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

The Pet Shop Boys are back with a new EP, Agenda, this week, which mainly consists of political satire. The lead single, Give Stupidity a Chance, stirs Brexit and Trump into the duo’s familiar synthpop.

After releasing her debut album of electronic soul in 2016, Rosie Lowe has come back slinkier and funkier on a new single, Birdsong. It’s part of a new album coming in May.

It’s now approaching 13 years since The Lemonheads last released an original album, but bandleader Evan Dando has revived the name for a second collection of cover versions out today. Varshons 2 doesn’t go for the obvious, choosing tracks by Nick Cave, The Jayhawks and Yo La Tengo.

Liverpool indie band Circa Waves will continue their run of albums every two years on the dot with a third long player coming in April. The melancholy lead single, Me, Myself and Hollywood, has just arrived online.

Grime MC Meridian Dan, known for his hit single German Whip and his early work with Skepta, is returning with a new song, Vegan Chat, today. With its sparse backdrop it sounds serious, but an inventive video featuring lots of broccoli and sweetcorn suggests otherwise.