Three weeks off - what did I miss?

Huge apaologies for the (latest) break in blog posts. It was a double whammy of work deadlines leading into a family holiday. But I'm back once again like the "renegade master" ("tired father of two"). And here's a round-up of what I listened to in the break.

Paramore - Hard Times
Paramore have really been through the wringer - with an ever-changing line-up and all sorts of legal demands from former members. It got so bad they nearly packed it all in: "Two years ago I asked Taylor (York, guitarist) if we could start a new band," Hayley Williams told The Guardian. "I was so sick of this crap. I said we should just try something new, give it a new name."

But, as she's done many times before, Williams clung on and turned the bad times into a rollicking radio hit. The aptly-named Hard Times takes its cues from Talking Heads and Blondie, all clipped guitar lines and arch vocal stylings. It is an utter triumph.





Lana Del Rey ft The Weekend - Lust For Life
Of course, in Lana Del Rey's world, "lust for life" translates as "drifting woozily over a moonlit graveyard" but what a song. What. A. Song.





Katy Perry - Bon Appetit
Plans for Katy Perry's political album have been shelved in favour of this ode to oral sex.






Kendrick Lamar - DNA
Kendrick's new album, DAMN FULL STOP, doesn't move me in quite the same way as To Pimp A Butterfly - its lyrical and musical introspection makes it a much tougher listen. But DNA is a standout, with Mike Will Made-It's starkly simplistic beats focusing your attention on Kendrick's densely-layered lyrics.

The video, in which he takes possession of Don Cheadle's body, is also worth watching.





Goldfrapp - Systemagic
The lyrics are some old bollocks about the moon - but the song is vintage Goldfrapp, with Alison's ethereal vocals the chocolate sprinkles on Will Gregory's synth cappuccino. (Sorry, I'm all out of metaphors).





Ardyn - Together
Ardyn are twin brother and sister Rob and Katy Pearson, who hail from Gloucestershire. Their new single was written in a caravan on a keyboard purchased from Lidl; and it's messy tangle of strummed guitar and dark-pop harmonies is an absolute delight.





Haim - Right Now
Haim's comeback song is very emphatically not a single (that comes next week, fact fans), which is a relief as Right Now feels very much like track nine on a 10-track album. Great video, though.






Tove Styrke - Say My Name
Tove Styrke's second album, Kiddo, was my favourite record of 2015 - and now she's back, with a typically quirky take on Swedish pop. Her girl power lyrics have transmuted into something altogether more sex-obsessed, but her wayward lyrics are still superb: "Say my name - wear it out like a sweater."





Dua Lipa ft Miguel - Lost In Your Light
A steamy banger, in which Dua and Miguel tussle over lyrics like "let me ride in your love all night". Phwoar.




Harry Styles - Sign Of The Times
According to Cameron Crowe's Rolling Stone profile of Sir Harry Stylesworth, this song is written from the perspective of a mother who, while in labour, is told she will die if her baby is to survive, which is quite a thematic departure from, say, Best Song Ever.

I'm still ambivalent about the song. Depending on my mood, it's either a brave attempt to write a power ballad that mixes the best bits of Life On Mars and Purple Rain, or a Stereophonics cast-off that outstays its welcome.




Royal Blood - Lights Out
This is going to KICK OFF at the Pyramid Stage come June.




Kygo ft Ellie Goulding - First Time
Yet another midtempo EDM song that wimps out at the chorus. Note to producers: A squiggly synth line is no substitute for a melody, and we're onto your trick now.




Ride - All I Want
I wasn't expecting much from the Ride reunion. The Stone Roses aside, I was never that keen on shoegaze indie; and Andy Bell's stint in Beady Eye didn't exactly set the world alight. But this is, somehow, rather brilliant.




Ibibio Sound Machine - The Chant
Fronted by London-born Nigerian singer Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine smash together West African funk and British electro-pop in a way that will make your jelly shake right off its plate. The Chant has just been added to the 6 Music playlist, and rightly so.



DNCE ft Nicki Minaj - Kissing Strangers
Ridiculous. Good. But not ridiculously good.

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PJ Harvey returns and 13 other songs you may have missed

A long-delayed return for a regular discopop feature, rounding up songs that have slipped under the radar in the last seven (or in this case 21) days.

Here we go, here we go, here we go now.

1) PJ Harvey - The Wheel
Four years after Let England Shake, PJ Harvey is still looking into the effects of war. This track was inspired by a visit to Kosovo, and references the thousands of children who disappeared during the conflict there. It opens with a squall of guitar and saxophone, but gives way to a lithe melody, underpinned by handclaps and a tribal drumbeat. Truly brilliant.




2) Grimes - Hate v Maim
Frankly, Grimes's squad looks a hell of a lot more intimidating than Taylor Swift's.




3) Spring King - Who Are You?
Manchester's Spring King were the first band to be played on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show - and you can see why. This infectious, spritely indie-pop is the opening first track if you're making someone a mixtape this weekend.

Fun fact: The saxophone solo is played by the bassist's dad.




4) Laura Mvula - Overcome (ft Nile Rodgers)
Simply stunning. I can't recommend this highly enough.





5) Omarion - I Ain't Even Done (ft Ghostface Killah)
Silky rhymes and a laid-back flutestramental - this is a perfect throwback to the Wu Tang sound. Omarion calls it "high level vernacular" and "a generational victory". Well, quite.






6) Selena Gomez - Can't Keep My Hands To Myself
I mean I could but why would I want to?




7) Bryson Tiller - Don't
Kentucky-born Bryson Tiller recorded this bruising R&B jam in his living room, then watched it rack up 17 million Soundcloud plays in 10 months. Soon, Timbaland and Drake got on the phone and co-signed him to a record deal; and now the song is starting to get play on mainstream radio.

The lyrics see Bryson make an impassioned plea for a girl to leave an abusive relationship and settle down with him - but he rather undermines the gesture by singing about her "pussy" in the second verse.




8) Natalie Merchant - Tiny Desk Concert
A great big warm hug of a performance.





9) Låpsley - Love Is Blind
19-year-old Låpsley sounds older than her years on this mournful song "about someone being blind to the inevitability of a relationship ending". A gorgeous ballad, it showcases her husky contralto - and could easily be her breakout hit.




10) Rationale - Something For Nothing (Radio 1 Future Festival)
JUST LISTEN TO THAT VOICE.





11) Ekkah - Small Talk
I've been following Birmingham's Rebecca Wilson and Rebekah Pennington for a while now - and this vibrant synthpop banger is their first single after being signed to Sony / RCA. The video gives off a distinct Bananarama vibe - but the early, cool Bananarama, rather than the SAW-era cheese.





12) Ellie Goulding - Army
A touching ode to Ellie's best friend (and PA) Hannah. "The person who has seen me at my lowest and the first person I call in muffled sobs when something bad happens. We've been deliriously happy together, deliriously tired and deliriously sad together. I wanted to show our friendship for what it really is- honest, real, electric." Aw, bless.





13) The 1975 - The Sound
It's always a worry when a rock group "goes pop". Like dramatic actors trying their hand at comedy, they usually discover it's not as easy as it looks. (A case in point is Coldplay's new album - which is an excruciating exercise in forced jollity.) Luckily, The 1975 get it just right. The chunky 1990s piano sound and the ebullient arms-aloft chorus are designed to kick off at a hundred festivals this summer.




14) Adele - Carpool Karaoke
OK, you've probably seen this already - the YouTube count has reached 50 million in the space of a week - but it remains an absolute joy.

And that's your lot. Have a fantastic weekend!

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Tinashe "up the duff" and 11 other songs you may have missed

A semi-regular round-up of songs I wanted to blog about until life got in the way.

This week's superstars include.

1) Tinashe - Player (ft Chris Brown)
Her early EPs were a major influence on the dark, brooding lasciviousness of Beyonce's Beyonce album. Now Tinashe is going for Queen B's crown with a straight-up, chrome-plated pop classic.

The first single from her forthcoming second album, Joyride, it suggests a major push for mainstream success. But one thing is niggling at me: The lyric websites all say she's singing "you got me all fucked up" in the chorus - but surely I'm not the only one who hears "you got me up the duff"?




2) Ellie Goulding - Something In The Way You Move
Simmering electropop from pop's huskiest songstress. Another indication that Delirious will be an album full of solid gold bangers.





3) Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson - Say Say Say (2015 remix)
A souped-up version of the 1983 duet, this swaps around Macca and Jacko's vocals, and is generally a funkier, more upbeat take on the original. Part of a reissue of McCartney's Pipes of Peace album, it has even been blessed with a new video.

Sadly, the single's b-side, Ode to a Koala Bear, has been left untouched.

4) KDA - Turn The Music Louder (ft Tinie Tempah & Katy B)
The backing track feels a little "my first sequencer" but Tinie and Katy lift this track way above the average. Fantastic video, too.




5) Eliza and the Bear - Lion's Heart
A spoonful of Mumford, a sprinkle of Coldplay, and a pinch of The Libertines. Mix it all together, throw in a trumpet and you have Eliza and the Bear's anthemic new single.

Just to reiterate every article that's ever been written about them: Eliza and the Bear are all boys, and none of them is called Eliza.



6) Foxes - Better Love
Windswept, widescreen pop. But even Rihanna would think twice about a music video where the star sits on a toilet (even if she's just painting her toenails).




7) Dua Lipa - New Love
Jessie Ware's silky melodies crossed with the percussive dissonance of Bjork - New Love is an epic introduction to 19-year-old Londoner Dua Lipa. It was produced by Emile Haynie (Lana Del Rey, FKA Twigs), and Andrew Wyatt (Miike Snow), in case that sort of thing matters to you.






8) Frances - Let It Out
Quiet, intense, fragile, beautiful. Frances is a shoo-in for next year's "ones to watch" lists.



9) Jones - Indulge
I missed this song when it came out in April, but it's become a firm favourite after London-born R&B singer Jones performed it on Jools Holland earlier this week. A dramatic, luxurious song about surrendering to love - I present both acoustic and studio versions, because I can't decide which I love most.







10) Bloc Party - The Love Within
Back from their second "hiatus" with a renewed energy, this song is a perfect balance between the shouty whirligig of Bloc Party's indie thrash and the throbbing electronica of Kele Okereke's solo material.



Petite Miller - Barbaric
This lolita-ish French singer is being talked about in all the right places - but I'm just not getting it. Can anyone enlighten me?



11) Olly Murs - Kiss Me
An interesting diversion into "not hateful" territory from pop's perennial hat-botherer and X Factor acolyte.



12) Janet Jackson - BurnItUp! (Ft Missy Elliot)
A lyric video, shot by the cast and crew of Janet's Unbreakable World Tour, this makes life on the road look like an absolute blast.

The tour pulls into the UK next March, fact fans.

And that's your lot... Enjoy the weekend!

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Video: Ellie Goulding - On My Mind

There comes a stage in every artist's career where they simply have to bring a horse to the hair salon. Today, it is Ellie Goulding's turn.

The scene is one of many peculiar / brilliant moments in the video for Ellie's new single On My Mind. The story, which sees Ellie wreak her revenge on a dirty no-good boyfriend, is in many a PG-rated version of Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money video, but that's a good thing.

Here is the embedded video player with which you can view the aforementioned clip.

Ellie Goulding - On My Mind

By the way - Ellie has gone on the record to deny that the single is about Ed Sheeran, even though it is clearly about Ed Sheeran.

As I mentioned last week, On My Mind contains several lyrical and thematic similarities to Ed's record Don't, which detailed the messy end of the couple's relationship. Ellie's song even references a boy with tattoos, of which Ed has many.

But the singer has insisted to MTV that fans were reading too much into the track.

"I’m sorry to all the people that want it to be about someone, it’s not, it’s like a myth," she said. "I like guys with tattoos, my boyfriend [McBusted's Dougie Poynter] has tattoos... but I don’t mind. People can read into it however they want. It’s fun to do that, I would do that too."

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Is Ellie Goulding's new single any good?

Yes, it is. Very good indeed. Opening with a stuttering guitar arpeggio, it leads into one of Ellie Goulding's best ever vocal and lyrical performances - with an almost conversational tone to the verses, and a multi-layered call-and-response chorus.

But the Max Martin-assisted song is also - very clearly - Ellie's response to Ed Sheeran's Don't.

Don't, you may remember, was about Ed's relationship with Ellie, and how she (allegedly) left him for One Direction's Niall Horan, while they were all staying in the same hotel. It sounds like this.


On Ellie's song, On My Mind, she also she sings about being in someone's hotel room. He is making grand declarations of love - but she isn't keen. "You wanted my heart, but I just liked your tattoos," she sings.

Ouch.

And If the song really is about Ed, it seems that Ellie's feelings were hurt when he spilled his guts on Don't. "You mess with the truth," she accuses, "saying that I hurt you, but I still don't get it... You didn't love me. Not really."

But in the chorus, she gives a clue as to why it all rankled so much... "So why have I got you on my mind?" she asks. "I could have really liked you."

What a convoluted (but fascinating) tale. I look forward to hearing Niall's version of the story on One Direction's next album.

Listen below.

On My Mind premiered on Nick Grimshaw's Radio 1 show this morning. Ellie didn't discuss the subject matter, but did talk a little about her forthcoming third album, Delirium.

"It's been a long time coming. Love Me Like You Do... was never really meant to happen. I thought I was doing that for the film then it all kicked off. All of a sudden it was like 'she's back'. Now I'm really back. I'm back and it's just me."

Discussing On My Mind, she added:

"This was the first song I wrote with Max Martin. We met when we did Love Me Like You Do, and we got on really well. He's brilliant, he's hilarious.

"It's all very relaxed there. It's not like you go in and say, 'right, let's write a song'. It's more like we just chat about things for a day, and the next day we start thinking about writing some lyrics. The more I talk, the more ideas I come up with to write about."

You can hear the full interview (there's about 45 minutes of it) on the BBC iPlayer. Ellie first pops up at around 1h 45min into the show.

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Ellie Goulding gains the power of telekinesis and 12 other songs you may have missed

Songs You May Have Missed is a semi-regular round-up of songs I didn't manage to post about in a timely manner. It includes new discoveries, songs that took a while to appreciate and videos I simply missed.

This week's selection is particularly strong, for some reason. Enjoy below.

1) Major Lazer - Powerful (ft Ellie Goulding and Taurus Riley)
Ellie Goulding recently sparked speculation she was recording the new James Bond theme with the following tweet.

Live and let die

— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) July 9, 2015

Of course, she could just have been marking her appreciation for the best Geri Halliwell b-side of all time. But while we wait for confirmation on the Bond thing, here she is bending forks like a sexy Uri Geller in the new Major Lazer video.




2) Disclosure - Omen (ft Sam Smith)
"It just would have felt wrong to not have him on the record," Howard Lawrence said of Sam Smith. "We speak to Sam everyday. He's our best mate. And he's the best singer in the world. Why would we not put him on the record?"

One answer would be "because it will inevitably suffer in comparison to Latch". But this track just about escapes that fate. Although it could do with being about 30bpm faster.






3) Tove Styrke - ...Baby One More Time
"Britney Spears - she's fierce," sings Tove Styrke on her current single, Number One.

As if to prove it, she's covered the pop star's debut single, smattering it with ice cold synths and building up to a Bjork-ish conclusion.





4) George Ezra - Barcelona
The sixth (sixth!) single from George Ezra's million-selling Wanted On Voyage album, is accompanied by a video shot deep in the rainforest. By which I mean Cornwall's Eden Project, which is why George has to wear that fetching mustard-colour jacket.





5) Gatlantis - Peanut Butter Jelly
The feel-good hit of the summer now has a feel-good video to go with it. It's about as infectious as you'd expect from Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw - whose credits include Britney's Toxic and Icona Pop's I Love It.





6) Shura - White Light (extended version)
A disturbing video for Shura's shimmering, space disco epic - which is released today.

The Manchester singer is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to her debut EP for later this year.





7) George The Poet - Sorry Love, It's You Not Me (ft Lucy Rose)
Just added to the 6 Music playlist, this is a great piece of narrative rap, detailing the end of a relationship - with a devastating hook: "It's just you're forgettable. I think that's the issue".

Things to love: George's languorous delivery, and that infectious bassline.





8) Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me
The first track from Carly's new album, Emotion, comes with a fly-on-the-wall video, following the singer around a promotional trip to Japan, New York and Paris.

"I didn't even know we were making a music video until about halfway through it," Jepsen said in a statement. "David [Kalani Larkins - director] always has a camera in his hand and he has a way about him that makes you forget that it's there. I can remember watching over his shoulder as he uploaded the footage, recounting memories of the trip that I had almost already forgotten."






9) Izzy Bizu - Give Me Love
Seeing the name Izzy Bizu, readers of a certain age will inevitably be reminded of Sooty and Sweep.

For everyone else, here's a rollicking, drum-powered pop stomper from Barnes, in South-west London.





10) Lianne La Havas - Green and Gold
Described as "kind of an autobiography," Green & Gold sees Lianne La Havas narrate her life story, from a six-year-old "trying to watch cartoons through the static" to a "star in the city", feted by Prince and Stevie Wonder.

This is the third taster from her "sophomore" (second) album, which is shaping up to be one of the best soul records of the year.




11) Sarah Harding - Threads
"It's quite rocky - but it's also got pop and dubstep influences as well," says Sarah 'Girls Aloud' Harding. "There's a real mish-mash of different styles."

Mish-mash is probably the politest way to describe this, to be honest. *sad face emoticon*




12) Kira Puru - All Dulled Out
The debut single from Melbourne doom-pop singer Kira Puru is a little rough around the edges, but the balance between vulnerability and raw emotion is subtly captivating.





13) Cyril Hahn - Inferno ft Say Lou Lou
An aching, wistful summer jam that feels ripped from the soundtrack of a John Hughes movie.

"You know I'd hurt and suffer just to be with you," sing Say Lou Lou over Cyril Hahn's twinkling synths. "Pull me underground, never let me down, my inferno".

And that's the lot. Loads more musical goodies to come on the blog this week. If you're new, say hello on @mrdiscopop or in the comments field below.

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What face do you pull when you hear Ellie Goulding's made a new record?

I know, I know, I know. The last thing anyone needs right now is a new song from pop's least reclusive guest vocalist, Ellie Goulding.

But, like Love Me Like You Do earlier this year, Ellie's new song is good enough to combat your overwhelming fatigue / antipathy.

Powerful is a squirly, whirly delight, with Major Lazer's dancehall-indebted grooves a perfect partnership for the singer's husky melodies.

There is an obligatory lyric video, and the lyric video looks like this.

Major Lazer - Powerful (ft Ellie Goulding and Taurus Riley)

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Songs you may have missed: A Lorde (and S Club) special

So it was back to work this week after a very generous (although partly-unpaid) 12 weeks' paternity leave. I won't say it was easy to leave the kids behind but on balance my wife has the harder job.

Anyway, the cogs of the music industry machine continue to turn despite my domestic arrangements. Here's a round-up of the songs I heard this week and couldn't find time to write up. NB: They're basically all by Lorde.

1) Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat (Kanye West Remix)
Intense.



2) Charli XCX ft Simon Le Bon - Kingdom
This one's from Lorde's hand-picked soundtrack to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

Charli talked about it to Pitchfork earlier this week, using the following words: "I worked with Rostam [Batmanglij] on that song. We went to the Miley Cyrus show in LA and got really wasted. Then we went back to his house and I sat on top of his piano, and we wrote Kingdom. We sung it into his phone.

"I remember thinking in the morning, 'Ugh, this is going to be the worst thing ever,' but it was really good. So when Ella [Lorde] reached out to me about the soundtrack, I decided to send her that song even though it’s really different than my usual shit. She was really complimentary about it."

So there you go.



3) Lorde - Don't Tell 'Em (Radio 1 Live Lounge cover)
Intense.





4) S Club 7 - Greatest Hits medley (from Children In Need)
A greatest hits medley featuring four songs isn't really worthy of the title but it's interesting to see what S Club look like in their mid-to-late 30s.

Paul Cattermole is the highlight, dancing like a drunk uncle at a David Brent lookalike competest.





5) Nicole Scherzinger - Run
Intense.





6) Lion Babe - Jump Hi (ft Childish Gambino)
Possibly R&B's best-kept secret, Lion Babe have been on the Discopop radar since 2012. They've been quiet for a while but this song, the title track to a forthcoming EP, suggests they're getting their ducks in a row for a major push 2015.

Sample watch: The chorus uses a vocal hook from Nina Simone's interpretation of Mr Bojangles.





7) Ariana Grande - All My Love (ft Major Lazer)
Also from the Hunger Games soundtrack. A total racket, but in the good way.






8) Calvin Harris - Outside (ft Ellie Goulding)
Do you think Calvin regrets giving all his best material to Rita Ora?





9) Taylor Swift - Shake It Off (Tesher remix)
This is magnificent - reframing Taylor's pop hit as a dark and dirty club hit. If Lorde had written Shake It Off, it would have sounded like this.

Sample-watch: The backing track is based around the intro to Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around (Comes Around).





10) One Bit - Won't Hold Back
Superlative sunset grooves from Radio One's "Most Played New Act of 2014". For fans of Disclosure and Holy Ghost!




11) Fergie - LA Love
Featuring cameos from Hilary Swank, Chelsea Handler and Ryan Seacrest. Hardly Liberian Girl, is it?




12) Chvrches vs Bleachers - You Can Go Your Own Way
Featuring the worst live sound mix you have ever heard in your life, this is nonetheless a brilliant cover version. Lauren's vivacious vocals really bring a new dimension to Fleetwood Mac's kiss-off classic.

And that, readers, is that. Happy listening!

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Lykke Li riddled with bullets and 10 other songs you may have missed

Here you go: A semi-regular round-up of songs I didn't have time to write about during the week, including tasty morsels by this load of reprobates.

1) Lykke Li - Gunshot
Let's start with the most disturbing video of the week, in which Lykke "laugh-a-minute" Li stumbles round the world's oddest car park, being shot by invisible bullets. A lighthearted romp.





2) Cam'Ron ft Nicki Minaj - So Bad
The video is hilariously low-budget (hello, green screen!) but the doo-wop indebted duet is damned catchy. Plus, Cam'ron makes the world's worst Angry Birds pun, so well done on that front.





3) Haim - Oh Well (live at T In The Park)
Always a highlight of their live shows, this Fleetwood Mac cover lets Danielle Haim let fly with her crazy axe skills. One of the highlights of the TV coverage of T in the Park.





4) DJ Fresh ft Ellie Goulding - Flashlight
Originally a bonus track on Ellie's Halcyon Days re-release last year, this has been given a fresh lick of paint and turned into DJ Fresh's new single. As they said in the 70s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.





5) Moko - Your Love
Produced by Chase & Status (for whom Moko sang Count On Me last year) this chiming soul-house track is a guaranteed floor-filler. Nice pigtails, too.





6) Alt-J - Hunger of the Pine
A simply stunning video.





7) Pharrell - Get Lucky (live at T In The Park)
Great performance from Pharrell on last year's song of the summer. I'm not sure "make it rain" means the same in Scotland as it does in his native Virginia, though.





8) Marina and the Diamonds - Untitled new song
This brief snippet, posted on Instagram during the week, is the first taster of Marina's forthcoming third album.

A simple piano/vocal, with shades of Lana Del Rey (or anyone else who sings over a piano, to be honest) it sounds extremely promising: "There's no rush anymore, time's on my side," sings Marina, "All my worries are gone, I'm enjoying the ride."





9) Mike Mago & Dragonette - Outlines
Pop's best kept secret (that's Dragonette) team up with some Dutch guy (that's Mike Mago) for this dreamy dance track. Too deep to match the chart success of Dragonette's previous collaboration - Martin Solveig's Hello - this is a welcome addition to my summer playlist nonetheless.






10) Indiana - Heart on Fire
I meant to post this two weeks ago when it came out, then my brain went fzzrt.

Better late than never, though, here's Nottingham-born newcomer Indiana (aka Lauren Henson) with a great big "sobbing over a drum machine" popballad. Fans of Robyn will like this quite a lot.




11) Sigma ft Paloma Faith - Changing
As fresh and exciting today as it was on Monday, when I first wrote about it - even though, as Don't Falter hitmaker Mint Royale pointed out, it's "obviously based on a Lana sample which they've then replaced with 'something similar'".

Interesting choice of outfit from Paloma, as ever.

And that's that. Enjoy the sunny weekend!

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Grimes is Go and 14 other songs you may have missed

After a week away and a major music festival, there's plenty of great music to catch up with in this edition of "songs you may have missed". 

I've included a few clips from Glastonbury, mixed up with songs that premiered during my self-imposed blog absence.

It all begins with the welcome return of the artist currently known to her parents as Claire Boucher.

1) Grimes - Go (ft Blood Dragon)
Written for (and rejected by) Rihanna, this is the most straightforward, bubbly pop song Grimes has ever released. She describes it as a "summer jam" and she's not wrong. It's available as a free download from her website right now.




2) Ellie Goulding - I Need Your Love (acoustic at Glastonbury)
Yes, she's a fully-fledged dance diva these days but I still maintain Ellie's voice is best suited to this sort of musical arrangement. Bring on the 2018 acoustic album.




3) Usher - Good Kisser (Disclosure remix)
Better than the original. Try not to think about the lyrics.





4) Craig David - Cold
Is it time for a Craig David revival? Are you missing the Flava? Are the crowd saying Bo Selecta? Who knows, but this song is 100% not shit.

5) Amy Milner - Have It All
Newcomer Amy Milner took my breath away with this luscious, dreamy piano ballad. It's simple - almost predictably so - but there's a moment where the backing vocals kick in that indicates a compositional genius at work.

Amy is unsigned right now but she's getting some support from BBC Intriducing in her native Sussex. One to watch.






6) Becky G - Shower
This sounds like a monster hit to me. Co-written by Dr Luke, it's got a "why did no-one think of this before" lyric ('you got me singing in the shower') and a "la-da-dee" vocal hook that will burrow into your grey matter and establish an independent republic. You have been warned.





7) Jurassic 5 - Improvise (live at Glastonbury)
Gutted I missed this one... Taking four MCs and make 'em sound like one.





8) Cate Le Bon - Sisters (live at Glastonbury)
Isn't it strange how the Welsh accent occasionally sounds French when you're singing?

9) Broods - LAF
It stands for "Loose As Fuck", and it contains a Spice Girls reference in the second verse. What's not to love?





10) Kelis - Friday Fish Fry (live at Glastonbury)
One of the few performances I actually got to see at Glastonbury this year was Kelis's feel-good, big band soul revue. A highlight in the sunlight.




11) Tiann - Devil's Touch
Subtle, melodious R&B that is - praise the lord - not at all dark and depressing. An refreshing antidote to the mopey soul of Banks and Drake and their "ilk".






12) Kiesza - Giant In My Heart
A companion piece to Arcade Fire's We Exist video, with a deep house soundtrack. Heartwarming.

13) Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness (live at Glastonbury)
This is magnificent. Why they were below Jake Bugg on the bill is a mystery and a crime.





14) Sam Smith - How Will I Know (Whitney Houston cover)
Thanks, Sam, for stripping every ounce of joy and vibrancy out of this song. Thanks a bundle.





15) Wolf Alice - Radio 1 Rocks, full set
London grunge-rock revivalists Wolf Alice recorded this blistering session for Radio 1's Rock week last month, but I've only just caught up with it.

All five songs in the set are magnificent but fast forward to the end for a brand new, untitled track which is a full-throated screamathon of brilliance.

PHEW! That was a lot to get through. Well done if you persevered to the bitter end!

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Shameless link bait (pt 726)

Every month, this website gets about 1,200 clicks from people who've Googled the term "Ellie Goulding naked". They all end up on this page, which contains a photo of (*gasp*) Ellie Goulding's bare shoulders from the Hanging On video.

So imagine the explosion in sticky fingers now that Ellie has done a topless-but-tasteful photoshoot for Marie Claire?

It's all in aid of her re-released Halcyon Days album (a rare occurrence of a repackage improving on the original) and the forthcoming single Goodness Gracious which, disappointingly, isn't a raved-up cover of the Peter Sellers classic.



Marie Claire have published an excerpt from their article in which they ask Ellie about playing at the Royal Wedding, which is an amazing scoop since no-one else has bothered to mention that in any of the approximately 25,300 interviews Ellie has done in the last 18 months.

You can read her response here ("it was beautiful"), or you can just perv over these photos, which I'm including in a flagrant attempt to inflate my page views purely for archival purposes.

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Superb, free Ellie Goulding remix

Today's track is a magical, heart-wrenching MP3 from Ellie Goulding and Active Child. Here's a 15-point history of how it came to be.

1) A man called Pat Grossi (top right, ginger) learns to play the harp

2) Pat changes his name to Active Child and makes an album of plinky-plonky indie

3) It gets great reviews but is bought by approximately seven people

4) One of those people is "Starry Eyed" chanteuse Ellie Goulding (top left, woolly jumper)

5) Ellie gets to track two and thinks "Oh, I quite like this song"



6) Ellie decides to cover Hanging On for a laugh

7) It ends up setting the direction for her second album, Halcyon

8) She calls it "the beginning of my new journey", like an X Factor contestant

9) Then Tinie Tempah ruins everything by "contributing" a rap about his indigestion medication



10) Active Child is impressed enough with the non Tinie-Tempah bits of to record a duet with Ellie

11) It is called Silhouette and is replete with surging strings, ghostly harmonies and a tooting clarinet



12) After it appears on an EP, Californian knob-twiddlers Shoe Scene Symphony get their hands on the song and tart it up with a wheelbarrow full of synths

13) It sounds like it should be on the Hunger Games soundtrack

14) Instead, they make it available as a free download

15) "et voila"

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Songs you may have missed - end of summer edition

A semi-regular round-up of songs that may have otherwise slipped through the cracks. This week's line-up goes a little something like this...

1) Eminem - Bezerk
This bears repeated viewing. Not just for the cameos (Kendrick Lamar, Kid Rock, Rick Rubin) or the footage of Billy Squier playing The Stroke (which Eminem samples) - but for the little nods to videos by the Beastie Boys, Pharcyde and even Back To The Future. Oh, and the song's not bad either.



2) Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You
Ellie in drippy ballad mode this week, mooching around on the beach and bleating on about her brilliant boyfriend. Still, it's always nice to hear her gorgeous voice, stripped of all the parps and fzzbrts of her dance tracks.

NB: Ellie is also responsible for my favourite tweet of the week.

Of course. I do love boobs RT @blackngould: @elliegoulding remember your "RT if you love boobs" tweet?

— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) September 11, 2013

3) Little Daylight - Glitter and Gold (Charli XCX remix)
Pop brat Charli XCX gets her sticky fingers all over this summer jam from Brooklyn's Little Daylight. She slows it down and slaps glitchy lo-fi handclaps all over the top. It's definitive.





4) Au Revoir Simone - Crazy
If it weren't for Arcade Fire, this would be the video of the week: Dream-pop trio Au Revoir Simone remaking Martin Scorsese's surreal, under-rated After Hours in the form of a three-minute pop video.

The band take on roles originally played by Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette and Linda Fiorentino, and make a brief appearance in person. There's a superb attention to detail - right down to the film grain - but I'm not 100% convinced by the song.




5) Miguel - Can't Sleep 2Gether
Pants-obsessed R&B pervmeister Miguel is at it again. "I can't sleep / You can't sleep / Let's can't sleep together" he squeals, over a slow, lusty guitar groove. He'd be better off with a good book.





6) Janelle Monaé - Dance Apocalyptic (Live on Letterman)
Now this is how you go about performing on a chat show.

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Venetian pop update

Apologies for the lack of updates, but I'm working out of a series of hotel rooms on Venice this week.

Anyway, just had time to check in on planet pop and here's what I found... Three slightly underwhelming songs by major league singers.

1) Jessie J - Wild
In the plus column, Wild showcases the harder R&B edge Jessie J all but buried after Do It Like A Dude bin the minus column, "no more drama" lyrics and Dizzee bloody Rascal.



2) Kylie Minogue - Skirt
Co-written with The Dream, this popped up on Soundcloud on Kylie's birthday. A 45 for her 45th, if you will (vinyl reference - ask your dad). It's a bit of a racket, to be honest, but there's a sudden burst of melody at the 1'30" mark that just about passes muster.



3) Ellie Goulding - Tesselate (Alt-J cover)
Honestly, did anyone really need this in their life?



NB: Ellie did an amazing turn at Radio One's Big Weekend in Derry Londonderry Londerry Derlonlondundolerdery. This performance of Anything Could Happen is the dictionary definition of "throwing yourself into it". Hair explosion ahoy!

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"Lost" Ellie Goulding track surfaces

I don't understand the craze for Supermarket exclusives on entertainment products.

Does anyone who casually picks up The Avengers DVD in Sainsbury's really think: "Hey, I just got an exclusive 90-minute documentary I'll never watch. In your face, Asda!"

I'm sure there's some sort of financial kickback for the distributors, or that Sainsbury's have calculated they can sell an extra 2,050 bags of Doritos to sweaty Joss Whedon fanboys. But, to me, it takes the sheen off a triple-A mega-budget movie when it's languishing in a battered cardboard stand next to a display of "value" sausages.

But it's not just films that suffer - it's happening with music, too. Did you know Ellie Goulding's recent album, Halcyon, contained an extra track if you bought it in Tesco? No. Why would you? And who in their right mind would go out of their way to find a Tesco that stocked the album in order to obtain a solitary song that, let's face it, was going to be on BitTorrent the day it was released, anyway?

The sad thing is, Stay Awake is one of the best songs on the record. Produced by French dance genius Madeon, it's a roaring blast of late-night euphoria, with Ellie doing what Ellie does best - injecting genuine warmth into the frigid digitalism of Dubstep.

Thankfully, Stay Awake has finally been given a "proper" release on Beatport - so you can download it from the comfort of your internet, without being seduced into buying a cabbage.

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AlunaGeorge look at a fish and five other pop moments you may have missed

So, the blog's had a mini Christmas hibernation - but, as the Village People once said, you can't stop the music. Here's some of the best bits from the last week-and-a-bit.

1) AlunaGeorge come second in the BBC's Sound Of 2013
And deservedly so, because they are basically the best pop duo this country has produced since Same Difference.

The "accolade" comes along with a big feature on the BBC News website and a video of Aluna and George visiting an aquarium, for no apparent reason. It's very cute, though. Especially when Aluna asks "Why are we so lame?"




2) Pulp release an excellent new single
"On the last night on earth, when the horses run free, the scriptures foretell of a party in Hackney". Amazing^{1,000,000,007}





3) Cheryl does the double sex crab

Apropos of nothing, Cheryl "this surname available for rent" put up a video for her Lana Del Rey-penned song Ghetto Baby on Christmas Day. It's the one that has the lyric "I know you're sick babe, I wanna get the flu," which is simultaneously genius and ridiculous.

But no-one's listening to the lyrics, they're just watching Cheryl in sweatpants doing crab bends on top of her boyfriend. Which is what everyone does on Boxing Day, right? RIGHT?





4) Miley Cyrus covers Jolene
Amazingly not shit. OK, The White Stripes version had more fire in its belly, and Laura Marling gave a more nuanced vocal performance - but this is a surprisingly powerful interpretation. Maybe Miley had a little help from her Godmother, a little-known songwriter called "Dolly Parton" (nope, me neither).

Miley is currently recording an album with the Neptunes. The mind boggles.





5) Your dad gets drunk and does New Year karaoke
No, wait a minute... That's the actual Roland Gift. Crikey.





6) Skrillex and Ellie Goulding put out a video
This should wake you from your Turkey-induced comas.

Understandably, Skrillex and his ex-girlfriend don't make an appearance in the video for Summit, but the visuals, by Aussie art magazine Pilerats, are quite diverting. I particularly enjoyed the bit where someone jumps out of a window on a skateboard.

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A very impressive set of remixes

The RAC, like their rescue service namesake, are experts at tinkering under the bonnet. Except they do repair work on songs, not cars. In the past, they've jacked up Radiohead, given Ellie Goulding an oil change and polished Dragonette's hub caps.

With more than 150 mixes to their name, the band (actually an international co-op of producers called the Remix Artist Collective) have a surprisingly consistent hit rate.

They avoid the Tony Lamezma / Freemasons tactic of slapping a honking great club beat on top of a vocal and ramping up the BPMs (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course). Their mixes are more sympathetic to the source material - with new arrangements and funky drum loops gently herding the music in the general direction of the dancefloor.

If you haven't come across them before, help is at hand, as they've collected 19 of their best mixes onto a new album - which you can stream below.



HOWEVER - there more than are a few criminal ommissions from that tracklist. I suggest you grab the following tracks (some are available for free on SoundCloud, others require a visit to your local download store) and tack them on to the end.

1) Robyn - Cobrastyle
Amazing.




2) Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody
Surprisingly good.



3) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
Retro.




4) Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans
This one is actually on the album but it's missing from the streaming version for "legal reasons". And it's worth the price of admission alone.

The album is called RAC Chapter One and you can order it on iTunes by pressing this bit of text in blue.

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Crikey, this Ellie Goulding video is pretty glum

Nothing like a massive bloody car crash on a beach to lift the spirits...

And, no, I will not "Shazam for more". Please go away.

Ellie Goulding - Anything Can Happen

(The song is a grower, though. Give it a couple of 'spins', to use the 20th Century vernacular).

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Ellie Goulding artwork and new single

Blimey, you can barely move around this internet without bumping into some new Ellie Goulding material. Regular readers will already know the score - Ellie is back with her second album; it all sounds promising in a thumpy electro-pop sort of way, but she should avoid all contact with Tinie Tempah and his "hilarious" lyrics about indigestion.

The album, Halcyon, is out on 8 October. "This album for me is a journey from dark into light from confusion to understanding," says Ms Goulding in a press release I have just cut-and-pasted from Outlook. "I didn't set out to write a break-up record but I think it became one."

The first proper single, Anything Could Happen, is out in September. It comes with an Instagram-tastic lyric video, and a cover shot of Ellie in an UNCOMFORTABLY TIGHT rubber dress.

Phowarr, boys, am I right? Am I Right? AM I RIGHT?

I am right.

Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

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LIsten: Ellie Goulding album sampler

After the phenomenal success of Ellie Goulding's cover of Your Song, I feared her second album would be a snoresome acoustic-ballad sobfest. I was wrong.

Ellie posted a 2-minute trailer for Halcyon on YouTube over the weekend. It's hard to draw conclusions but the work she presents is euphoric, percussive pop, strewn with hooks and blooming with harmonies. There is evidence of one "I am crying at a piano" moment, but even that sounds delicate and pretty in its own way.

But can anyone confirm whether the lyric at 1'47" makes a reference to "trouser love"???

Ellie Goulding - Halcyon sampler>

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