Song reviews

Let’s face it. “Solstice” is four minutes of lyrical irony ironically delivered in a downbeat and deadpan Glasgow manner. I don’t know if Popup have every Lou Reed album in their collection but I can bet that the students who listen to this will have. C’est végétarien!

An honest example of Scottish styled indie pop, “Live For Today” holds a steady course for its four minute duration with enough in the way of bounce and assured vocals to make the journey worthwhile. It’s a Stillway thing.

Still setting fire to those guitar strings is Patrik Jansson and “Feel Bad Boogie” provides more than enough proof that the blues rock genre still has some life in it. The feel is right and this song also makes you want to drink beer. That works for me!

Elegant and eloquent as ever, Nadine Khouri stays on the classy side of the street with her song “Vertigo” and, with the subtle arrangement allowing plenty of space for her voice to cast its spell, your ears will soon become hers forever. I sigh again.

It’s funny when you think of it. Bring Me The Hearts are a band from dear old England yet they do that super smooth west coast (of America) FM rock sound just like it should be done with sonorous female vocals and that mellow feel making me think of sunshine and sand.

Edgy to the point of being jumpy, Little Destroyer bang things together in the pursuit of passion, or at least the expression thereof, and sum it all up in three minutes or so. Call it “sucker4u” or call it a blunt object. It’s your ears.

There’s enough indie in Somebody’s Child’s song “Broken Record” to make you go all sentimental for those good old days when the song meant everything. Cian Godfrey has the voice to carry it off though and you will want to hear the song again. True.

Synthesiser powered introspection is almost fashionable these days and Marek Kubala duly tracks layers of sequenced intensity into his song “Godspeed”. This isn’t one for a pub singalong but, if downbeat is your thing, add it to your playlist.

Ah, the voice of the computer as seen from the corner cubicle of a coffee shop with the processed emotions resonating within “Running in Circles” neatly illustrating that Pony Girl are a product of our times. Just listen and all will become dark.

Brooding is the best way to describe “Peace Out” by Katrina Ford. Loops run through the song but Ms. Ford heads right into the freeform artistic equivalent to torment in order to breathe reality into her words. Not catchy but substantial, if you get my drift.

Glasgow’s Hound go all Weezer with their power pop song “Take Off” and successfully supply all the melody and singalong choruses that such a musical adventure requires. Then they take it to the bridge and it’s all hooks and ladders baby.

Chicks on Speed take their song “CRISPR” for a long walk on the quirky side of the street. No idea what those right of the crackerjack box lyrics mean but they add a welcome degree of weirdness to the locked to the loop beats. Shang-A-Lang!