I Can't Pretend - The Drums.

Bit late on this because I had actually been avoiding listening to this after being really underwhelmed by “Magic Mountain”, the first release from The Drums’ new album, Encyclopedia. Thankfully though, I decided to give it a go and was pleasantly surprised. “I Can’t Pretend” is the kind of slow burning anthem that instantly feels like a classic, and the video, swirling between an aquarium and other underwater references, is tied together in a style reminiscent of The Cure. I really wish this had been the first single I had heard from the album, because then I wouldn’t be frantically trying to download it now to see what else I’ve been missing out on. Lesson learned.

La Llorna - Amy Ayanda + Thor Rixon.

When it comes to judging music there’s this weird richter scale thing that I've been using for a while which helps me decide how into a song I am. It’s called the “Do I Want This In My Car?” test. Okay, I definitely just made that name up, but the sentiment remains true nonetheless, and this is: if I like a song enough to want to burn it to CD (yes, I was born in the 80s) and then listen to it relentlessly, then it probably means it’s a winner. If I’m completely honest though, what often ends up happening with songs coming out of Cape Town is that I enjoy them, I appreciate them and I respect the work that went into them, but they don’t quite end up passing this necessary, but also relatively meaningless test. Today however, I’m really pleased to say that this song has and Thor Rixon deserves a lot of the credit for producing, writing and directing the video for all of it. It’s kind of hard to believe how well the collaboration between him and Amy Ayanda on vocals works and I’m really looking forward to hearing more from these 2 very soon!

Savage - Ben Kahn.

Ben Kahn is the enigmatic singer-songwriter from London who has been producing some really interesting music that smashes genres together so seamlessly that it begins to sound like a new genre in itself. He has released three demos and his latest offering, “Savage”, is his most fully realised song to date. Although he’s been compared to Jai Paul a number of times, I’m personally a lot more interested in what he has to offer. Definitely one to watch.

Jump Out Of The Train - CFCF feat. Active Child.

Pretty much everything that Active Child does is amazing and beautiful and just generally perfect – and he just contributed the backing vocals to CFCF’s new song, which has immediately become my favourite CFCF song ever. I obviously would have loved to hear more of Active Child, but either way, I’ll take it.

I'm Gonna Stop Loving You - Gateway Drugs.

Cape Town-based synth pop duo, Gateway Drugs, have been making some serious waves and they recently released an amazing cover of Yvonne Chakka Chakka’s South African classic – “I’m Gonna Stop Loving You”. It’s surprising, but only in the best possible way.

A Dancing Shell - Wild Nothing.

Wild Nothing serves up some very cool, but seriously unexpected, psychedelic dream pop in “A Dancing Shell”, the new single taken off their latest EP, “Empty Estate”. The video is also an interesting one, which kind of looks like a contemporary artwork in motion. You can watch it here.