A bunch of really quite good songs hitting the “airwaves” at the moment. This week:  Sunmi, Let’s Eat Grandma, Gaz Coombes, Chvrches, and Rita Ora & Liam Payne.

Sunmi, “Heroine”

My KPop knowledge pretty much  begins and ends with Girl’s Generation, so I am not too familiar with the band from which Sunmi springs, Wonder Girls. This, however, is a colourful, big-chorus’d pop tune through which Sunmi gleefully flits and gambols in a series of splendid frocks (seriously, I want the blue one and the yellow one) as though she’s in a west end musical. And utterly delightful she is with it too.

Let’s Eat Grandma, “Hot Pink”

Let’s Eat Grandma sound like a cross between Shampoo and Einstürzende Neubauten and, as possibly the only person in the world who has previously bought CDs by both those bands on the same day, they are the perfect pop group for me. This song starts deceptively as possibly just a slightly off-kilter R&B-tinged tune, til it all goes a bit mad with stuttering industrial beats and and shouted refrain of “is it mine? is it?” Yes, Grandma girls, it is definitely yours, and it’s amazing. A million bonus points for the lyric “the glitter eater doesn’t need it”, as well.

Gaz Coombes, “Deep Pockets”

I have bought the odd Supergrass album in my time, but have not followed Gaz ‘Grass too avidly, so while this sounds like a much rockier than usual outing from him to me it may be that I just haven’t been paying attention. It’s a fab tune with echoes of “Lodger” era Bowie, with its screaming guitar, languidly crooned choruses and sense of everlasting ennui as Gaz sits in the back of a car driving through an endless city. Party like it’s 1979 and revel in its moody menace.

Chvrches, “Get Out”

When I was about 19 I dreamt of a band who could capture the Sound of Now as I imagined it – epic guitars within a futuristic techno setting. Chvrches are exactly that Sound of Now I imagined in 1994, so better late than never. This is what they do best – a plaintively catchy pop song with sharp edges, which assures us, “you are a kaleidoscope”, which is good to know, isn’t it?

Rita Ora & Liam Payne, “For You”

Fifty Shades of Grey had to be good for something at some point, and I’d almost go so far as to say the whole awful saga has been worth it just for this epic ballad. It’s full of galaxy-spanning synth lines and Rita singing as though from a soul soaked in a century of tears and okay, maybe Liam mumbles a bit (what is it with mumbling boys in pop these days?) but it’s Friday night, I’ve had a few glasses of wine and all I want to do is hold my arms aloft and holler along “wasn’t looking for LOVE ’til I found you!” Which is the mark of a timeless tune to be sure.