Solidly angular, Death Sells prowl the punk shadows with their song “MF”. I can hear guitars. I can hear anger. I can hear the voice of a woman on a mission. I will feel this song more if I turn the volume up. I do just that.
Energetic full on rock from Manchester’s We Three Kings and it would not be too much of a stretch to imagine “Get Back” being added to the jukebox of any establishment that serves beer. Just beer though. No cocktails.
It’s pretty much straight down the line rock from Electric Children although there is enough grungy untidiness and lyrical purpose in “Deceivers” to remind you that keeping it real works a lot more often than not.
No idea where Berenice is from but, if I close my eyes, I can hear that she has ingested some Nashville style polish and “Little Red Heart” duly spends its three minutes ticking all the right boxes to get commercial attention.
Pleasingly episodic, Qoya infuse their song “Timeless” with more than enough grunge and long form artistic posturing to induce visions of escaping shadows heading into the light. Full on guitars and relentless reverb fill in the gaps.
Ok. Not exactly sure what to make of this one. “Bells” swirls ambient style doodling in with some offbeat electro moves as the background to some arty lyrics that walk the line between meaningful and trippy. It’s the Jewel Scheme way.
Delicate, almost ethereal, in presentation, “Smultronblom och Vit Jasmin” provides more than enough proof that music can still be so entrancingly beautiful that it can touch the soul. Hansan make that happen for you. May they be blessed!
The Hector Collectors grunge up that Britpop groove and infuse it with their somewhat caustic mix of sarcasm and sentimentality to use “Bloasis” as a device to put a square peg into the round hole of nostalgia. Pure Podcast Princes!
No doubt out of fashion now but I can still work up some enthusiasm for some upbeat indie rock and Concrete Club definitely give us some of that with “Jackie Don’t Mind” bouncing along on sheer energy and an endearing dash of theatricality.
You know a song like “Nostalgia” is going to be too cool for school when the mix of robotic synthesisers and shadow driven intent makes you want to wear black and smoke cigarillos. VV and The Void made me want to smoke a cigarillo.
“In My Heart” is a somewhat awkward mix of musical influences and languages with that multi-cultural concoction seeming almost at odds with Chris Pellnat’s laconic vocal delivery and rock star guitar. Well intentioned, nonetheless.
A solid retro funk groove from Sally Green – and Kurupt – with lots of loops keeping the train dancing on the track and there’s even a halftime rap to keep the nineties soul boys happy. It’s old school but fresh if you know what I mean.
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