PICK OF THE WEEK

Bleachers
I Wanna Get Better (RCA)

Jack Antonoff may look familiar for being a member of Fun or for dating Lena Dunham, but what you need to know about Jack now is that he’s now gone solo and, as Bleachers, is making the indie pop of your wildest dreams. I Wanna Get Better is three minutes of juddering keyboard hooks and lyrics that touch on that hot topic of crashing cars for fun, with the kind of anthemic 80s vibes you’ll want to flick up your quiff to. The chorus is like all the best American prom film scenes rolled into one and, on that basis alone, is sure to secure Antonoff a place at the top of the indie pop food chain.

Johnny Marr
Candidate (New Voodoo)

You think I want to sit here and trash talk Johnny Marr? You think I want to reach for my complete Smiths discography and pray I won’t be raked over hot coals for this review? Of course not. And luckily I don’t have to, because Candidate delivers the type of intensity usually reserved for debates on which member of the Smiths is best. Marr’s call to invest ourselves in the future feels like a necessary antidote to millennial apathy, even though he hasn’t changed his hairstyle in literally 20 years. One for polling stations everywhere.

Rita Ora
Poison (Roc Nation)

An X Factor judging gig now in the bag, next up on Rita Ora’s world-domination checklist is breaking the US of A, where most people are still craning their necks to see what all the fuss is about, especially after that memorable 90 seconds in the Fifty Shades film. Poison might just do the trick. Sorrowful enough to soundtrack summer nights in contemplating old flames, but fast enough to fuel nights out dancing in the hope of meeting new ones, this jam could be the bridge Ora needs to secure her mainstream spot in America. After all, relationship regrets are a universal language.

Eminem
Phenomenal (Shady)

Phenomenal is a great example of a song that is not, you know, phenomenal at all. Written for the soundtrack to boxing film Southpaw, it features Eminem in full self-mythologising mode (“I would never say ‘Oh, it’s impossible’/ Cos I’m born to be phenomenal”) and is destined to be pumped out by crossfit aficionados the world over. Statistically speaking, at least one verse from this song will appear tattooed on the arm of an American Football player. Great predictions, right? No, they’re phenomenal.

Pitbull ft Chris Brown
Fun (RCA)

This single sums up everything you’ve ever imagined about a night on the tiles with Pitbull and Chris Brown: it’s empty, ego-driven, and, at one point – probably before he asks you whether you think his new white chinos are tight enough – Pitbull will brag about his co-headline tour with Enrique Iglesias. Plugging your gig in a track is eyebrow-raising bravado, even for him. Next time we’ll just have Netflix and popcorn, thanks.