Foxes – ‘Body Talk’
Following the release of her debut album Glorious last year, Foxes (aka Louisa Rose Allen) has been quite busy touring and conquering festivals around the world. However, that hasn’t stopped the singer from working away on her sophomore effort. Lead single ‘Body Talk’ acts more as a continuation of Foxes’ earlier demos, with fizzing synths and airy harmonies. It’s a bold move away from the stadium sized festival pop that, to be honest, marred her debut and acts as something of a game changer. Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come, as we’re quite ready to stan for Foxes.
Tamaryn – ‘Cranekiss’
Tamaryn’s blend of grungy guitars and West Coast production is something of a marvel, automatically transporting you into a 90s teen-movie. The loose production and light vocal are hypnotic, drawing you into the soundscape and enveloping you. While to some it may seem a bit dirge-y, that’s simple symptomatic of Tamaryn’s music. Moody and melancholic, it’s like Sky Ferreira on acid and that’s no bad thing.
Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘E•MO•TION’
With Carly Rae Jepsen’s new album just a few weeks away (!), the singer has shared the title track from the collection. Big drums, static synths and hooks galore, pop doesn’t get much better than this. Unlike her debut album, the tracks for E•MO•TION seem to have been properly mastered, with more time spent on the song writing, too. We’re ready for Jeppo to deliver the spiritual successor to Taylor’s 1989.
All We Are – ‘Honey’
Taken from All We Are’s self-titled debut album, ‘Honey’ is a glittering delight of a song. The pronounced percussion and splattering of electronics compliment the overly busy guitar, giving the track an almost disco vibe. However, what elevates the song are the glorious harmonies on the chorus, immediately re-calling the Bee Gees (one of the band’s main influences). The accompanying video is also rather special, painting strong portraits of the various people before ending with some rather weird imagery.
Zara Larsson – ‘Lush Life’
It seems that Zara Larsson’s debut album only just came out (in Sweden, anyway), but the 16-year-old starlet has already popped out the lead single from her second offering. Luckily, ‘Lush Life’ is proper summer bop with popping synths and a massive sing-a-long chorus. While the affected vocal might be a little tiring at times, Larsson’s enthusiasm and natural ability are enough to forgive her. Anyway, when a song is this good who cares!
Jennifer Hudson – ‘I Still Love You’
Produced by Gorgon City, ‘I Still Love You’ serves as the latest track from Jennifer ‘JHUD’ Hudson’s latest album. Not only that but Hudson has teamed up with W Hotels and Human Rights Campaign to support marriage equality and the #TURNITUPFORCHANGE campaign. This added political element elevates the track, and its accompanying video is an emotional one. While Hudson seems to have struggled to get a hit from this last album, ‘I Still Love You’ could be the track to do just that. Is house-y production and brilliant vocal performance might just be enough to propel the song to radio. Let’s hope so, yeah?
Shura – ‘White Light’
Now really, no song needs to last over four minutes and any one that does needs to have a good reason to. Shura’s latest track, melancholic banger ‘White Light’, sits at an alarming long 7:17 minutes, and, if it weren’t so good, we’d be pretty pissed about that. From the after-dark disco vibes and 80s percussion it’s hard not to get drawn into the mix, giving you highs and lows along the way. The song’s extended outro is almost warranted, the crazy electronics and soaring guitar giving the track a frenetic ending. Now we just want an album.