Listen to 10 of our favourite tracks from the past week (presented here in no particular order), including Madonna, Madeon, Swim Deep and Kendrick Lamar.
1. Madonna: 'Iconic' (out now)
With just under a month to go before we get Madonna's 13th studio album Rebel Heart, the superstar has treated fans to three more new tracks from the collection on iTunes. One particular highlight, 'Iconic', is a dance-tinged pop banger that hears the Queen of Pop tell her followers that they can all be icons, while also winking back to her own incredible legacy.
2. Madeon ft. Passion Pit: 'Pay No Mind' (TBC)
The French producer has teamed up with Passion Pit for his new single 'Pay No Mind', which has been lifted from his forthcoming debut album Adventure. With added guitar riffs from Two Door Cinema Club's Sam Halliday, the cut is a zingy electronic number packed with an infectious chorus and Madeon's chewy synth shreds.
3. Swim Deep: 'To My Brother' (available now on iTunes)
After a brief hiatus Swim Deep are back with their first new single since 2013 as well as a new member. Moving away from the direction of their debut, the first track from their forthcoming second album was inspired by the acid house movement of the 1980s. 'To My Brother' is a dense collection of hooks and psychedelic swirls all tied together by Austin Williams's floating vocals.
4. Shawn Mendes: 'A Little Too Much' (released April 27)
At just 16 years old, Shawn Mendes has become Vine's biggest popstar and already has a handful of iTunes hits under his belt. Ahead of his debut album Handwritten, which will be released on April 27, the teen star has released new cut 'A Little Too Much'; a soft and charming, acoustic-led ballad that hears him hot on the heels of Ed Sheeran.
5. Zak Abel & Joker: 'Wise Enough' (out now)
After touring as Bondax's live vocalist, 19-year-old Zak Abel continues to build a strong foundation as an artist in his own right. His latest track, 'Wise Enough' with Joker, hears his soulful vocal yearn over lashings of brass and rattling beats with a hint of R&B.
6. Kendrick Lamar: 'The Blacker The Berry' (release TBC)
Proving why he's now 'Grammy winning Kendrick Lamar', the Compton rapper has unveiled a new track which abruptly U-turns from the celebratory messages of self-belief in previous single 'i'. "You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture," Lamar raps in the first verse of 'The Blacker The Berry', setting the tone as he speaks frankly and boldly about racial politics.
7. Say Lou Lou: 'Nothing But A Heartbeat' (out now)
Twin sisters Miranda Anna and Elektra June Kilbey-Jansson - better known as Say Lou Lou - mesmerised the blogosphere with their Better In The Dark EP last year. Now with their debut album Lucid Dreaming on the horizon (out April 6), new single 'Nothing But A Heartbeat' establishes their knack for an airy dream-pop anthem.
8. Kali Uchis: 'Lottery' (out now)
Colombian-born Kali Uchis has described her sound as "lowrider soul". Following her 2012 mixtape Drunken Babble the 21-year-old has found fans in Tyler, the Creator, A$AP Rocky, Snoop Dogg and Earl Sweatshirt. Uchis's distinctive spin on a well-worn genre in 'Lottery', taken from new mixtape Por Vida is a prime example of why she's accrued such a fanbase.
9. Emile Haynie ft. Lykke Li & Romy: 'Come Find Me' (from We Fall, out February 24)
New York songwriter and producer Emile Haynie is gearing up for the release of his debut solo album We Fall. Following Lana Del Rey collaboration 'Wait For Life', Haynie's unveiled a new cut. Lykke Li's mournful vocals drift across the hypnotising and doleful guitar line of The xx's Romy Madley Croft in 'Come Find Me'.
10. We Are The Ocean: 'Do It Together' (from Ark, released May 11)
Essex band We Are The Ocean will release their fourth album Ark in May and are planning on hitting the road with Lower Than Atlantis a month earlier. In the meantime they've unveiled the lead single from the new record. "Let's do it together," frontman Liam Cromby confidently demands amongst roaring guitar riffs in 'Do It Together'.
What are your favourite tracks on this week's playlist? Leave your comments in the box below:
