The Bonus Track: Michael Nesmith, Vaults, Mark Hollis, Neil Young

Unfinished monkee business

The woolly hat and hair underneath may have gone, but there is still underrated musical magic to be had from Michael Nesmith. He played a few shows in the UK in 2012 – his first for 30 years – and he’s back for more with a full band in September (www.seetickets.com for details). As well as Monkee-ing around, Nesmith, it’s worth noting, was a pioneer of country rock, produced films including Repo Man and was instrumental in the creation of MTV. Expect chat and songs, including the lovely “Joanne”, from 1970. Watch Nesmith play the song

A safe bet

In our (too-much) information age, it’s always nice when a new band comes along with an air of mystery about them. And so it is with Vaults, who posted a single song to Soundcloud last August and then sat back and watched as the ­plaudits and industry attention rolled in. So what do we know? Vaults are a trio from London, who played their first show last week and who might just be on the verge of something rather special. Listen to their debut single, “Premonitions”

Meet the new boss

It is strange, instrumental and lasts for less than a minute and a half, but if it is the first sign that the reclusive former Talk Talk singer Mark Hollis may be about to emerge from his self-imposed musical exile, it will have to do for now. It is called “Arb Section 1” and it can be found on the soundtrack to the Kelsey Grammar TV drama Boss

Next week’s biggie…

Nick Coleman reviews A Letter Home, Neil Young’s Jack White-produced don’t-call-it-a-covers album, full of songs the singer-songwriter has said are “the roots of who I am musically”. Watch the video for “Needle of Death”

Simmy Richman