It’s been an intense few weeks thanks to the bounty of public holidays. If you’ve missed out on any new music, don’t worry – we got you. Here are some of our favourite new tunes from this week to carry you into the weekend.

#1 The Mountain Goats — ‘Rain in Soho’

Having just completed their first run of Australian shows in five years, The Mountain Goats have now unveiled yet another new song from their upcoming record Goths. ‘Rain in Soho’ lives up to the title’s gloomy invocation, with ominous bass, eerie backing vocals and a deep, demanding melody.

It’s so Nick Cave that you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a Bad Seeds cover, but The Mountain Goats weave their own identity in so well that it’s only getting use hyped for their new album, out May 19.

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#2 In Hearts Wake — ‘Passage’

Byron Bay metalcore group In Hearts Wake celebrated the announcement of a new album, Ark, with a new single ‘Passage’, released with a gorgeous accompanying video. An old ship – well, an ark – is sailing across a vast ocean, presumably toward an island where a group of multicultural inhabitants are busy forging some kind of tribe, in an act of unity.

The track packs many memorable punches, and it also packs a lot heart, particularly in light of the band’s newly announced initiative clean up our polluted waterways, in collaboration with charity Tangaroa Blue.

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#3 M-Phazes — ‘Golden Years’ Ft. Ruel         

There’s nothing quite like an immensely talented 14 year old to make you feel under-accomplished. Legendary producer M-Phazes has collaborated with wunderkind Ruel for lush new electro-R&B banger ‘Golden Years’.

The song is a marked step away from the hip-hop that’s made M-Phazes famous (uh, remember that time he won a Grammy for producing an Eminem album?) and together with the previously-released ‘Messiah’ featuring Alison Wonderland, it gives us a bigger glimpse into the electronic soundscapes we’ll be hearing when his album drops later this year.

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#4 Father John Misty — ‘Total Entertainment Forever’

Whether you love or hate Father John Misty’s style, there’s no denying his ability to draw attention through his unique, bizarre and tongue-in-cheek shtick.

This week he released a particularly memorable video for ‘Total Entertainment Forever’, from his new album Pure Comedy. The ludicrously strange, tripped-out clip begins with US President George Washington entering a virtual reality, in which Macaulay Culkin plays Kurt Cobain (stay with us). He then gets crucified by men in McDonalds-inspired costumes, who apparently represent “corporate fascists”. It needs to be seen to be believed.

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#5 Big Boi, ‘Kill Jill’ Ft. Killer Mike & Jeezy

One-half of Outkast, Big Boi has finally announced a new solo album, Boomiverse – his first since 2012. He’s come out guns blazing, dropping two new songs, ‘Mic Drop’ featuring Adam Levine and ‘Kill Jill’ featuring Run The Jewels’ Killer Mike and Jeezy.

In a nutshell, the track bangs. A heavy beat sets the tone, with verses from all three artists weaved into the hard-hitting instrumental. Each artist serves up a tone and flow that sounds so distinct, it really kicks the sound up to a whole new level… one that we’re looking forward to hearing more of when the album rolls around later this year.