Song reviews

There is always a place in my heart for a proper pop song and Pattern Pusher duly push all the right buttons with their Britpop influenced sugary confection “Shakey”. This is a song that makes the world a better place.

An odd mix of synthetic and real, “Splash The World With your Colours” almost sounds different but doesn’t quite gel as a song with Jhenni’s voice sounding more like the result of technical tinkering than the real thing.

Bleak and distinctly retro, Danish electro poppers Sparkling successfully add enough arthouse pretension to get them playlist attention in the better coffee shops throughout the land and duly keep “Say Goodbye To The Ragged Tiger” one shot ahead of a latté.

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.