By Will McGuirk

The world has been walking this tightrope between hyper-local and hyper-global for over two years, its been a time of contempt and contemplation and all of it is explored in ‘Highs in the Minuses’, the new album from Charlotte Cornfield due out on vinyl January 28.

“We are not supposed to go outside/ the stores are all closed/ Never seen this city so dead and so morose/ its a crisis but we haven’t got the words” she sings on ‘“Headlines” which kicks of this week’s showcase.

Fortunately Charlotte has the words and the chords to put this earthly experience in to some sort of context.

‘Black Acid Soul’ - Experience, colour, sound, chemistry - its all here in the debut album from Lady Blackbird. From the psyche of Nina Simone to the psychedelia of Alice Coltrane, its a swirling sorrowful, mesmerizing trip with the voice of Marley Munroe holding the centre.

There’s an acid burn to the voice of TO R&B artist Charlotte Day Wilson. that gets straight but so deliciously slowly to the heart. Her debut ‘Alpa’ drops this week and wrapping these songs up in the even warmer tones of wax may just be the tonic this winter needs.

Across the pond Leeds band Yard Act join the accented chorus of the speak-easys Dry Cleaning, Wet Leg, Billy Nomates; angular jocular gong songs going for the jugular. More than three’s a crowd in any scene but Yard Act are defo no pretenders to the new Brit home grown, they are of it. Line them up with Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, and yips Sleaford Mods.