Dan Condon: Sick Tunes, 28 March, 2014

Man, there are some sad songs around at the moment. Songs about people breaking up and cheating on each other and calling their ex-partner nasty names; it's not pleasant business at all. Thankfully this kind of harrowing emotional trauma can be channelled into really bloody good music and we get to listen to that while we sit back and laugh at all those people who haven't found complete emotional stability and utter happiness. Right?

No matter where you're at emotionally, these songs will make things better – either in a 'feel that feel' way or just cos they're really good – and music will once again save your damn life.

I'm doing fine, in case you were wondering.

CITIZEN KAY – Manage

I've already written about how great I think Canberra rapper Citizen Kay is and I think Manage could be the best of the handful of songs I've heard from him yet. This beauty of this song lies in its lack of complexity; Citizen Kay is a fucking great MC and he could pretty much spit anything and it's gonna sound good. The lyrics here aren't going to win him any poetry awards, they're kinda teenage diary material – but popular music is full of teenage diary stuff and when it's done well, it doesn't matter how simple it is.

It's as simple as boys meets girl, they break up, it's not a big deal but it's way messier than it should be – we've all been there, and, if you haven't, then you must be a robot. If you've ever been called a cunt after a relationship ends and you didn't deserve it, then you'll probably understand what's going on in this tune.

VELOCIRAPTOR – Ramona

Yep, I'm stoked to see Velociraptor back in action, though I didn't miss them all that much because Jeremy Neale has been working at a stunning pace with his solo material and – and here's the real hot tip – surf band Teen Sensations who I think are the best band in Brisbane right now.

Ramona sounds like you'd expect a new Velociraptor tune to sound after they've had 18 months of not much activity; the hooks are powerful, the energy is palpable and things have changed just enough to grab our attention. Neale is a better songwriter than ever and he's getting closer to hitting a point where he ends up making quite complex songs sound simple, rather than making simple songs sound simple.

Fitting with today's theme, it's a song about love gone sour, about a ladyfriend who can't help but inflict misery upon our protagonist, texting other fellas when he takes her on a date, eventually making old mate scared of her.

Who knows how this will sound with half the population of Brisbane onstage playing it and after we've had a few hundred beers. This recording sounds pretty bloody excellent though.

TODD TERJE – Johnny & Mary [Ft. Bryan Ferry]

Two nights ago I was tweeted by Australian Internet Celebrity and all-round nice fellow Cook Suck, asking my opinion on the work of the great Robert Palmer.

@doncandon what's your general opinion on robert palmer ?

— Cook Suck (@CookSuck) March 26, 2014

Despite my perhaps insolent response, I think the work of this great artist needs to be celebrated more – he's one of those artists from my childhood who you can never really figure if they're cool or not, because everyone's individual barometers are so differently calibrated when it comes to nostalgic acts like this.

I was pretty shocked then to hear that Todd Terje – the guy I've been told is “the hippest guy in dance” – released a cover of the brilliant 1980 track Johnny And Mary with none other than Bryan Ferry on vocals and even more shocked to hear that it ruled pretty damn hard.

It's gloomy as hell, far bleaker than the original, and the kind of thing you should probably listen to when reflecting on the good old days before you make some kind of ludicrously huge life decision. Terje has gorgeously recreated the song to make it sparkle in 2014 and Ferry is the perfect choice to deliver the indistinct tale about a couple clearly moving apart. Listen to it when it's raining.

If you want to hear more Robert Palmer covers, there was a show on E! recently that saw a few artists cover the amazing Simply Irresistable, one of the great pop songs of the '80s. 

Kyla La Grange – The Knife

I don't know what “blood stained tears on your chest” means, but it sounds pretty full on. I do know what “Our love is never what it was” means (maybe from personal experience, maybe not) though.

This second single from British singer Kyla La Grange, which appeared online yesterday, has this beautiful juxtaposition of Jamaican steel drums (which rarely signal anything but fun and good times, I've found) with LA Grange's rather displeased exultation to a (hopefully) jilted lover who has done her wrong. What a dick.

The track isn't out until May, but in Australia La Grange has just released her first song Cut Your Teeth and it's another pretty nice cut of modern pop that you can hear below.

Super sweet stuff.

Be sure to drop me a tweet this week, it'll make you feel good.