Some frivolous chat about some new and newish songs. This week: Gwenno, Moss Kena, Noel Gallagher and Mabel.

Gwenno, “Tir Ha Mor”

“Tir ha mor” means “land and sea”, and this spooky tune seems to be full of the mystery and magic of the Cornish coast where the video was filmed. There is so much happening in this song, with guitar notes and synth lines seemingly wandering round in the background, adding an ethereal feel to its sturdy bass line. A truly fascinating tune and I look forward to her album in March.

Moss Kena, “Square One”

Moss Kena is a new artist on me, but this song reached out and grabbed me from Spotify’s new release playlist. A  sad, sweet tune, with minimal yet affecting verses building into a chorus so huge you want to holler along except you can’t bear to obliterate the stunning, unique voice singing it to you.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, “Beautiful World”

This is my favourite tune from Noel G’s “Who Built The Moon?” album of last year.  It starts off like a million indie tunes you’ve heard before: a droning guitar, a repeated, trippy motif. But then it launches into a chorus of triumphant melacholy, and the end of the world is annouced in French over a loudspeaker, and it’s lifted into someone much more special: a little bit bonkers, a little bit genius, and a little bit beautiful.

Mabel, Not3s, “Fine Line”

This is quite simply a Top Pop Tune. A series of endlessly catchy hooks weave around a sparse backing of hand-claps and breathy whispers. I could do without the unnecessary bloke who wanders in halfway to add a mumbled verse, as Mabel has a glittery enough presence to carry the song on her own and is quite clearly a Great Pop Thing. Plus the notion of dancing “somewhere between a minute and a lifetime” is quite brilliant. It’s where all great pop lives, really, isn’t it?