Oh Land, Cut Copy, White Lies: The week's best songs

Photo: Press

The Weeknd Tickets

As the summer weather dramatically drifts somewhere between a heatwave and an all-out tropical storm, one thing that you can alway rely on is a constant stream of brilliant tunes. 

From wild Brooklyn garage rock to mind-melting disco and Danish pixie pop to Aussie indietronica - here's our round-up of the best new music that we've heard this week. 

The Weeknd 'Love In The Sky'
Blimey. A prolific period for Abel Tesfaye has seen a flood of new material from the Canadian r&b star, including the album's title track alongside the brilliant 'Belong To The World' as well as collaborations with Kavinsky, Juicy J and Ricky Hill. Now there's THIS. The latest track sees The Weeknd at his most sombre and simmering as easy, mellow beats punctuate the usual dramatic tales of sex, sleaze and sadness.

TV On The Radio 'Mercy'
Scorching guitarwork, feral funk, furiously frenetic drums and a vocal that screams with the urgency of a bomb threat on a space ship to the sun - all wrapped in the golden glow of Dave Sitek's golden touch. This is TV On The Radio at their most raw, their most visceral and certainly their best. Their next album can't come soon enough. 

Chase & Status 'Count On Me'
With a helping hand from up and coming singer Moko, laying down some vocals on the track, 'Count On Me' shine with early 90's rave glow - driven by a smack of drum and bass and mixing in a few modern elements for good measure. It's short, sharp, to the point, and a calling siren for everyone to report to the dancefloor. 

Cut Copy 'Let Me Show You'
Here it is at last - the full and final version. It was worth the wait to hear the Australian four piece serve up another slice of synth laced 'indietronica'. Diced up with some heavy basslines throughout, this is Cut Copy on top form - channelling 90s house influences (the chorus is taken from a K Klass tune) to deliver a swelling and pulsing banger. It's brilliant.

Angel Haze 'New Slaves' (Kanye West cover)
Haze's spin on the Yeezus track stays pretty loyal to the original in terms of the beat and trademark synth line, but here she wraps her inimitable NYC style around the bare bones in spitting over the lyrics to make it her own. It's not a million miles from West's version, so if imitation is the strongest form of flattery then this will only act as further fuel to his belief that he really is a god. 

Lana Del Rey 'Summertime Sadness' (Richy Ahmed remix)
This fan favourite Born To Die track was recently given a dubstep reworking by Cedric Gervais, and now Richy Ahmed has robbed the track of its pop-noir melancholy to pump it full of house tones and 90s dance beats. Sadness never felt so good. 

Oh Land 'Renaissance Girls'
Welcome back - you wonderful pop pixie, you. 'Renaissance Girls' sees Oh Land return with her tinkling melodic vocals and tight, punchy percussion beats. The upbeat, electro-pop track focuses largely on female empowerment and features lyrics that include "I can be your darling / cooking your dinner and soothing your heartaches / having three kids and still remain a virgin / is my version of a Renaissance girl". We're in:  Long live the renaissance. 

Cyril Hahn - Raw Cut
While the summertime weather has turned schizophrenic and unpredictable, Cryil Hahn brings back the sunshine with yet another smoothly soulful number that blissfully rolls along with subtle pump-action pleasantness. 'Raw Cut' is the b-side to Hahn's upcoming solo single 'Perfect Form' - how very apt. 

 White Lies 'Change'
Rather than their usual powerful, upbeat and danceably dark post-punk habits, the aptly-named 'Change' is simplified and stripped back. With a piano opening, eerily beautiful harmonies and Harry McVeigh's vocals rising with emotional lyrics such as "If you need to find yourself in the arms of someone else, I wish you on your way,"  'Change' seems to signify a very moving and thought provoking break-up track. Expect BIG TV to be very BIG indeed. 

Avicii featuring Nile Rodgersand Adam Lambert 'Lay Me Down'
You wanna dance? Good, well all the ingredients are right here for a true dancefloor explosion. With a beat and drive remiscent of Daft Punk, 'ID (Lay Me Down)' is charged by disco god and Chic superstar Rodgers' unmistakable and timelessly danceable guitarwork while Adam Lambert bathes the song in some soulful but lively vocals. Expect this to be huge in clubs the world over this summer.