Five tracks to hear this week (March 16-22)

Feel the heat:Arcade Fire
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David Smyth16 March 2018

Leon Bridges, who looked and sounded like a Sixties soul man preserved in aspic when he released his first album in 2015, appears to be advancing gradually through the decades as he returns. Two new songs online now, Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand and Bad Bad News, introduce some modern jazziness and a rich Curtis Mayfield feel to his sound.

A-list producer Mark Ronson now has his own record label, Zelig, and the first signing is Brooklyn singer-songwriter King Princess. She’s got a beautiful, emotional style and a hand-drawn moustache in the video for her debut single, 1950.

Nakhane’s debut album, You Will Not Die, is out today and is the week’s only release about growing up gay in a deeply religious family in South Africa. His remarkable voice and full sound should impress those still mourning the demise of Wild Beasts.

Arcade Fire are bringing the concept of the A- and B-side single to the YouTube era by releasing their next two singles, Put Your Money on Me and We Don’t Deserve Love, as a double video. It arrived online yesterday and stars Toni Collette.

“I’ve still got a fire in me,” sings Yorkshire soul pop man John Newman on what is presumably the first single from a third album on the way. Fire in Me has a video on YouTube now and sees him bringing power to the dancefloor again.

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