Song reviews

I thought I recognised her voice and it was indeed Cherrill Rae of eighties discolettes The Raes, Time has passed and she has now moved to the soul side of the street with her song “Since I Lost My Baby” reaching way past into the past for its musical goodness.

A rather enchanting song from Amy Duncan this time with “My Silver Net” drifting towards the folk song end of the musical spectrum before ending on a near jazzy note. That’s a sign of musical maturity to my ears and my ears are never wrong.

Dissolving dream pop into a cup of best guitar driven grunge like a band on a mission, The Money War nuzzle up against your common sense and duly make you wish that you could make the world a better place. “Hey Now” is therefore kind of uplifting in a fuzzy sort of way.

You can never have too much Americana although Grascals seem more country than most with their song “Heartbreak Hall of Fame” being replete with finger picking, cheating spouses and fried chicken. It’s wholesome and that’s the truth.

Nothing like a bit of moody electronic bleakness to start your day and Mirny Mine duly stirs up the black clouds with “Dream”. The song isn’t short of atmosphere however with the neo tribal chanting providing sufficient ear grabbing enchantment.

Once more into the past with the power punk irony of Weezer being resurrected by Bony Macaroni with their song “Piece of Shit”. Underachievement is spiritually back in fashion so this example of melody driven irony is pretty much a fashion item.

With a distinctive voice and no small amount of guitar talent, Jackie Venson neatly balances the conventional with the oddball to give her song “Cover My Eyes” the kind of hypnotising effect that leads the educated ears of the world to the record shop.

This is a good start to the weekend. It would seem that all is not polished perfection in the world of Scandinavian electro pop as Anna Karenina demonstrates with “Cat Got Your Tongue”. Filled with oblique theatrical flourishes, this is a song that will wake up your mind.

An intriguing mix of brooding electronica and ethnic influences, “Black Sea” seems more of an enchantment than a song with Tiger Lion hypnotically convincing us that all is not always as it seems. Classy, without a doubt.

Not one to chase mainstream appeal, Ashley Iona instead stamps a notable amount of class upon her song “Leaving” with the result being the kind of song that resonates. Some might call that an old school approach, but the truth is always, and always should be, real.

Even though the song runs to the best part of seven minutes, “Mandrel Cantus” sounds like it was meant to be longer with Jo Quail’s considered and elegant approach to music making clearly designed to entrance rather than immediately impress.

It’s not hard to guess that “Halflife” by Sandra Kolstad is yet another example of the uber cool Scandi electro pop genre but there is nonetheless enough complexity and quirkiness to get this song attention in both the sunshine and the shadows.