Songs of the week: The Avalanches, Dragonette, August Wells and Angel Olsen

The Avalanches ft Danny Brown, MF Doom - Frankie Sinatra
★★★★

Sixteen years after the sublime Since I Left You (as well as the more irritating Frontier Psychiatrist), The Avalanches have returned to the recording studio. And, as earnest people on podcasts say, there's quite a lot to unpack here: Frankie Sinatra is an expertly crafted sound collage, much in the style of the group's earlier work. The samples aren't listed, but I detect strains of everything from to The Sound of Music's My Favourite Things, to The Beatles' Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite, to what sounds like George Fornby singing a calypso ditty about Frank Sinatra. Trust me, this track is every bit as weird as it sounds.

Dragonette - Lonely Heart
★★★

Speaking of calypso, this new single from Canadian electro-pop trio Dragonette incorporates elements of at least half-a-dozen musical genres originating in the Caribbean. Sonically, we're talking palm trees, hammocks, pink flamingos and cocktails with tiny umbrellas in them. The lyrics are depressing as hell. But who pays any attention to those?

August Wells - She Was a Question
★★★

August Wells are ex-Rollerskate Skinny vocalist/guitarist Kenneth Griffin and New York-based pianist John Rauchenberger. She Was a Question is a beguiling rumination on love that betrays musical debts to the likes of Scott Walker or Casanova-era Neil Hannon. The duo play 17 dates around the UK and Ireland this summer, commencing at the Interlude Festival in Dublin on June 24th.

Angel Olsen - Intern
★★★★

"I don't care what the papers say, you're just another intern with a resume…" Olsen delivers a withering indictment of the indignities inherent in entering into gainful (or otherwise) employment, on this new track from her forthcoming My Woman album. Still, there's always JobBridge!