Resident sonic tastemaker DJ Conor Behan has hand picked the top music you need to listen to in December’s Soundbytes

Little Mix continue to shine this month on the breezy, joyful break-up bop Shout Out To My Ex. In a chart landscape littered with chorus-free covers and acoustic warblers, it’s a rare burst of bubblegum fun.

Charli XCX serves up the biggest earworm of an already stellar pop career with After the Afterparty. The deceptively simple hook reminds you of XCX’s knack for a big chorus.

Clean Bandit rope in Sean Paul and Anne Marie for one of the year’s most gleefully over-the-top pop tunes, Rockabye, an Ace of Base-style floor-filler.

French DJ Boston Bun makes a swing for the pop big leagues with Get Into It, a ’90s-inspired club anthem, featuring Eurovision sweetheart Loreen delivering a pop tune that feels both instant but strange enough to stand out from the pack.

Tinashe continues to be one of pop’s most underrated talents. The R’n’B star is a writer, producer, dancer and performer of much merit and on mixtape Nightride she shows off a moody side while her second official album languishes in label purgatory.

Irish duo We Cut Corners impress greatly on third album The Cadences of Others, mixing soaring harmonies with earnest, sharp songwriting and a verve that shows their sound has only gotten more and more developed.

Queer pop songwriter Tom Aspaul is creating his own niche as a pop force in his own right. Aspaul’s new EP Left shows that alongside landing tunes with Aluna George and Kylie, his own material is equally stellar, combining R’n’B and club-flecked pop ideas with aplomb.

Another queer voice of note debuts a stellar EP this month. Leo Kalyan builds on online buzz with ease on Outside In, a moody alternative pop opus that creates a sense of depth that eludes most albums, with just five tracks.

Have a listen to Conor’s December Soundbytes playlist on Spotify below.