Listen Tracks: Bree Runway, Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth, Dry Cleaning & more

The sun has come out, the shorts are on, and the socially distanced park bevs are sorted, so what do we need to top it all off? A brand new summer bop, of course. And Bree Runway has delivered. Sharing new single ‘HOT HOT’, the sizzling track is two mins of pure pop bliss, full of instantly catchy hooks, and brimming with bad bitch energy. All about knowing you’re the shit - and with ear-catching lyrical quips including the instantly iconic: ”Ride a boy’s face like a Yamaha” - it sounds like Hot Girl Summer has arrived and Bree is certain to be its soundtrack. (Elly Watson)

What do you get when you pair up Savages’ vitriolic frontwoman-turned-saucy-solo-artist Jehnny Beth, and Primal Scream’s vibemaster general Bobby Gillespie? Well, as it turns out, you get a mid-tempo, mournful duet that’s not half as exciting as it should be on paper. Of course, both have explored more downbeat, reflective paths in their own solo work before, but ‘Remember We Were Lovers’, with its failed romance and plodding beat, feels like it could be the work of many rather than a sparky, gutsy track that could only be them. Ahead of a full collaborative album, let’s hope this is a decoy slow-build before the main event. (Lisa Wright)

The final single in the run-up to Dry Cleaning’s debut album ‘New Long Leg’, ‘Unsmart Lady’ reminds us why we fell in love with them in the first place. The first two singles trailing their signing to 4AD broke away from scuzzy instrumentals in favour of drum machines and sparse basslines – by no means a bad thing, but ‘Unsmart Lady’ possesses an immediacy that’s hard to deny. Tom Dowse’s garage-rock riff pulls you in, but as ever, it’s Florence Shaw’s deadpan lyrics that steal the show: “don’t cry, just drive”. Fine by us. (Louis Griffin)

Mere months after Working Men’s Club’s critically-acclaimed debut, new single ‘X’ arrives to cement the idea of a prolific band (or, indeed, man - WMC these days being chiefly the work of Syd Minskey-Sargeant) clearly bursting at the seams with ideas. Though the mix of razor-sharp guitars, gritty electronics and repeated mantras is still there, there’s something about the density of it all - prowling basslines and fizzing synths all played loud and together - that feels like a new avenue to explore. You can imagine The Horrors, aka the reigning kings of nasty musical experimentalism, getting on board with ‘X’; we’re fully with them, too. (Lisa Wright)

Whether it’s the infusion of Vitamin D this week, the glimmer of hope that is the first step towards easing lockdown or simply the fact it’s a bop and a half, ‘Electric Girl’, the latest from Watford’s Connie Constance can’t help but raise a smile. With Connie’s vocal tricks having echoes of indie icons The Maccabees, and a beat that brings to mind the nihilistic joy of Charli XCX’s ‘Sucker’ era, there’s no doubt she’s on to a winner. (Emma Swann)

With recent singles ‘Manta Rays’ and ‘GIRL ON TV’, YouTube star-turned-pop sensation Chloe Moriondo proved she was more than ready to move away from the softer sound of her early career. It’s with ‘I Eat Boys’, though, that you get the sense the singer is really coming in to her own. A track inspired by her love of cult favourite Jennifer’s Body, the song’s a sugar-coated, blood-smattered, butter-wouldn’t-melt offering that sees the singer vent about her distain for the opposite sex. Sugary sweet - but still with an edge - you’ll have this one buzzing around your brain til your next meal, we assure you. (Sarah Jamieson)

Tags: Bree Runway, Listen, Features, Tracks