Listen Up! No.85: Alex Winston - Don't Care About Anything

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Much-fawned over Detroit siren Alex Winston shows she has the handle on the twiddly stuff as well as chart-friendly pop-crossovers and advertisement soundtracks with a new song, gleaned from forthcoming mini-album Sister Wife. With production duties split between Florence and the Machine co-conspirator Charlie Hugall and Rihanna right-hand men The Knocks, you'll  know roughly what to expect when the record drops in March. In the meantime, enjoy this stripped down version of 'Don't Care About Anything', which proves she can write, play and sing. May even have what the kids call 'attitood' - that's 'depth' to you and me - too. 

Listen Up! No.84: Chase & Status feat. Liam Bailey - Blind Faith

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London producers Saul 'Chase' Milton and Will 'Status' Kennard shot to prominence thanks to 2009's 'End Credits', a collaboration with rapper-cum-blue-eyed soul singer Plan B which was featured in the Michael Caine film Harry Brown. Their second album, No More Idols, will drop later this month, and if the lead single is anything to go by, it could be a hot seller. 'Blind Faith' adds an early '90s saucer-eyed rave feel to the duo's instantly recognisable arena drum 'n' bass shtick, a nice side-step for a sound cornered by Pendulum many moons ago, which should make it popular with post-decadent 20 (or 30-) something  revellers. However, the true masterstroke is a dub-heavy verse propelled by Nottingham newcomer Liam Bailey's sad-eyed, soulful Jamaican-patois vocal, sure to be ringing out of student party clubs and Brixton dancehalls alike for the forseeable future.

Listen Up! No. 83: The Lionheart Brothers - The Desert

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Norwegian quartet The Lionheart Brothers serve notice of their impending second record, due later this year and as-yet untitled, with new track 'The Desert'. They've reigned in the bright psychedelic tones of their well-received (and Norwegian Grammy nominated) debut, 2008's Dizzy Kiss, instead opting to decorate a pulsing rhythm section with murky vocals and a blizzard of pitch-shifting shoegaze atmospherics.Aptly, the video mimics the guitar hook, twisting round and round in queasy unison with the music - while someone plays silly buggers in the snow.

Listen Up! No. 82: The Vaccines - Post Break-Up Sex

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Further fruits of their labours from a 2-week recording stint at RAK studios back in Autumn 2010, forthcoming single 'Post Break-Up Sex' (released 24 January) sees UK rock n' roll's latest pre-eminent 'Bright Young Things' further sand the edges off what began as a somewhat-thrilling, splintered indie-punk sound. Let's hope it's the obligatory landfill ballad for the Columbia execs, and not a statement of debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?' (released 21 March) intent - or, indeed, lack thereof.

Listen Up! No. 81: Tennis - Baltimore

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After making their name via leaked demo tracks - how very 21st Century - this married couple from Denver, Colorado sparked enough interest in their familiar take on glassy-eyed dream pop with a Spector-esque '60s hum to win themselves backing from Young and Lost Club, and have readied their first official releases for early 2011. Debut single 'Baltimore', which drops later this month, sounds like Dum Dum Girls' gentler cousin, with high-end bass and metronomic drums framing Alaina Moore's pensive, preoccupied melodic drawl. An album, Cape Dory, will follow later in the year.