Song reviews

For a minute I thought I was going to dislike “Skeletor” by F.O. Machete but the supersoft vocals and cinematic swoop of the song convinced me that this band were more than capable of successfully mixing the enigmatic with mystical enchantment.

Peter Capaldi goes for retro eccentricity with his song “Is It Today”. Half sung and all drowned in reverb, he takes it to the bridge with all the verve that a respected thespian can and dives right into the river of artistic intent. Oddball it is.

In a distinctly light hearted and quirky way, Belgian band The Flemish Primitives dance their way through “Luckily I Don’t Look That Bad” with both humour and tempo shifts very much in evidence. A fun song from a fun band.

Going straight down the punk themed boulevard with the top down are Crash and the Crapenters. “All Geared Up” starts off like a lively weekend and then drops the tempo into the Monday morning blues (just like life).

Tora Luna make playful use of rhythm and quirky tempo changes to make their song “Wait For Spring” stand out from the crowd. That’s a rather organic, and worthy, approach to making music in these plastic coated days

If there is such a thing as a song filled with literate wistfulness then “Indentation of Life” would be it and Louise Connell skilfully loops her words in such a way as to capture the hearts of both the unwary and the forlorn.

Going all moody and misty are Oslo Twins and their song “I See Mountains” swoops and sweeps through mystical mountains made of loops and sorrowful synthesisers with the delicate female vocals triumphing over the melancholy.

In something of a stylistic about turn, Essex boys Bilk eschew their usual raucous behaviour in favour of an almost Britpop take on relationship matters with their song “Summer Days” reminding us that it’s always going to be cod and chips twice.

Taking the bus to the old school soul school is Austin band Honey Made with “Pass Me By” making the most of that post midnight mellow grove thang and, just as it should be, there are some super smooth vocals right on top.

“People” is barely more than a drum beat and some ranting vocals yet The Legless Crabs nonetheless demonstrate that having a minimalist post punk ethos and using insistent repetition is enough to get a song out of the gutter.

“Double Blind” sounds like a serious song should and, with a combination of piano driven melancholy and emotion driven vocals, Tinvis have little trouble in making this song into a soundtrack for the shadows.

Indie rock from Finland? Bad Sauna appears to be just that and their song “Voittajan ainesta” duly makes the most of both guitars and oh so laconic vocals to keep this band heading in the right direction. Interesting.