So strong are the releases this week I have struggled to restrict the list just to 26 brilliant tunes! Some strong new bands are emerging and some older artists have resurfaced.

Single of the Week: For Nina – Hounds

There are about ten tracks on the list this week that I would normally have been happy to give single of the week too, so strong is the competition. Just edging it out is this enthusiastic, propulsive single from, yet another fantastic new Irish band, For Nina. Absolutely a band to watch.

Man/Woman/Chainsaw – Adam & Steve

Buzz is gathering around Man/Woman/Chainsaw like a cloud of angry bees. Tracks like this begin to explain why, a quintessential slab of quirky British Indie combined with a rapidly growing live reputation. They are at Reading’s ‘Are You Listening?’ Festival and I don’t want to miss that one.

CLOTH – Pink Silence

You can tell a lot about the quality of a band by who will turn up to work with them. These twins from Glasgow are clearly a class act as this track has guitar and synth from Adrian Utley (Portishead) and guitar from Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai). Gorgeous.

Slung – Class A Cherry

Going up against heavyweight opposition this relatively new band from Brighton were so close to single of the week. This is a great track. Everything else they have released so far has been brilliant. This could be a monster of a debut album when it comes out. Playing a free, yes free, gig at The Purple Turtle on the 5th May. An absolutely essential trip.

Slow Fiction – When

Recalling all sorts of great early noughties indies tracks including The Strokes and The Walkmen married to Sonic Youth and the Jesus and Mary Chain. This New York group are another band to keep an eye on.

Loyle Carner – all i need

Of all the amazing talents in the UK rap and hip-hop scene right now Loyle Carner is by far my favourite. He oozes talent and doesn’t fall into genre-cliches. A new album will do nicely.

Skunk Anansie – Lost and Found

Another track that was soooo nearly single of the week. This is great, really great. Skunk Anansie are old enough and good enough to have shifted over five million physical albums, but their recent output has been up there with the best of their early work. Skin’s voice is fantastic over the nagging piano line on this one.

Turnstile – NEVER ENOUGH

Another track that would have been single of the week pretty much any other week of the year. This is a huge slice of more mainstream sounding rock from the acclaimed hardcore punk outfit. An album full of tracks like this will likely send them stratospheric this year.

Stereolab – Aerial Troubles

They have always done well critically but struggled for mainstream attention. This track is a great return heralding their first new album for 15 years.

Garbage – There’s No Future In Optimism

One of a number of classic 90s groups releasing new music today, this remains fresh sounding, though Garbage were always musically ahead of their time so perhaps they have just caught up with themselves.

Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke – Gangsters

What I suspected would be a fairly irrelevant Lockdown knock-around gets more and more promising with every release. Here Yorke’s voice is barely recognisable, his voice buried under all manner of digital trickery. There will have to be an album review.

Pulp – Spike Island

Most weeks this would have been the raved over main course, the return of Pulp! It is a very decent return and wonderful to hear them again.

So nuts is this week that you will find Lana Del Ray, Arcade Fire, Green Day, The Amazons and Pendulum all buried away in the playlist! Enjoy.