Okay, it took me two plays – but I’m onside with Sparro’s latest, ‘I Wish I Never Met You’. First time round: Hmmm. Second time: The sun came out and I was up in the ether. Fair dues, this, the second single from SS’s forthcoming album Return to Paradise (out this June), is hardly a quantum leap on from his—admittedly sublime and rather fantastic—debut, but so what. This kind of gorgeousness doesn’t just grow on trees.

Where Sparro’s initial 2008 material was at least a third enthralled to earliest Prince, this time around, at least on the strength of “I Wish I’d Never Met You”, he’s shifted sideways into that parallel dawn of the ‘80s electronic soul-funk groove. The classic but all too often overlooked days and thrills of SOS Band and Chaka Khan, which, by introducing conspicuous electronics into soul and funk’s ready-made form, led the way from disco’s end into the beginnings of Chicago house.

NPR Music has posted a recent concert of Spiritualized as an entire listening session along with a six “featured videos”. The concert was recorded 10 May at the Washington D.C. venue 9:30 club—a nice mid-sized space with a standing only capacity of 1,200. Sure it’s not the same as being there, but these fly on the wall opportunities allow fans to check out a band’s performance style. Looking at the footage, you not only witness the nuances in the songs presented and how they vary from the produced tracks, but also the interactions of various band members, even if it’s just on a screen. The audio stream provides the entire show, over two hours of live music to indulge in right at home or work if such things are allowed.

Here the theatrics of a psychedelic light show cut across the blackened stage with frontman Jason Pierce (a.k.a. J. Spaceman) and his back up singers all dressed in white. Pierce’s voice is raw and gravely, as he plays guitar while standing behind a mike stand in black sunglasses. While there may not be much movement by those on stage, waves of emotion pour out in the music. Most of the set list are from Pierce’s latest release, Sweet Heart Sweet Light, a personal collection of alt rock anthems full of triumph as well as serious songs revealing doubts about our limited time on earth.

Last year PopMatters’ Chris Conaton said of LA’s Leftover Cuties, “If you’re bored with Adele’s retro soul and Mumford and Sons’ take on Americana, Leftover Cuties may have the next throwback sound you’re looking for: 1930s vocal jazz. And like those acts, they do their thing quite well.” Well, I’m a sucker for ‘20s and ‘30s music and vocal jazz and, in fact, it might be just about my favorite era for popular music, so this band hits all my sweet spots. Lead singer Shirli McAllen captures that coy but sexy, sophisticated but a rather saucy style of the ‘20s/‘30s chanteuses, while contemporizing the approach enough to make her a possible indie poster girl.

Following last year’s Places to Go, Leftover Cuties have just released a covers EP, Departures featuring takes on tunes by Etta James, Coldplay, Lady Gaga and more. On the video, we are premiering today, the band performs Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”, which is also available on the EP.

Bloody hell! Either the news that Daniel Miller is playing synths on this just made my laptop crash in climax, or Richard X was midi’ing via the espresso machine when he remixed this one. Either way, mid-paced is not a word to be bandied around this skew on Poppy & the Jezebels’ new single.

Out a week ahead of the official single release, this, the “Richard X Meets Larry Least Remix” of the first new music from Poppy & the Jezebels in too long, is a belter. Somewhere between Suicide on happy pills and some ADHT kid dunking ringtones in Red Bull, “Sign In, Dream On, Drop Out” is just the kind of pop joy thing we need on Mondays.

This Vincente Minnelli-directed Lerner and Loewe movie musical is often considered the last great big screen MGM musical production. Gigi was literally star-studded all the way, from behind the scenes to the big name actors listed on the marquee. The legendary Arthur Freed produced—also his last great film—and Andre Previn conducted the orchestra, with the incomparable Alan Jay Lerner penning the screenplay and the song lyrics with music by Frederick Loewe.