance and the Cork native is finally back with some new music. ‘Febreeze‘ opens with sounds of tweeting birds before they’re joined by a rising bass line and analogue synths. The Cork hailing producer is now based in Berlin and this release is accompanied by a a G.E.O. remix that we like a lot too.

11.

Tourist

Someone Else

Tourist’s new album Everyday saw release last week and while any track could merit a place on this list, ‘Someone Else’ seems to sum the record up pretty well. The track is impressionist ambiance at its finest with swelling synths and reverb drenched vocals, plus some of the softest percussion sounds we’ve heard in a long time. Tourist described it as “a dust clearing moment. It will probably make more sense in the context of more of my upcoming music, but I suppose this impressionistic piece is really the summation of my interest in indie music (whatever that means) and electronic music (whatever that means also)”.

12.

Chromatics

Time Rider

We’ve long given up on expecting a new Chromatics album to drop so we’re happy to make do with a new song. ‘Time Rider’ coincides with the announcement of a North American tour (their first in 5 years so that’s a good sign) and sticks to the Chromatics template of percussive slow-dreaming dreamy disco.

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