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This week's new tracks: Boys Noize, Foxes, Tom Odell

Boys Noize & Kelsey Lu ft Chilly Gonzales

Ride Or Die

As deployed in the Fast and Furious franchise, “ride or die” is a declaration of love and loyalty where all nuance has been blowtorched away. In the hands of German producer Boys Noize and dreamy vocalist Kelsey Lu, it becomes something a little more nebulous: a melange of honky-tonk tune-ups on acoustic guitar, keening harmonies and a late breakout of bang-a-lang techno. Quite the belter.

Foxes

Kathleen

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This tribute to the sassy wisdom of Foxes’ grandmother is clearly a labour of love so it would be uncouth to try to start some beef. But surely St Winifred’s School Choir will feel their 40-year reign as champions of pensioner-themed pop is under attack? Especially because the uplifting piano ascent of Kathleen’s chorus trumps the cloying strains of There’s No One Quite Like Grandma.

Tom Odell

Monster v.2

One weird side-effect from the head-wrecking stresses of 2020: all those fresh-faced young male troubadours peddling melodramatic plod-rock now have some legitimate existential angst to work through. With his floppy 90210 hair, Odell always looked the most boyish of the post-Sheeran bunch, but this new version of a spindly lockdown demo packs some actual emotional heft into its mayfly duration.

Jungle

Keep Moving

The word “collective” might set your superfluous-bongos alarm ringing but London dance duo turned 14-legged groove machine Jungle have a track record of disco-infused floorfillers. Ahead of their third album, Keep Moving is a moreish taster that takes its carefree cue from a roaming funk bassline. Think hopscotch, cartwheels and frisbee (in other words: fun).

Keisha White

Someday

CBBC-reared millennials clamouring to include the intro music to Tracy Beaker on their retro playlists can rejoice, with a belated official single release from the original artist. You don’t mess with the classics, so the stroppy strings and fishtank-gurgling sound effect from the theme remain intact, delivering an early-2000s R&B track that sounds fresh in 2021.