Five tracks to hear this week (Dec 8-14)

Mild-mannered indie band Belle and Sebastian propose to release three EPs in quick succession instead of a new album this time. The first part of the collection, titled How To Solve Our Human Problems, is out today, including the relatively noisy (for them) We Were Beautiful.

New Californian rapper G Perico offers old school G-funk vibes on his new album, 2 Tha Left, released today. The smooth single, Everybody, has a video on YouTube this week.

While Damon Albarn has been busy going round the arenas this week, his Blur bandmate Graham Coxon has released a new acoustic song that’s the polar opposite of the Gorillaz kaleidoscope. Falling was written by Luke Daniel, a songwriter who ended his own life last year, and is on sale in aid of the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

If you think what’s long been missing from folk music is computerised vocals, have a listen to Stick in the Wheel’s new song Follow Them True. It shares its title with the next album by these regular BBC Folk Award nominees, which is coming in January.

Perhaps better known for producing Father John Misty than for his solo work, Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter Jonathan Wilson ought to get more attention with his next album, coming in March. Preceded by the seven-minute single Over the Midnight, it will feature both Misty and Lana Del Rey.