Song reviews

What’s an indie folk band supposed to do in these troubled times? Sing about broken toasters it would seem and “Bad Technology” by Lo-Fi Jones is full of ironic observations about our reliance on today’s technologies whilst rambling on down the road.

Loud and robust is the way to go for German rock band Untamed and “I Ain’t Gonna Do It” duly maxes out on muscular vocals, riffing guitars and straight down the line, attitude filled, lyrics. Music to make you drink beer.

Low key dreampop from Pjos with “Atlas” resonating with reverb and moody intent. The vocals are lost somewhere in the echo of wistfulness and nothing much else happens as the song sweeps over you. Atmosphere triumphs over song.

The sequencer looms large in “Leaves” but there is still enough room left for some melody, some decent lyrics and some almost laconic female vocals. No doubt about it, Close to Monday are a band whose river runs deep. Cool enough for me.

Ok. “Leather Jacket” is an unashamedly commercial song and Emma Zinck is indeed Nashville based yet it is hard to deny the radio friendly singalong all the way to chorus appeal of this song. Nice guitar work too so all boxes are duly ticked.

Hannah Stow takes a reflective stance throughout her song “In The Dark” and, in making her words sound almost cathartic, will likely catch the ears of the broken hearted. The backing is suitably minimalist right up until the fade to black.

A casually paced song that gives plenty of room for the lyrics to take form, “Underachiever” might well encourage you to think of Lorna as a seventies style storyteller reborn into our, rather more dystopian, times. Think and it is.

More locked to the lop sequencer action from Sohodolls with maximum robotic assistance in the low frequencies. Rather sweet female vocals add a suitable counterpoint to the rumblings below and “Napoleon Bay” will get your foot tapping.

Nineties rock with elements of grunge from Canadian band Idle Lane and their song “Raid” features all the bad attitude that you might expect. Guitars aplenty and robust female vocals keep the groove going like yesterday once more.

Sometimes you get the melancholy and sometimes the melancholy gets you and The Howlin’ Gales have certainly got the melancholy with “Slow Dancing” rolling like an album track from the tour bus rock of the seventies. One for that last dance.

“Heard It All Before” neatly illustrates that NATI has what it takes to go all upbeat and festival friendly. The song has what it takes to take the listener all the way to the bridge with a whistle stop at the singalong chorus. It’s a good one.

Endearing in that fragile way that the better singer songwriters seem to specialise in, Hannah Scott swirls the heartfelt words into “Bigger Than My Body” to make an emotional sponge cake that sensitive souls will want to eat.