Song reviews

Like all good men who have the blues in their soul, Ben Hemming takes the journey down to the crossroads with his song “Praise Me” and cuts a deal that puts him on the road to redemption. No surprises there, but his heart is undeniably in the right place.

This one is distinctly creepy – as anything to do with clowns always is – with a brooding, heavily processed rap rolling down the road whilst holding hands with looped rumblings of synthetic origin. Of course it’s theatrical. It had to be.

Curiously dropping some nearly normal musical moves into the metal onslaught that is “Chokehold”, Druid strut their strident and muscular stuff like a band whose influences go further and louder than the rock pantheon. My ears doth bleed.

An Australian punk band reinterpreting the hit grunge sound of nineties with the emphasis changed to the ironic? That’s Crash & The Crapenters for you and “Depression” does just like it says on the tin. It’s a satirical thing.

Various elements of discord are combined to make “Dorothea Tanning” into a song that manages to migrate a degree of wistfulness into the land of the loops. Boudicca's Bass Service might well be quirky but that is no bad thing in my book.

There is something about blues rock that is unmistakably organic and “She Was A Wonder” by Saverio Maccne exemplifies that very quality with his guitar providing all the heat that is needed to ignite the fire beneath the song.

Some splendidly wry lyrics elevate “He’s My Man” out of the ordinary and, with a notable degree of style also evident, Luvcat takes us on an ironically enjoyable musical diversion. Not quite a gothic murder ballad but it’s got the same postcode.

Emoting like she is on a mission for the mascara Gods, Raven Numan injects enough crushed beating heart sentiments and looped beats in to “Just A Number” to transform it into something that is not just another silly love song.

“Havarie” is a neat and tidy reminder of the appeal of the sequencer as Timbeau engages the retro drive to take his song through a time tunnel back to days of German synth pop world domination. That’s still kind of cool though.

It’s probably a French thing but Creve Coeur do a stylish job of keeping their runaway train song “Vertige Noir” on the tracks for over five guitar fuelled minutes while still seeming like they are ready to go off the rails at any moment. Wicked.

A bleak bit of old style synth pop from Close To Monday with their song “Only Man” mixing mood destroying analogue synth sounds in with downbeat female vocals to good effect. If your feelings of isolation wear black then this one is for you.

Claudia Balla knows what makes a modern day pop song and “Normal People” duly keeps thing solidly in the loop with lyrics fuelled by disaffection and isolation but suitably sugar coated to go down well with a cappuccino.