Caught in the Net: Solar Power lights up on a brilliant return

Ahead of the 3 September release of her new album, Sun, Cat Power has offered up a new track from the record. The song is “Cherokee”, which opens the album.

It kicks off with some twanging, country-ish guitars before opening out into something almost pop-like – although those distinctive, brilliant vocals are a long way from your average pop song. The track is at catpowermusic.com and comes also with a sparse remix by the French producer Nicolas Jaar.

Young Mancunians end their Sleep

Young Manchester band Egyptian Hip Hop emerged a couple of years ago while still in their teens. After an EP in 2010, the indie-pop four-piece went quiet but have reappeared this week, signed to R&S Records, with a new single pegged to an album, God Don’t Sleep, following in October. The opening single is “SYH”; it was released digitally on Monday and can be streamed at snd.sc/Peyj31. On “SYH”, the group have honed their sound into a tight melange of electronics, psychedelia and pop.

Big names chip in on a worthy tribute

Since 1990, the Aids charity Red Hot has released impressive compilation albums to raise money for its cause, featuring exclusive recordings by a variety of musicians. The latest is a tribute to Arthur Russell, the revered, multifaceted New York musician who died from Aidsrelated causes in 1992. Twin Shadow, Robyn and Hot Chip have been lined up to contribute. Red Hot has turned to crowdfunding on Kickstarter to get the project off the ground, hoping to raise $55,000 (£35,000) by 8 September. The pitch can be found at ind.pn/QZHxzD.

Online progress for the pop pilgrim

The excellent pop-culture site AVClub.com runs a nice video series that I’ve only recently discovered. Called Pop Pilgrimages (ind.pn/QZIt7c), it goes to places of importance for fans of music, film, TV and beyond: “a travel show for the pop culture enthusiast” is how it’s billed. Recent episodes have travelled to Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, the Bronx apartment block where hip-hop was born and the New Jersey school auditorium where the Velvet Underground played their first gig.