Another ten songs that you need to hear! Artan - My Brudda
A whole range of cultural references - both contemporary, retro and obscure - are whipped up into a simply produced grime track but one with some more commercial sensibilities in its beats and chorus. (6.5/10) Beauty - Fallen Famous Beauty are back with their latest single, a soft-rock track with a swaggery lyrical delivery. The chorus may be a bit damp in parts but the attitude-filled verses with their strong pop style build it up well. (6.5/10) Dua Lipa - Blow Your Mind (Mwah)
Only recently coming to our musical attention this is a catchy, ballsy club-pop tune with a big stadium-friendly chorus and a great foot-tapping beat. (7.5/10) HVNNIBVL - On and On
'On and On' is a catchy, funky EDM number with a throbbing strong production. The chorus may be a little overly familiar but its all wrapped up as a good little summer anthem. (6.5/10) Kehlani - Undercover (Coucheron Remix)
Like a lot of contemporary club-EDM the chorus is very samey but the sweet vocals, smooth electronic music and building Moloko-style tempo work in its favour. (6.5/10) Makala - Strong With a throbbing grime-beat this is a change in direction for Makala, with more committed production behind its tubthumbing lyrics. (6.5/10) Sharon Shannon - The Machine With some biting politically-charged lyrics wrapped up in a perky, Eurovision-esque summery track, this is a well-positioned balance of styles and themes, and a quirky building Celtic theme, with the language shifts well timed too. Great! (7/10) Shaun Kelly and the Returned Gifts - Cadillac With hints of Squeeze's 'Cool For Cats' this is a catchy, bouncy summer hit with a joyful vibe and a vocal enthusiasm that puts a smile on your face. (7/10) Show of Hands - No Secrets With a vocalist that's rather listenable and a music backing track that builds up, 'No Secrets' comes across as a song that sounds like Bruce Springsteen in his prime if he cheered up a little. Nice. (7/10) The Wild Things - F.I.A. With the F.I.A. a cleaned up declaration of defiance, this is a grungy, lo-fi rock number with the lead vocals adding some heft to a simple, yet head-nodding, number. (6.5/10)
Ten more songs you need to hear! ARTAN - Opposite Interests
A cooler, more interestingly produced track than the usual entries in the genre, this is a catchy, calm song with a stronger lyrical focus than you'd expect and a production style that reminds me a little of Enigma at their height. (6.5/10) Father John Misty - Total Entertainment Forever
The best song off Misty's latest album, 'Total Entertainment Forever' doesn't quite live up to its opening lines and flatly avoids anything commercial but it is fun in a quirky way. (6/10) Jerry Williams - I’m Not in Love With You
With hints of Lily Allen in her vocal style, this is a sweet little stripped back number with an emotional heart and hints of ballsy attitude. (7/10) JP Cooper - Passport Home
Another great little indie-pop number from Cooper that mixes gentle music, a sweet voice, touching lyrics, gospel-feel and little sparks of interest based around the whistling sections and other neat little tricks. (7.5/10) Keith Urban feat. Carrie Underwood - The Fighter
Less country than you'd expect from the pair, this is a bouncy, call-and-response focussed pop number with heart. Nice! (7/10) Linkin Park - Invisible
Linkin Park may have gone a bit more pop recently and - whisper it - a little blander with tracks like this, but it plays out nicely even if the chorus is too repetitive and I miss the louder, rappier band. (6/10) Sparks - What The Hell Is It This Time?
It might not be as musically different as you'd expect from the ever-changing duo, sounding as it does like 'This is the Renaissance' and songs from that era, but it's another quirky and eccentric pop-electronic number from the musical veterans with an intriguing topic tackled with their usual wit. (7.5/10) Steps - Story Of A Heart
A cover of a song by 50% of Abba, some of the lyrics may be a little bland ("staring at the back of a bus??") but it's a touching heart-felt ballad delivered well. (7/10) Two4Kay - 2 2 Badmind
It may revel in a few genre cliches but it's actually a pretty fun summer-friendly club number with a mixture of rnb and urban styles. (6/10) The Vamps and Martin Jensen - Middle Of The Night
The Vamps border on sell-out with this club-focussed number but it has a certain amount of catchiness amongst its familiarity. (6.5/10)
