Song reviews

It seems to have been a wistful week in the wide world of music and “Katrina” by Tiny Fighter therefore fits right into the current playlist. Americana flavoured this time, the balanced male and female voices give the song the emotional depth it needs.

Wistful melancholy is the way that Diamond Thug choose to go with their song “Aphotic Waters” and, while there are indeed synthetic elements to the band’s sound, the organic, if rather bleak, poetry of the lyrics shines through.

Power pop is pretty much designed to make you feel positive about the world and Norwegian band The Needs do not disappoint with “Summerbore”. The song sounds so American yet, with its infectious freneticism, it could only have come from somewhere else.

So full of elegant melancholy that the song has to be a product of Scotland, “Wholesale” nonetheless marks Broken Chanter out as a songwriter of some maturity with his finger on the stylistic pulse of these dark days.

Whilst clearly worshippers of retro synth sounds, Candy Says have not forgotten the value of a good pop song with “Crave Easy” utilising all the hypnotic power of sequenced loops to imprint itself onto your consciousness. Works for me!

A low key choice for a single perhaps but “Boom” has enough in the way of melody, scratchy guitar riffs and harmonious female vocals to keep your ears interested. Friedberg should generate some attention for themselves with this one.

Laidback is the way that Calle Hamre chooses to go with his ballad “Lovers Will Be Lovers” and it would not be difficult to imagine this song making its way on to the notoriously conservative playlists of mainstream radio. There’s even a guitar solo in there.

If you are going to do an emotionally meaningful ballad then you need a piano and Annie Drury duly does so. “You Took Me Dancing” is nothing if not conventional yet Ms. Drury shines as she balances emotion with eloquence. Classy!

Whilst those riffing chords are as you would expect of an alt-rock band, Birthday Girl show themselves to be capable of more and, with a sprinkling of psychedelic influences thrown in for good measure, they move “I Came Here To Eat” into the interesting category.

Revelling in the retro vibe, Fake Fake add more than enough of those old analogue synth sounds to make their song “Goodnightmare” seem like it could, with the help of a time machine, have been part of a radio station playlist back in the early nineties.

You can’t go far wrong with a mix of melancholy, a tunnel full of reverb and laconic female vocals and, with these ingredients, Little Night serve up a confection of emotion with their song “Last Night”. Throwing in a bit of rambling majesty on guitar allows this one to rattle your SUV.

Astrid Holiday has a distinctive voice and she uses it to good effect to deliver the necessary melodrama to make her song “Mirror” memorable. It is gratifying to find another singer who desires to sound different from the rest.