What do you make of the new Rudimental single?

Premiered last night on Annie Mac's increasingly brilliant Radio 1 show, here's the first single from Rudimental's new album.

Called Never Let You Go, it's more of a mood piece than Waiting All Night or Feel The Love. Where those songs were 100% crescendo this seems content to ride a groove, with a telescoping vocal hook and an occasional splatter of drum and bass.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing - it's just not the balls-out barnstormer I was expecting.

Currently filed under undecided. What do you reckon?

Rudimental - Never Let You Go

UPDATE: Here's what people have been saying in reaction to this post over on Twitter.

@mrdiscopop It feels like the third single from an album rather than the lead one

— Michael Cragg (@MichaelCragg) April 28, 2015

@mrdiscopop 👎👎👎

— PressPLAY (@pressplayok) April 28, 2015

@mrdiscopop It's only a slight departure from before but I'm quite enjoying it. I can't see them doing anything other than this sound.

— The Gizzle Review (@ed_nights) April 28, 2015

@mrdiscopop The intro does something interesting, but the chorus is business as usual - will be interesting to see how radio reacts to it.

— Laurence Green (@LaurenceTGreen) April 28, 2015

@LaurenceTGreen @mrdiscopop Brilliantly familiar. Rudimental do the 'Rudimental sound' better than anyone else.

— Sam Atkins (@Atkins_Sam) April 28, 2015

Let's call that "a mixed response".

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New discovery: Alex Burey

I wouldn't normally post this sort of thing, but I find myself drawn to this new song by Alex Burey - a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from that London.

First the bad news: Alex is a Brit school graduate making languorous, confessional piano ballads. But it's easy to forget the Brit school gave us Imogen Heap and Jamie Woon as well as Jessie J and Katie Melua, and it's with those former graduates that Burey is more easily classified.

He created his debut EP in his bedroom last year; and won comparisons to 70s soft-rock legends Scott Walker and Lee Hazlewood (of whom he said, "some of his stuff reminds me of an old man pub, but some of it’s beautiful".)

His new single Come Over is delicate and unfurling; intricately detailed but light of touch. What seems like a muted palette becomes, on further listening, a richly coloured soundscape. It's far too mature for a 19-year-old, to be frank.

Listen below.

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Britney's version of Tom's Diner is surprisingly good

To help us mark the time before Pretty Girls - Britney Spears' forthcoming collaboration with Iggy Azalea - hits the internet, here's a little cover version she's done with Giorgio "quite literally the king of electronic music" Moroder.

Tom's Diner was originally an a capella album track by Suzanne Vega, before dance act DNA turned it into a club smash in the 90s. The lyrics are a vignette, with Vega sitting in a cafe reading a newspaper and observing the people around her.

The mundane subject matter seems like an odd fir for the singer who brought us "Work Bitch" and "Slave 4U" - but it turns out that Britney's limited, husky voice is a good match for Suzanne Vega's deadpan delivery. Although you have to suspend disbelief when she sings "I pour the milk". Britney has a team of people to do that for her.

I'm not so sold on the backing track, mind you. Maybe we can go back to the a capella?

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A tiny Jessie Ware concert, and other songs you may have missed.

A semi-regular round-up of all the music I couldn't squeeze onto the blog in the last seven days.

Here's this week's selection...

1) Jessie Ware - Tiny Desk Concert
The brilliant Tiny Desk series on US radio network NPR requires musicians to play a no bells and even fewer whistles acoustic set in their offices.

Jessie Ware is the perfect artist for this sort of thing. Her gorgeous, complex alto is enough to keep you captivated, even when the backing track disappears.

She performs Say You Love Me, Wildest Moments and Champagne Kisses. The best 15 minutes you'll spend all week.





2) Rihanna - James Joint
Released in celebration of cannabis enthusiasm day 20 April (420 in American calendar-speak) this is a brief interlude from Rihanna's forthcoming LP.

Suitably laid back and hazy, it's easily the best thing she's released this year.






3) Raury - Fly
Written immediately after news broke that police officer Darren Wilson was not being indicted for murdering unarmed teenager Mike Brown, Raury's heartfelt, complicated plea for a peaceful revolution was a sucker punch to the gut when it premiered in January.

It's even more powerful now that it has a video, which takes an animated trip through the highs and lows of black history in America.





4) Wolf Alice - Bros
Sadly not a tribute to Matt, Luke and Ken, the new single by Wolf Alice is instead a sentimental ode to childhood best friends.

It's been re-recorded since the 2013 original, much to the anger of fans, who seethed on Soundcloud: "Another great song completly ruined by the record business".

I think both versions approach perfection.







5) Natalie Imbruglia - Instant Crush
A Mad Men-inspired video for Imbruglia's acoustic take on the Daft Punk / Julian Casablancas track. What's not to love?





6) Hudson Mohawke - Ryderz
Hudson Mohawke sounds like a Hoxton clothing brand, but actually it's Scottish producer Ross Birchard. He's the backroom boffin behind many of Kanye West's more sonically adventurous productions. In fact, it was to his studio that West fled after this year's Brits to finish off All Day.

He's got his own album, Latern, coming out very soon and this song - which samples D.J. Rogers' Watch Out For The Riders - is one of its many highlights.







7) Chemical Brothers - Sometimes I Feel So Deserted
Back after a break of five years and sounding exactly the same as they did in 1998, here are the Chemical Brothers doing a song that goes bleep and bloop with the sort of computer generated visuals that make stoned people think they're in hyperspace.

Their eighth album, Born In The Echoes, will feature vocals from St Vincent (hooray!), Q-Tip (huzzah!) and Beck (Beck!).




8) The Go Team! - Ya Ya Yamaha
This Record Store Day exclusive is described as "a French girl on a motorcycle song," whatever that means.

All I know is that it's bloody racket, and all the better for it.





9) Sia - Fire Meet Gasoline
Starring Heidi Klum and Game of Thrones' star Pedro Pascal, this video tells an age-old story: Boy meets girl, boy falls in love, boy murders someone with a rock, boy shows girl the murder weapon, boy and girl have sex, boy and girl burn a house down.

Don't say it hasn't happened to you, too.




10) Tove Lo - Elastic Heart
Earlier year, Tove Lo had to cancel a bunch of performances to have vocal surgery - and doctors warned her she may never sing again.

After coming round from the anaesthetic she "couldn't say anything for five days," the singer told Billboard. "I almost choked on a spring roll because I wasn't supposed to cough! My voice started coming back a little; it sounded very different at first, which is scary."

But judging by this Sia cover, her voice is better than ever. Welcome back, Tove!





11) Young Wonder - Sweet Dreaming
Irish electro-pop duo Young Wonder have been biding their time while they piece together their debut LP. Rather than rush out a half-finished record to capitalise on the success of their eponymous 2013 EP, they've spent 24 months getting it just right.

The delicate production buoys Rachel Koeman's overlapping vocals to create something people are going to be very, very fond of.






12) Jones - Indluge
A gentle love song that's as wickedly indulgent as clotted cream.






13) Adam Lambert - Ghost Town
I've never warmed to Adam Lambert's music - whose lack of originality runs in direct proportion to the intensity of his eyeliner.

But teaming up with Max Martin seems to have solved all of that. Ghost Town is unexpected and unusual, combining guitar-pop and house beats with a surprisingly catchy whistled hook.





14) K Stewart - Keeping You Up
KStewart says she's influenced by Mariah, Whitney and Christina - but thankfully it's only the restrained, pop-centric moments she's interested in, as evidenced on this bubbly, 90s-style slice of harmonic pop.

Self-released on her own imprint Cherry Jam Records, it is one amazing remix away from being the sound of the summer.

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Listen to Lianne La Havas' lush new single

Summer vibes abound on the new single from Lianne La Havas - whose shoulder-rubbing exploits with Prince and Stevie Wonder have clearly paid off.

Produced by Paul Epworth, Unbreakable finds the singer soaring through space, trying to repair a relationship she has ended. Lianne's voice flutters around an orchestral backdrop, punctuated by harp glissandi and a funky finger-picked guitar.

If you've got a field nearby - stand in the middle of it, stick this on, throw your arms out and spin around in the sun. Perfect.



Unbreakable is taken from La Havas' second album, Blood, which is out in July.

As well as Epworth, it features collborators such as Aqualung's Matt Hales, Disclosure's Howard Lawrence and Jamie Lidell.

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"They call me De La, as if I lost my soul"

Hot off the presses from De La Soul, here's a song to cover the wait for their crowdfunded eighth album.

Although it's not intended for the new record, it's no stopgap. Featuring Nas on the hook, God It features a chopped and spliced horn section, giving the track a pleasingly hefty retro vibe.

Here's what the band had to say about it: "While busy at work, we also like to play. This song is not on the new album, but an indication of good music to come. The song was produced by G_Force and you may recognize our featured guest. We're still in Atlanta recording and it sounds amazing! We can't wait to get this new album to you."

With their Kickstarter page now 10 times its original target (and more than a week left to go), it's safe to say the album won't suffer any unnecessary delays.

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