Song reviews

Wisely sticking to her chosen style selection of urban r&b, Anya Vincent updates the sound of the bling times to now with some rather sharper words on the true intent and value of “Money”. She’s on the right track.

Almost minimalist in approach, Mathis Akengin hits the style road with his song “Mer D-Hiver” for company and heads for the sunset. The song swirls in circles but does so in a manner that could easily be described as cinematic. That’s cool.

There are strong echoes of the heyday of synth pop to be found in “Cutting Losses” and Sin Cos Tan duly decorate their loops with their own, very reverential, mix of theatricality and dawn of a new day melancholy.

You don’t really expect a British band to have soul these days but Mamas Gun certainly have soul with their song “Food For The Flames” hitting all the right old school soul notes just as if they were born back in the seventies.

Kummipojat demonstrate a very respectable amount of energy in the execution of “Kalervo Palsa” with vocals that throw caution to the wind and enough in the way of post punk influences to add a distinct edge to the song.

Pleasantly sung, “Secret Medicine” is just the kind of song that would fit right into the end credits of a commercial television series. Silva Emilia plays it safe with this song but makes it work anyway.

Some songs just seem designed to be described as insistent and “Drink The First Light” is one such song. As polished as Adam Ross has become, he still knows how to put a song into drive and aim it straight at the dawn.

There’s a song hiding somewhere in “Do It For Me” by Pink Stiletto but, when it comes down to it, we are all prisoners of the dancefloor so there will be no escape for us from those floor filling beats and over lacquered vocals.

Whilst Mathilde Widding is from Norway, she sounds like she should be from somewhere much warmer as her song “Good Grief” resonates with the sound of the soul music of the noughties. Confident vocals keep the song on track.

Emoting her way through the shadows is HAIVE and her song “Bathtub” loops its way through a pond of emotional intensity with the winds of yesterday eventually taking things out on to the dancefloor. One for the cool kids methinks.

Usually a band with power on permanent supply,” Living in Slow Motion” is instead a rather restrained and serious song that shows that Glasgow’s Red Lite District can engage a reflective gear when they have to.

That retro synth pop sound powers “My Life’s Solid” and Swiss band Lone Assembly do a decent job of replaying the broody and bleak sound of yesterday with the male vocals adding a much needed dose of drama to the mix.