This week’s new tracks: Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen, Lil Nas X and Mø

Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen
Like I Used To

I strongly believe that if Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen teamed up to sing anything up to and including Las Ketchup it would be a moment so emotional we’d all emerge three minutes later with dewy eyes and a strong urge to become better people. So you can imagine what they’ve done with this swirling eddy of a song. Exhaustingly amazing.

Lil Nas X
Sun Goes Down

Fresh from his tryst with the prince of darkness, Lil Nas X has gone deep into his feelings on this melancholic reflection on his journey out of the closet. It’s a deceptively straightforward song for all that it grapples with – depression and suicide, internalised homophobia, racism – his voice uncharacteristically serious. Who would have imagined that the man who had his horses in the back would one day bare his soul like this?

Mø
Live to Survive

Praise be to whoever rescued Mø from Diplo’s breezy tropical clutches because this is a fine return to form for the Danish singer: a thumping, melancholic survival banger peppered with absolutely sensational 80s pop-rock drum fills that flip the whole thing into hyperdrive. Scandi-pop is back, baby. Let’s go.

Anne-Marie and Niall Horan
Our Song

Ah, the collaboration absolutely no one was asking for, and it’s exactly as inoffensive as you’d expect from Anne-Marie and the third-best One Directioner (though it does feature enjoyable delivery of the word “ra-di-o”). It’s also accompanied by the lowest stakes on-the-lam video ever, where the pair draw attention to themselves by wearing what is essentially wedding attire and parading about in a pastel green car. Not exactly Bonnie and Clyde.

Bleachers
Stop Making This Hurt

The world’s premier Springsteen tribute act is back with producer extraordinaire Jack Antonoff channelling the Boss into a skittery break-up song. It feels as if it’s trying to say one thing and do another, with the gang vocals attempting to build to euphoria, but coming off a bit like a bunch of lads worse for wear on the train after a match.