Song reviews

“Hey There Cowgirl” shows that Palm Springsteen have mastered brooding old school synth pop and have also added enough modern day attitude to make the song seem far more muscular than is the norm in these compromised days. Crank it up!

At last a singer with a passion for what she is doing. Nuela Charles has the confidence and old school style to get her message across which makes her song “Long Way Down” an essential part of your healthy diet. Your ears will thank you for this one.

“Lemonade” does indeed have some fizz – and some fuzz – and provides the necessary proof that the ghost of nineties rock is more than happy to haunt a band of today like Nikki’s Wives. The strength is in the female vocals and it’s retro all the way.

Almost organic in feel, “Happier Now” has the lilting vocals and acoustic guitar from the folk music of a former generation but native Harrow has added words of timeless appeal. The result may sound retro but the song in undeniably easy on the ear.

It would seem that “Wide Awake” by Phonettes is the work of a film composer so it is no surprise that the song succeeds in creating atmosphere from analogue synth sounds, laidback vocals and steady thematic development. The maturity shines through.

A man who has not forgotten the power and necessity of melody, Rob Snarski takes a walk on the lounge side with his song “All God’s Creatures”. Fortunately, class is always where it is at and this is a song with class stamped all over it.

Probably too low key and moody to have dance floor appeal, Loi Loi’s “Sliver Light” is still a child of sequenced rigidity and duly demonstrates why the songs of this synth pop duo will sound so much better after dark.

Showing a mastery of the ethereal comes easily to Alice Phoebe Lou and “Galaxies” further strengthens her position as a poet in the popular music pantheon. The drifting melody and trippy tone somehow make this song seem curiously sonorous too.

Worshipping Weezer (probably) isn’t a crime and Bony Macaroni are certainly guilty of such adoration with their song “France” bursting out of the speakers like songs did when retro was new. Nonetheless, a song as boisterous and upbeat as this screams summer at me.

I don’t know if this song by Drinking Boys and Girls Choir signifies some sort of skater boy revival but “National Police Shit” is what it is – frenetic, raucous, straight to the point and, surprisingly, from South Korea. Another one to enjoy at maximum volume.

No idea what rebellious youth might actually sound like in these corporate compliance days but I would hope that it something as noisy and full of attitude as “Coal In Your Window” by Skye Wallace. Turn it up and enjoy!

Now this is more like it. Offbeat and persuasive to the point of being hypnotic, Grace Acladna stirs in enough of something different to appeal to the arthouse crowd while still being close enough to the mainstream to touch the adventurous section of the urban audience.