REJJIE SNOW ft. PELL Virgo **** – One artist not to be missed at Electric Picnic this weekend is Dubliner Rejjie Snow, whose debut album, Dear Annie, is hotly anticipated. The 24-year-old has attracted favourable media attention in the US and UK. But this latest offering is all about remembering where he's from.
RESIDENTE Guerra Fusion Media Group *** – Rene Perez Joglar is a Puerto Rican rapper and activist who rose to international fame – alongside his stepbrother and half-sister – as Calle 13. This single from his debut solo album was recorded in the Caucasus with contributions by musicians from the formerly warring regions of Georgia and Ossetia. The self-directed video, meanwhile, was filmed in a refugee camp on the Syrian/Lebanese border. "War loses all its battles," he concludes. "When enemies listen to each other." (So tell us, Isis … what's on your mind?)
ALEX CAMERON & ANGEL OLSEN Stranger's Kiss Secretly Canadian *** – This new duet from Alex Cameron's forthcoming album Forced Witness casts the Australian singer and the excellent Angel Olsen as an estranged couple revelling in life as newly minted singletons. ("I could peel the gym pants off a single mother," the Roy Orbison-soundalike Cameron drools at one point.) Oddly, this is video director and star Jemima Kirke's second music video cameo this month, after her appearance in Mick Jagger's ultra-sweaty Gotta Get a Grip promo.
FOO FIGHTERS ft. RICK ASTLEY Never Gonna Give You Up (Live at Tokyo Summer Sonic 2017) ** – Finally, this week's novelty entry was selected from a very crowded field. (Bonnie Tyler singing Total Eclipse of the Heart! During a eclipse! Hello?!) But the nod must go to this bizarre collaboration. If for no other reason than because it features Rick Astley inexplicably shouting "Come on, you motherf***ers!" at some Japanese people. He's 51 and he still looks far too sweet and innocent to be using that language.
