Top Five Tracks to Hear This Weekend

Laura Marling soars with her latest work of staggering genius, a couple of Sydney's best-kept secrets wow with new material, and Perth producer Sid Pattni wants to get you pregnant. Don't be one of those people who stumbles exhausted into the weekend — these five tracks will put a spring in your step and a boogie in your groove.

1. 'When Brave Bird Saved' - Laura Marling

Okay, I'm cheating slightly with the five songs thing, as this video is built around the first four songs of Marling's fourth album, Once I Was an Eagle (out May 27). With this album Marling confirms her incredible talent, her songs full of dense symbolism and metaphor while at the same time being utterly human and relateable. Marling could well be the finest songwriter of her generation, and there are plenty of people who agree with me.

2. 'It's Coming' / 'Sure Thing' - Oscar Key Sung

Oscar Key Sung is the new project from Oscar Slorach-Thorn, who's half of spare, sugary R&B duo Oscar + Martin. (He's Oscar.) Both tracks up so far are killer, but it's especially worth checking out 'Sure Thing', a cover of a track by R&B's best kept secret: Miguel.

3. 'Canker' / 'If It Works' - Cull

Canker is what happens when Tame Impala and Jeff Buckley and some wolves all take acid together and everything goes horribly right; 'If It Works' is a looser, heavier, longer beast. This Sydney act have been around all of about three months but their strike rate's already kinda undeniable.

4. 'Mr. Alpha' - Sid Pattni featuring Whisky Winter

This week's Shut Up and Take My Money award goes to this immaculate conception of a jam from Perth producer Sid Pattni. It feels warm and elemental, all glassy shimmers and lazy claps, as the vocals (by guesting duo Whisky Winter) fade between treated and natural tones, distant and intimate at once. If this is what Flume hath wrought, bring it the fuck on.

5. 'Contact' - Daft Punk

No matter what you think of the new Daft Punk album, there's no doubt it was a departure from the French duo's usual crunching riffs and apocalyptic beats — except for 'Contact'. The last song on the album is an absolute monster, and uniquely Daft Punk, and this video (recorded at the Wee Waa Agricultural show by our friends at Castle Awesome) shows just what impact it has on an audience. It starts with a recording of astronauts from Apollo 17 talking about what the earth looks like from space; the anticipation builds as the Phantom of the Opera organs do, and by the time the beat finally drops the whole crowd is at fever pitch, leaping up and down in rapture.