Song reviews

Meandering through the world of lo-fi and low key indie pop comes easily to Meija with his song “Buttons” being an appealing reminder that minor key melancholy can be a satisfying way to pass three minutes or so of your life.

Modern day pop music is, almost by definition, a synthetic thing and, duly, NOA ticks all the looped to the machine style boxes with “Hypocritical” but she still takes the time to add emotional depth to the lyrics and thus enhances the song’s memorability.

Sounding like a throwback to the better times at the end of the urban funk era does Rhymes no harm at all and, with the polished sensuality of Summer Dennis stealing hearts out front, their song “Storm” makes for a tasty musical snack.

“Take My Soul” is the kind of song that seems possessed by a moody mysticism with the understated approach taken by Pinero|Serene exerting a greater control of your attention than you might otherwise have expected.

Locking it to the loop again are Thandii but the wistful femininity of the vocals neatly counterpoints the sterility of the rhythm track and duly turns their song “Tides” into something deeper, darker yet still coffee shop friendly.

There is always room in my playlist for more Nordic electropop and Fushia justify their place by squeezing in enough ironic reflections from modern music to make “Gold” wryly amusing in an anti-fashion statement kind of way.

Looping the retro vibe in with copious amounts of modern technology works out pretty well for Pink Roses and their song “Westside” manages to hold their low key mood in gear all the way until the sand fades into the sunset.

Old school in a good way, Plants show himself to be more than capable of infusing his song “Fervent Devise” with such good old fashioned attributes like hook and melody. Throw in a guitar solo – as he does – and it’s FM radio all the way.

Taking their song “Wrong Hands” for a walk on the wistful side of the street are Norwegian band Secret Treehouse yet there is more to this song than indie pop pretensions as the insistent beat easily takes the pretty female vocals all the way to the bridge.

Giving those old analogue synth sounds another spin round the block are Cutrone with their song “Summerland” exuding both the eighties post-romantic vibe and stylised laconicism. It might well be bleak, but the song is not without a certain poetic appeal.

It probably seems unusual to comment on a band sounding natural these days, yet it is what it is and Loudmammoth sound appealing natural as their downbeat post punk motivations drive their song “Let Go” onwards and upwards.

Formerly an inhabitant of the deeper end of the indie rock pool, Unquiet Nights have now aimed themselves at a more mature and mainstream rock audience with their song “Four Winds” being both memorable and successful in its festival friendly aims.