Listen Tracks: Lorde, Clairo, Bleachers and more

A betting man likely wouldn’t have taken a punt on bare bums, Jesus and some overt guitar nods to George Michael’s ‘Faith’ being the triptych of talking points to come from Lorde’s long-anticipated return, and yet here we are. If the aforementioned bum shot adorning its sleeve wasn’t enough to send the internet in a spin, then the line “I’m kinda like a prettier Jesus” will surely do the trick. As for the track itself, ‘Solar Power’ is more of a slow burn than an immediate sucker punch. Saving its energy (see what we did there?) for the second half, its first runs on minimal acoustic strums and breezy backing coos, as Ella throws it back to A Tribe Called Quest (“Can I kick it? Yeah, I can”) and paints a picture of the young and beautiful frollicking on a beach. It’s no ‘Green Light’, but there’s a cheeky playfulness to Lorde’s return that hopefully signals even greater treats to come. (Lisa Wright)

Returning with a delicate, folk-tinged track, Clairo teased her forthcoming sophomore album ‘Sling’ with lead single ‘Blouse’. A heartstring pulling new number, featuring Lorde on backing vocals, ‘Blouse’ finds Clairo back at her storytelling best, with her magical voice leading the beguiling track. (Elly Watson)

Having produced the two tracks heading up this list, Jack Antonoff is proving why he’s one of the best in the pop ‘biz, somehow finding the time between working with all our faves to tease Bleachers’ eagerly-awaited third album ‘Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night’ with latest bop ‘How Dare You Want More’. A euphoric new offering full of classic sunny Bleachers melodies and instant sing-a-long potential, complete with a huge sax solo, it packages up all the infectious energy of a live show into four fab minutes. Now, everyone say thank you Jack Antonoff. (Elly Watson)

Marking the Glasgow-based band’s having inked a deal with label Lucky Number, Walt Disco’s ‘Selfish Lover’ packs a gloriously ‘80s punch, pairing James Potter’s Adam Ant-like theatrical delivery with disco-tastic Dead or Alive production, and a killer chorus that’s primed for pints-aloft cathartic field singalongs when such things are fully permitted. (Emma Swann)

Thirteen years in and Nathan Williams’ strangled vocal still sounds like the bratty, barely-holding-it-together outpouring of a skate bro with a fondness for the ol’ wacky baccy. It’s to Wavves’ credit then that ‘Hideaway’, though a fairly straight-forward garage rock waltz, manages to maintain the sort of ramshackle chaos normally associated with the young and feckless; despite a healthy dose of lyrical nihilism (“You say the grass is greener on the other side/ But I know the truth is that everything dies”), the Californians are clearly in no rush to grow up and that’s fine by us. (Lisa Wright)

The song coming with the announcement of a new EP set for release next month, ‘Disassociate’ sees Deb Never continue in the confessional, low-key pop vein, the skittish beat behind a barely-there melody just enough to intrigue on this latest from the LA-based, temporary London transplant. (Bella Martin)

‘Cashmere’, the latest cut from the third and final part of Tkay Maidza’s ‘Last Year Was Weird’ trilogy (the title none more apt than at this point in time), is as smooth a bop as its namesake textile would suggest, its earwormy pop chorus and sugary melodies juxtaposed smartly with far less feather-light lyrics (“Spreading out like a wildfire / We so outta control”, “Do what you gotta do, deep in a dark web”). (Bella Martin)

Tags: Bleachers, Clairo, Deb Never, Lorde, Tkay Maidza, Walt Disco, Wavves, Listen, Features, Tracks