Feel good hits of the 17th April

1. 'Strike A Match' - Sacred Paws
Major earworm alert! The sort of song that in a parallel universe would be a globe-straddling smash hit rather than merely the highlight of a subterranean gig in Cardiff in February. Proof that Glasgow's historically vibrant music scene continues to thrive, and hats off to Mogwai for signing them to Rock Action. An avowed passion for Sleater-Kinney and Ex Hex is even more reason to love them.

2. 'Show The Way' - Semifinalists
Hats off to 1p Album Club for reminding me of this lot, who rose from total obscurity to semi-obscurity back in 2006 and then slipped back again just as quickly. 'Show The Way' was the highlight of their self-titled debut, an extraordinary single that, in the course of its sub-four-minute running time, managed to pack in more than many bands' albums: sweetly twinkling indie-pop, a ripsnorter of a riff that rips the song open, some Soft Bulletin-style stargazing. (Mind you, 'You Said' is pretty fucking good too.)

3. 'It Changes' - Amber Arcades
2017 single from recent visitors to Clwb that cements Annelotte de Graaf's status as a Deerhunter acolyte - not that that's remotely a bad thing, you understand.

4. 'Murdered Out' - Kim Gordon
Kim Gordon may be approaching her 64th birthday, but (thankfully) she's still refusing to act her age. That said, 'Murdered Out' is surprising even by her own standards, a collaboration with producer Justin Raisen and featuring Warpaint's Stella Mozgawa on drums that, in its slinkiness, sleaziness and scuzziness, sounds unnervingly like The Icarus Line. Here she is being interrogated by Huck, talking about being haunted by the song's lyrics.

5. 'Monday Morning, Somewhere Central' - Ultimate Painting
This followed Amber Arcades on Spotify the other day, with good reason. It seems like no time ago that I was watching one of their fledgling live outings, with the release of their self-titled debut still some way off. 2016 saw them release their third album, Dusk, from whence this typically slight, gently motorik track comes.

6. 'Big Beautiful Day' - PWR BTTM
Just to reiterate what I've said before, thanks to Donald Trump for introducing me to some great new music. Take PWR BTTM, for instance, whose 'Big Beautiful Day' is a glitterbomb filled with positivity dropped at a time when we need it most.

7. 'Strathcona Slung' - The Delgados
Thanks to Lost In France for introducing me to a fine early Delgados song I'd not heard before. Neither Domestiques nor Peloton are on my shelves, and they both should be.

8. 'Dundee Man' - Spiral Stairs
On which the former Pavement guitarist reveals a peculiar obsession with Scotland. Perhaps it's been unfair to devote all of my attention to the solo efforts of his former partner Stephen Malkmus.

9. 'Oh George' - Peaness
Ignore the name, which hardly marks the Chester trio out for longevity - rebukes to George Osborne and company don't come much sweeter than this.

10. 'The One 2' - !!!
It's been a while since I paid much attention to !!!, and things definitely seem to have taken a turn for the worse judging by this track, the first to be released from new album Shake The Shudder. Any vestiges of punk funk have gone, replaced by (to these ears) uninspired electronic dance pop, complete with guest vocals. That incredible set in the Glade at Glastonbury back in 2007 feels like a long time ago now.