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From ‘Golden Boy’ to ‘Diamond Girls’, get glitzy with this week’s finest singles…

Alex Smoke – Manacles

Nick already flagged this up in when he coined the term ‘minimal(ish)’ last week, but it’s worth taking any opportunity to post Alex Smoke’s echoing electronics and shadowy atmospheres (not to mention that gloriously explicit cover art). Kier Wiater Carnihan

Alpha Maid – Sublime

Weird, crunchy post-punk – yes please. The final movement goes a bit comically thrash but the opening scuzziness is welcome. Nicholas Burman

Bombino – Inar

“You’ve really got to hear this guy play guitar” is one of the most underwhelming invitations you can get, but seriously, you’ve got to hear this guy play guitar. According to producer Dave Longstreth, Tuareg musician Bombino ‘rarely speaks’. Who’d need to when you can play like this? KWC

Brood Ma – Nrg Jynx (Daze End Version)

Most people have caught up with the Tri Angle aesthetic now, which is weird because suddenly Tri Angle releases seem quite standard whereas once they stood out from the pack. Not that that makes this track any less hard-hitting, though if metal gets anymore incorporated into electronic music everyone is going to have to admit Skrillex did get to that idea first. NB

Daniel Haaksman – Rename The Streets

The production is nice but the tune itself sounds a bit like a holiday advert – and the video doesn’t help to battle that sensation. NB

Elf Kid – Golden Boy

No surprises this is picking up a lot of support, as it’s instantly entertaining for all the right reasons. Let’s see if this The Square kid can keep up the sot of quality his fellow South Londoner Novelist has. NB

Guerilla Toss – Diamond Girls

I’m definitely on the lower end of the excitement scale when it comes to the return of LCD Soundsystem. This track on James Murphy’s DFA Records showcases the sort of sounds LCD always reached for but stayed too clean to ever really inhabit. Shame it’s about 8 years too late to the party. NB

Iggy Pop feat. Josh Homme – Gardenia

This has the potential to be an inspired collaboration, but while ‘Gardenia’ is a decent enough driving tune it struggles to get out of second gear. Oddly, in a week when David Bowie’s impression of Iggy Pop went viral, Iggy’s vocal sounds uncannily like an impression of David Bowie. Sadly that’s about as close as it gets to the genius of ‘Blackstar’. KWC

Kanye West feat. Kendrick Lamar – No More Parties in L.A.

While insular rock purists are getting their knickers in a twist about Kanye recording a David Bowie covers album, he’s just put out his best track in ages, thanks in no small part to Kendrick Lamar’s guest appearance. Funnily enough, Bowie wasn’t a fan of parties in L.A. either; he once called Los Angeles “the most vile piss-pot in the world” (“The fucking place should be wiped off the face of the earth. To be anything to do with rock and roll and to go and live in Los Angeles is I think just heading for disaster”). I reckon he’d probably have been a fan of this though. KWC

LUKA – Not A Word

Not the most interesting composition ever, but good lord this guy knows how to produce a great bass tone. The wordless vocals seem fairly superfluous beyond providing counterpoint to the low end, but when the low end sounds this good, who cares? KWC

Mugstar – Flemish Weave

Easily the best track title of the week, ‘Flemish Weave’ sees Mugstar move from languorous, mellow and inviting psych tones to fast-paced, mellow and inviting psych tones, with liberal grace and a bonus melodica solo. As an appetiser for March’s Magnetic Seasons LP, it slips down a treat. KWC

PJ Harvey – The Wheel

When I saw PJ Harvey perform tracks from her new album recently, this one struck me as the most similar to those off Let England Shake. Which makes it seem like a bit of an odd lead single for an artist who usually revels in changing tack between albums, but the repeating refrain towards the end is definitely built to stick in your head. KWC