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: Phil Selway – ‘Coming Up For Air’

Radiohead drummer Phil Selway has recently announced his second solo album, entitled Weatherhouse. Along with this announcement, Selway has premiered single ‘Coming Up For Air’ and it’s accompanying video, a fantastic, Hitchcock-inspired piece created by Spanish collective NYSU. The track itself carries on where 2010’s Familial left off; it’s atmospheric, and in typical Selway style has a strong, striking drum beat that helps to create a clever, and well-rounded piece. It’s a strong track that is sending all the right messages to promote the new album, which will be released by independent label Bella Union on October 6.

Escapists – ‘Eyes’

Atmospheric harmonies and huge vocal character – that’s what keeps you hooked in the opening exchanges of this track. ‘Eyes’ showcases “a more delicate relaxed sound to counterpoint the chaos heard in other Escapists songs”. The minimal arrangement gives the track a simplistic beauty that justifies the immediate comparison to Bon Iver. Escapists’ debut album, Only Bodies, was released on Monday (August 4), and the band has announced a show at the Lexington in London on August 25.

Vance Joy – ‘First Time’

Vance Joy has announced details of the lead single to be taken from his forthcoming debut album Dream Your Life Away, which is to be released on September 15. Building on hit single ‘Riptide’, the bittersweet ‘First Time’ has an upbeat shuffle beat and cleverly basic arrangement that accompanies sombre lyrics of heartbreak and sorrow. To celebrate the release of the album, Vance Joy will begin a sold out headline UK tour on September 21, finishing up with two consecutive nights at Shepherd's Bush Empire on October 2 & 3, the second London show being added due to demand.

Ezra Vine – ‘Celeste’

Continuing along folky lines, here we have self-produced, London-based singer-songwriter Ezra Vine. Vine is originally from Auckland, and ‘Celeste’ enjoyed great success in New Zealand last year; the song is set for an official release in the UK in late September. It’s another uplifting track, complete with a driving drum beat and reverberating vocal harmonies that emphasise the already strong vocal melodies. You can catch Ezra Vine on tour, funnily enough, with Vance Joy in September, and he is also set to perform at Boardmasters Festival in Cornwall this coming weekend.

Hidden track of the week: Beth Orton – ‘Daybreaker’

I’ve just been reading some reviews of Daybreaker, the 2002 album from folktronica singer-songwriter Beth Orton. I’d like to take this opportunity to be publically upset at the man who branded Daybreaker “Beth Orton's third in a series of progressively bland and unadventurous releases”. This particular track is an intelligent, trip hop-inspired piece with a vocal strong and characteristic enough to rival any female electronica artist. It also uses the talents of collaborators William Orbit and Ben Watt perfectly to create the atmospheric landscape of sound effects, drum beats, and reverberating vocals. Hardly “bland and unadventurous”, now is it?

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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: Karen O – ‘Rapt’

It will be interesting to see how Karen O gets on without her fellow Yeah Yeah Yeah’s bandmates as she releases her first ever solo album. The early signs are good, ‘Rapt’ was released on Monday, and the lo-fi, stripped back nature of the song separates it from more recent Yeah Yeah Yeah’s material, giving it a new and unique personality that is perfectly graced with the instantly recognisable vocal of Karen O. Karen O’s debut album, Crush Songs, will be released on September 8 via Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records.

Children – ‘Cut’

“Do you remember when the summer holidays seemed endless? Spending hours by the sea, surrounded by friends, the ice cream in hand...”

This is ‘Cut’, Berlin electro-indie outfit Children’s “ode to all beautiful summers”. Put your headphones on and turn up the volume, you’ll get lost in the beautifully atmospheric nature of the song. Children have developed a very current sound; it’s cleverly minimalistic, with subtle vocal harmonies and rhythmic interest that makes ‘Cut’ a very stimulating listen. Children are currently raising money to release their new album, Leaving Home, which is due to be released on September 5.

Gary Numan – ‘I am Dust’

The introspective nature of Gary Numan’s last album, Splinter (Songs from A Broken Mind), made it a challenging yet rewarding listen. ‘I Am Dust’ is the latest single from that album, and it has just been released alongside a new music video directed by IAMX. The industrial, aggressive nature of the song is certainly evocative, and the heavy chordal stabs work well with Numan’s softer vocal presence to create a complex piece that has been cleverly put together. Gary Numan headlines the Hammersmith Apollo on 28 November, where special guests Gang Of Four have just been confirmed as support.

Tiny Ruins – ‘Me At The Museum, You In The Wintergardens’

New Zealand folk act Tiny Ruins was formed as a solo project in 2009 by songwriter Hollie Fullbrook, and was expanded to include bassist Cass Basil and drummer Alexander Freer. The band released their second album, Brightly Painted One, in May 2014, and the video for their latest single was filmed and edited by Neil Finn during the European leg of their world tour this summer. ‘Me At The Museum, You In The Wintergardens’ is a fantastic example of easy listening, with the relaxing, velvety vocal of Hollie Fullbrook floating over the top of plucked acoustic guitar and string parts. Tiny Ruins will return to the UK in September for a number of headline shows and festival dates.

Hidden track of the week: Elbow – ‘Switching Off’

I forget if I’ve featured Elbow’s ‘Switching Off’ as The Hot Five’s hidden track before, but if I have I think it’s worth posting again! News broke on Monday of a solo project by Elbow frontman Guy Garvey, so this is a celebration of that news. Of the solo album, which will start recording at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the near future, Garvey said: “I fancy being the boss for a bit, so I'm going to do a side-project. It will either be great, and a right laugh, or a disaster, and a right laugh."

 ‘Switching Off’ was released on Elbow’s second album, Cast Of Thousands, in 2003.

You can follow Tom on twitter @tom_fake