Seven Songs You May Have Missed

Like it says above... Here are seven songs you may have missed over the last seven days (and one for luck).

Gorge yourself silly on half an hour of quality pop.

1) Zara Larsson - Lush Life (live)
The song Rihanna should have released as her comeback single gets the Live Lounge treatment.



2) Cassius - Action (ft Mike D and Cat Power)
Daft Punk take a long time between albums but it's nothing compared to their contemporaries, Cassius, who return from a 10-year break with this fiesty firecracker, featuring a real-life Beastie Boy.





3) Zayn - Like I Would
"Talking about it's not my style," declares Zayn, who proceeds to spend the next three minutes talking about it. "It" being "sex", in case that wasn't clear. He's very good at the sex, apparently, but is his assessment really objective?

Still, nice to see his debut album raises the tempo above "moribund" every so often.






4) Kygo - Carry Me
This track by Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo leaked a couple of weeks ago, but now we finally get an HQ version, trailing the release of his debut album Cloud Nine. It continues in the vein of his previous, tropically-flavoured house tracks, confirming him the as the Lilt of dance music.





5) Denzel Curry - Knotty Head (ft Rick Ross)
Florida's Denzel Curry released his "sophomore" (second) album, Imperial, this week describing it as an attempt "to reach my ultimate form", like he's a character from Street Fighter. Still, you can't argue with his ferocious, hardcore raps - and this track is one of the album's stand-outs.




6) Ladyhawke - Sweet Fascination
Remember 2008, when every other post on this blog was about Ladyhawke? Well, on the basis of this new single, prepare for a second onslaught. Superlative synthpop. And the best lyric video of the year.




7) Gallant - Weight In Gold (ft Seal)
As previously noted on these pages, Gallant is a major new talent; and Weight In Gold is a stunning calling card. It now comes with added Seal (and a saxophone solo). How can you resist?




Hidden Bonus Track) Iris Gold - Steve McQueen
Raised on a commune and inspired by 70s psychedelia, Iris Gold turned heads with last year's gauzy R&B jam Goldmine. Some of those heads included Taylor Swift, Robbie Williams and Blur - all of whom have booked her as a support act. Her debut album is shaping up for a summer release, and the latest single should be saved up for your first picnic of 2016.

So there you go... Have a nice weekend.

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One to watch: Iris Gold

Iris Gold could be on the verge of something big. Yes, even bigger than her hair.

I first mentioned her in a "songs you may have missed" post this summer, thanks to her gloriously sun-drenched debut single, Goldmine. Now she's back with her second effort, Colour Trip, a laid back, lava lamp-lit take on West-coast hip-hop.

Living in London but hailing from Copenhagen, the singer was raised on 70s psychedelia and hippy counter-culture, before falling in love with the Fugees, Beastie Boys and Wu Tang Clan. You can hear all those influences in her music, which is broadly a hip-hop / R&B hybrid, but essentially uncategorisable.

It's her flow which impresses me most - a languid drawl that's effortlessly chic without feeling superior or unwelcoming.

Gold has been working with MNEK, Dimitri Tokovoi (Nicola Roberts) and Adamski - so it'll be interesting to see what she comes up with in 2016. For now, though, this track will do very nicely indeed.

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14 songs you may have missed: Demi Lovato falls over edition

A semi-regular round-up of noteworthy songs, videos, and musical ephemera from the blog's "to do" list.

Lots of great new songs here, proving that 2015 isn't going to be quite the dud it seemed two months ago.

1) Demi Lovato - Cool For The Summer (lyric video)
In pop, the smallest details matter. Here, it's the portamento on the phrase "body type" that transforms the chorus from predictable to phenomenal.

After you watch the lyric video, you may also wish to see this out-take, in which Demi takes a nasty fall then totally styles it out by diving into a pool. Classy.

#NOTCoolForTheSummer #FuckIt 😂😂😂😂

A video posted by Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) on Jul 5, 2015 at 2:16pm PDT

2) Example - Whisky Town
For those of you who don't live in London, this is what the morning commute is like EVERY DAY.






3) Kwabs - Fight For Love
I thought this was going to be a yawnsomely earnest electro-soul track - but then the hop-skip chorus came along and swept me off my feet. Delightful stuff.






4) Jess Glynne - Don't Be So Hard On Yourself
And stop comfort eating, too, you're looking fat.





5) Melissa Steel - You Love Me (ft Wretch 32)
A year after Melissa Steel scored a top 10 hit with Kisses For Breakfast, she returns with this irrepresible Rodney Jerkins-produced track. Would sound perfect while dancing under a sprinkler on a scorching hot summer day.






6) Little Mix - Black Magic (acoustic)
Damn, those girls can sing.






7) Sigala - Easy Love
I'm not sold on this - but it sounds like it'll be massive. A balls-out Balearic anthem that chops up Michael Jackson's vocals from ABC to impressive effect.







8) Janet Jackson - No Sleeep (lyric video)
A "glimpse into our creative space" or "a surprisingly low budget lyric video". You decide.





9) Leon Bridges - Smooth Sailin'
In lesser hands, Leon Bridges' retro-fitted soul would be a kitsch curiosity. But that voice. Man, that voice.






10) Eden XO - Torn / Don't Stop Believin'
It's Natalie Imbruglia's Torn! It's Journey's Don't Stop Believing! It's a new song in its own right! It's better than it could have been!






11) Rob Madin - Amnesia Du Soleil
AKA The bloke of Brett Domino, who's surprisingly joke-averse solo material is worth a listen. Also, the video stars Legs & Co.





12) Hudson Mohawke - Warriors (ft. Ruckazoid & Devaeux)
Kanye's right-hand man. Large on hooks, low on subtlety.




13) SVE - BLKNBL
The title stands for Black and Blue, fact fans.





14) Iris Gold - Goldmine
One to watch. More importantly, one to listen to.

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