With all the spectacular weather that we’ve had in May, the British festival summer is well and truly under way. Leeds alone has thrown its annual music extravaganza with Live At Leeds over the first bank holiday weekend, followed by the impressive Gold Sounds festival at the Brudenell Social Club a fortnight later.

READ MORE: Live At Leeds 2018 review

Lots of praise has been deservedly lavished on Donald Glover’s new Childish Gambino single ‘This Is America’, focussing mainly on its excellent video, which has propelled it to the top of the American charts. The other major talking point in music this May has obviously been the long-awaited Arctic Monkeys album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which has decidedly split their huge and dedicated fanbase. You can see what we made of it by reading our review here.

Big new tracks from artists with albums coming up later in 2018 include British dance duo Disclosure, who gave us a new track ‘Ultimatum’, a collab with Malian artist Fatoumata Diawara, from a prospective third studio LP. Following the huge success of Chaleur Humaine a few years back, Christine & The Queens also teased a new single, ‘Girlfriend’, under the name of Chris for this second record. Grime trailblazer Skepta released a new track, ‘Pure Water’, lining up a sequel to his Mercury-winning Konnichiwa album; acclaimed British punk band Idles released a scintillating newbie titled ‘Colossus’; and American star Anderson .Paak delivered a new track ‘Bubblin’’. Finally, for those with long memories, British ‘90s dance legends Orbital detailed a first album in six years, with the grimly appropriate title for 2018 Monsters Exist.

Anyway, it’s time for our monthly round-up playlist, in which you can catch up with all the best new tracks released during the month of May 2018.

Happy listening!