Features Tracks: Disclosure, Superfood & Joanna Gruesome

To steal the slogan of a popular American diner resturant chain that covers its walls in Madonna’s discarded conical bras and cereal bars from Eric Clapton’s gig rider, Thank Goodness It’s Friday!

With a weekend of TV catch up time and relaxation sprawled out ahead like rolling green hills into the horizon, it’s time to spring with the excitement of a sprightly young fawn into the distance. Hold up a minute, though. The exquisitely tuned ears of the DIY writers have combined into an almighty Transformer robot of musical taste making, and brought together the best Tracks of the week, all for your pleasure.

Disclosure x Nile Rodgers x Sam Smith x Jimmy Napes - Together

Disclosure said that they were “dribbling with happiness” at the prospect of working with Nile Rogers – what a tantalising image. Still, because they’re in the company of such a legend, we’ll let them off for being a little overcome by Chic’s finest purveyor of funky, velvety guitar riffs that stalk along like Top Cat sauntering down to the liquor store. Enlisting previous Disclosure collaborator Sam Smith, along with producer Jimmy Napes – who helped out Smith and the Lawrence brothers with penning ‘Latch’ - Nile Rodgers is a mighty addition to the team. Racy, squelching and a little bit sleazy, ‘Together’ is a sizzling hot contender for fantasy collaboration of the year. (El Hunt)

Metronomy - I’m Aquarius

Metronomy are a bit like playing lawn tennis with a cricket ball - quintessentially English and genuinely oddball – and ‘I’m Aquarius’ continues the trend. Slinkier than a Siamese cat that’s had an unfortunate run in with a toy slinky, it’s a tonic of watery piano and hooky backing vocals - the musical equivalent of a swinging timepiece. It’s the simplest and most streamlined they’ve ever been, certainly living up to their name with its metronomic beat and starry-eyed outlook. It even has distant echoes of Arcade Fire’s latest material, mixing an addictive cocktail of strained male and female vocals with a subtle electronic backdrop. According to practically scientific horoscope profiles, Aquarians ‘are progressive souls who love to spend time thinking about how things can be better.’ Looks like they’ve lived up to their name, once again. (Kyle MacNeill)

Joanna Gruesome - Tugboat (Galaxie 500 cover)

Possibly the finest band to have met in anger management therapy, Joanna Gruesome’s debut record has (rightly) been picking up all manner of plaudits since its release earlier this year thanks to its expert melding of melody and noise. On their latest track, a cover of Galaxie 500’s ‘Tugboat’ which’ll form the b-side for their next single, Alanna McArdle and co. have opted for a tad more of the former than the latter with sonorous results warmer and hazier than an August evening and which yet retain the original’s bittersweet brilliance. Clear the decks (ahem), a new contender for your late night comfort listening affections has just emerged. (Gareth Ware)

Superfood - Melting

Every week a certain newspaper that rhymes with daily fail seems to have a headline dedicated to the latest new food that’ll change your life. ‘Blueberries Triple Life Expectancy!’ it might say, or ‘Star Anise Gives Common Cold Immunity!’. Tracks isn’t normally avidly interested in food trends, but this week Superfood are the new dish to sample. ‘Melting’ won’t bump up your white blood cell count or anything like that, but rest assured that its plunking, gaudy little riff is absolutely proven to increase serotonin. It’s a promising preview of things to come on forthcoming EP ‘MAM’. (El Hunt)

Angel Olsen - Forgiven/Forgotten

On her first two releases, Angel Olsen’s quivering and somehow still operatic vocal range brought an intensity to her minimally orchestrated ballads. On ‘Forgiven/Forgotten’, the new single from her upcoming first LP for Jagjaguar, she swaps the folk for a full-fledged rock song with guitars that Thee Oh Sees would gladly call their own. Even though Olsen manages to flesh out the entropic state of a shaky relationship, at just a few ticks over 2 minutes, it feels cruelly short. (Matt Putrino)

GAPS - I Know It’s You

Following up their ‘Cascade’/ Keep You’ AA side released back in July, ‘I Know It’s You’ begins with layers of sparse found-sound - knocks, snaps and guitar slides a-plenty- until Rachel Butt’s lofty, whimsical harmonies creep in – not just simply floating, but unfurling and caressing the mesmerising sonics before it fades out to atmospheric coo’s and that same absorbing beat. There’s something exceedingly warming, nostalgic and emotive to be found in such a contemporary piece of music which renders it just magical – so much more than a song, ‘I Know It’s You’ is an art form in itself. (Laura Eley)

Rose Elinor Dougall - Future Vanishes

The latest offering by Rose Elinor Dougall is a curious beast. Unashamedly pop, with an infectious and instant sense of melody and killer chorus, it’d already be onto a winner if it stopped there and rested on its laurels. But it doesn’t. Instead it takes its cues from the likes of Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own Again’ and adds another level of songwriting nous to inject an ever-creeping sense of bittersweet melancholia into the mix with impressive and unexpected results. Still manages to be pretty danceable proposition too. Now that takes some skill. (Gareth Ware)

Youth Man - Inshallah

Flitting between restrained menace and pogo-ing noise that’ll make you want to punch yourself in the leg; ‘Inshallah’ is the perfect introduction to Youth Man’s forthcoming ‘Bad Weather’ EP. This is the kind of music you want to play real loud to annoy those parents who don’t understand you, this is the kind of music you want to beat your friends up in a mosh pit to. This is the kind of music Youth Man do oh so well. (Jack Parker)

Skinny Dream - Surfercaine

Few words have been spread of the greatness of these Southend ‘beachgazers’ but with an EP under their belts already, and shoe-gaze influences such as Ride and My Bloody Valentine, latest track ‘Surfercaine’ might be the one which launches their hazy sound into the spotlight. It’s a languid exploration through tinny percussion, hushed, breathy vocals which are buried under waves distortion, screeching, reverb- drenched guitars and sparse, lazy drums. If your ears can get past the reams of shimmery fuzz which coat every note, there’s a beautifully melodic chorus reminiscent of one of DIIV or Yuck’s more melancholy ventures. Dream-pop at its most euphoric. (Laura Eley)

The Doctorates - Backseat

The Doctorates have a pretty fitting name. Not because their a group of library-dwelling, academia obsessed nerds - they’ve actually got more swagger than Mick Jagger after a plasticine hip replacement - but because they bash-out punky indie tunes of a extremely high level. New single ‘Backseat’ is their most immediate yet, featuring a sweet-as catchy chorus that cherrypicks the best bits from Primal Scream’s ‘Rocks’ and turns it into a call to launch a foamy beer into the crowd. It seesaws between quiet power-chords and brash guitar melodies, and features one of the sexiest guitar solos heard for a long time. Backseat? Hogwash. This one’s going to launch them headfirst into the frontline; it suits them much, much better. (Kyle MacNeill)