conor oberst - 'governor's ball'

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Hopefully, with his recent horrific personal problems of recently far behind him, Conor Oberst can get on with making great music. This is from his new solo album and speaking of which, I notice First Aid Kit are mentioned as collaborators on the long player. Mt interest is well and truly piqued now. I must go and get this album.

jamie xx - 'sleep sound'

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Here's the new Jamie XX single. What's to tell? Well - it's very 'XX' and by that I mean understated, subtle, ever so slightly laid back, almost ambient and catchy as anything.

new order - 'drop the guitar'

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Their first new track for 9 years and they played it live at the Lollapolooza Festival in Chile last night. Apparently this is the first from the new album, the first without Peter Hook. As ever, Bernard Sumner sounds terrible live (he always has done) and the quality of the live video is a bit iffy but am I excited by all this? You bet I am.

the black dog - 'bass mantra (original mix)'

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Stuart Maconie played a track from their 'Spanners' album on his radio show the other week and I had clean forgotten just how good The Black Dog were. They bubbled under the radar with lots of critical acclaim but not so much commercial success. This (not from that album) is my favourite track of theirs.

sun girls - 'crocodiles'

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I'm extremely pleased to see that the band Sun Girls come from my hometown of Brighton. Especially so, considering just how good this track is. Laid back doesn't even begin to describe it, sort of Beach Boys/Beatles at their most languid and very heavy on the bassline. Top marks all round.

the flaming lips - 'yoshimi battles the pink robots pt.1 (mr. scribbles remix)'

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I was quite pleased with the slow-roast lamb that I cooked this evening and after everybody had eaten slightly too much we all retired to the sofa for a mindless action film. It made for a very traditional Sunday and so to keep the old ways very much alive, I'll bid farewell to this weekend with a soothing, (ever-so-slightly) ambient remix of a classic.

dj food - 'dark lady'

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An absolute classic for a beautiful Saturday morning.

school - 'head over here'

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Although they come from Gothenburg, School are not dream-pop by any stretch of the imagination. The guitarws are far too jangly and the pace of the tune slightly too fast for that genre. No, I'd place them firmly in indie-pop, the kind that the UK used to do so well 25 years or so ago. This is brand new and only their third release. It's going to be fun charting their success, based on the quality of this superb track.

damon albarn - 'heavy seas of love'

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Another new release today, this time for Damon Albarn. First listen for me and I wasn't too impressed with the start - it sounded, as someone else pointed out, like a jingle for a price-comparison advert but fortunately after the less than auspicious start the song gets good very quickly.

It reminds me a bit of Super Furry Animals or even that last Dexys album that I'm finally, finally warming to after a couple of years of thinking it's a bit crap. Back to the tune in question and it is never going to be the first track on a 'best of' album but as a happy springtime track it does the job perfectly. Radio-friendly with a catchy chorus, this will be a big hit for sure.

the 'lost' johnny cash 1980s album

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I think I've mentioned this previously, either here or on Twitter but there's a new Johnny Cash album 'Out Among The Stars' due for release very soon and the Guardian have it streaming right now. You can listen to it here.

monday in the mix

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3 tracks to get your week off with a smile.

Primal Scream - 2013 (Weatherall remix)

Wu-Tang Clan - Windmill

Easy Star All-Stars - The Great Gig In The Sky (Dubphonic Remix)

roots manuva - 'too cold'

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British hip-hop at its very, very best. Take it away..Roots Manuva.

coralie clement - ' ça valait la peine'

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Carrying on the Sunday lounge music vibe here's the wonderful Mlle. Clement with a beautiful French jazz-pop sound.

matt monro - 'honey on the vine'

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It's definitely a Sunday morning kind of tune. The songs may be as cheesy as a mouse's breath but there's no denying his voice. He seems to have been largely forgotten nowadays but at one time he was one of Britain's major music stars and rightly so.

tomas barford - 'happy (feat. eddie chacon)'

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This tune suits my mood and the video is rather special too. I'm trying to think what it reminds me of...it will come to me, I promise and when it does I'll let you know.

Edit - it reminds me of Ben Pearce's 'What I Might Do'. That's the tune!.

kif - 'words (are just words)'

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Now this is rather lovely. Hailing all the way from Montevideo in Uruguay, Kif are Ian Lampel and Eco Lopez and they have a very trippy, jazzy soul sound.

flyte - 'live ep'

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I went with my girlfriend and 14 year old son to see Bombay Bicycle Club last night and we were all very impressed with the first support act, Flyte. Damn, they're young, eloquent, great singers and a very fresh sound - reminds me of Orange Juice or Vampire Weekend without the African drumbeat. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for them as they are definitely one to watch for the future. Shame but I couldn't find anywhere a stream of two of their songs that stood out particularly: 'Decline and Fall' and 'The Great Escape' but this EP should give you a good idea of where they come from musically.

lykke li - 'no rest for the wicked'

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I've seen various online music magazines rave about this, her first track from her new album but it leaves me a little cold. She's been down this road many times before - the power rock, the crashing percussion, the lull and then the massive blast. I liked the collaboration with David Lynch that she did recently and was hoping for a slight departure from her usual sound for the new album. That said, this is only the first track and I am in a bad mood so please take both as a bit of a health warning on any of my opinions.

apollo 440 - 'vanishing point'

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On any other album this would be the stand out tune but when it's part of Apollo 440's opus magnus 'Electro Glide in Blue' it can get lost amongst some of the other big hitters so it's good to listen to it in isolation once in a while to appreciate it fully. God, I love this tune.

the skints - 'the cost of living is killing me'

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Walthamstow's finest have this scheduled for release on 23rd March with another ska/pop/rap crossover that's heavy on the social comment. Don't let any of that put you off, they do all the above with some aplomb and although this radio friendly tune doesn't quite match up to some of their previous tracks (it kind of pootles along in 3rd gear mainly, occasionally hitting 4th) it's still top quality.