The Hot Five – My favourite new tracks of the week, usually rounded off with a classic, obscure or alternate track from my music collection.

Track of the week: Amber Run – ‘Pilot’

Having already revealed a video for latest single 'I Found', Amber Run have now debuted a brand-new video for their upcoming EP's title track, 'Pilot'.  The video follows on from the harrowing plot of the ‘I Found’ video, both of which can be viewed below. The track itself is full of character, and the Nottingham five piece have clearly got a knack for arranging their music as huge chorus emerges from a comparatively subdued yet still energetic verse. Having just finished a series of summer festival dates, Amber Run were recently voted as one of the top 10 acts who played the Isle Of Wight Festival by attendees, and they will support Lewis Watson on his UK tour this September.

‘I Found’ :

‘Pilot’ :

The Magic Numbers – ‘Shot In The Dark’

The Magic Numbers are a consistently underrated band. New LP ALIAS was released this week, with singles ‘Shot In The Dark’ and ‘Roy Orbison’ showing the diverse talent within the band. The guitar-driven ‘Shot In The Dark’ produces a sound closer to the band’s live performances, with the song written and arranged by the band in their own recording studio. The song details lead singer Romeo Stodart battling with his “inner demons”; he elaborates on this, saying that “there’s an uncertainty within yourself about how your life’s going to pan out, so I guess we’re all taking a shot in the dark. That’s the outlook. It’s kind of like an internal monologue, sung to me”. ALIAS was released this week, and the band will head out on a headline UK tour in September.

KONGOS – ‘Come With Me Now’

I get the feeling that this track is going to be one of those Marmite moments; you’ll either love it or hate it. ‘Come With Me Now’ is sure to have you stamping your feet to the beat; it benefits from great production, and the character of the vocal melody in the chorus makes this track instantly distinctive. KONGOS have already become the fastest debut artist ever to top the billboard chart (breaking Lorde’s recent record), having already sold over 1 million copies of the single in the US. I get the impression you’ll be hearing more from KONGOS in the not too distant future, the band are currently touring with Kings of Leon and are set to return to the UK in October.

Nathan Fake – ‘Black Drift’

Nathan Fake and fellow Border Community artist Wesley Metsell have recently set up their own label, Cambria Instruments. The label’s first release features a track from both artists, available in all digital formats and on limited edition 12” vinyl. Not only does Nathan Fake have a fantastic name, but ‘Black Drift’ is also the perfect combination of esoteric melodies and slamming percussion, resulting in a definitive piece of atmospheric techno

Hidden track of the week: Editors – ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’

Every now and then a forgotten track from my iTunes library plays on random and I get hooked again. Quite simply, I forgot just how good this track was, with lead vocalist Tom Smith at his magnificent, dark indie best. Editors most recent album, The Weight of Your Love, was released in 2013, and the band will play both Zurich Open Air and Berlin Festivals within the next month.

You can follow Tom on twitter @tom_fake

The Hot Five – My favourite new tracks of the week, usually rounded off with a classic, obscure or alternate track from my music collection.

Track of the week: Saint Agnes – ‘Old Bone Rattle’

It is widely acknowledged that guitar music is having a bit of a tough time of it at present. Saint Agnes’ rock n roll style trippy Western inspired psychedelic-rock certainly reminds us of what we’re missing. ‘Old Bone Rattle’ is raw, it’s bold, and it’s seriously fucking cool. Saint Agnes, aka Jon Tufnell and Kitty Austen, initially bonded over a mutual love of Nick Cave and Jack White, and those influences are as strong as the dual vocal line that erupts from the tracks first hook. This is an instant classic.

Black Rivers – ‘The Ship’

Just the other day I was listening to a couple of tracks from Doves’ 2009 album Kingdom Of Rust, and I wondered what had happened to them. It turns out that Doves announced a hiatus in 2010, but recently twin brothers Jez and Andy Williams have announced the formation of a new band, Black Rivers. The two-piece’s first single starts with a sparse intro, before developing the track with electronic synth sound that build ‘The Ship’ into an atmospheric piece typical of Doves at their best. The song is available as a free download from this link.

Bruno Merz – ‘Into The Air’

Sit back, relax, and take in ‘Into The Air’, the first track to be shared from New Zealand folk artist Bruno Merz’s new album Highways. As a track, ‘Into The Air’ is tranquil, and if you take the time to listen to this song in the right settings you will definitely be rewarded. The quality of the fragile vocal gives such character to the song, and the minimal arrangement works perfectly to create a relaxing atmosphere. If this track isn’t fitting for a Muso, I don’t know what is.

You can download this track for free via Bruno Merz’s official website

William Fitzsimmons – ‘Fortune (Acoustic)’

Liked the last track, yeah? Definitely press play on this one then. William Fitzsimmons is known for his cleverly emotive songwriting, and his raw talent really shines through when you strip the arrangement down to its bare essentials. In this acoustic arrangement the focus is on the delicate vocal line, which is simply mesmerizing. New EP The Acoustic Sessions is available now, with four new stripped down arrangements of previous recordings.

Hidden track of the week: Radiohead – ‘Staircase’

Radiohead were voted the most influential band on the planet this week…. Like I really need an excuse to share a Radiohead song. ‘Staircase’ was recorded in the TKOL From The Basement session alongside ‘The Daily Mail’, and was released in 2011. Radiohead are set to regroup in the near future to begin work on a potential ninth studio album.

You can follow Tom on twitter @tom_fake