Song reviews

Now this one works! “The Way That I Feel” is propelled forward by a retro electropop engine and features lyrics that are little more than a chant yet such is the energy generated by GGOOLLDD that you can’t help but sing along.

The retro safe gets blown again and all those plastic eighties beats are, once more, on their way to that dodgy street corner pawn shop to be exchanged for a hit. L.A.D. are, however, notably better than most musical thieves with some dynamic female vocals adding that special sparkle to “Dance Floor.

Making the urban streets of today burn with seventies soul style, passion and purpose is a challenge but Kadija Kamara is more than up to the job with her song “Eyes on You” striking straight at the heart of the matter.

“Scarlet Fever” plays with enough drama to be a country song yet it is so full of upbeat pop-rock energy that you can’t help but sing along and that’s more than enough reason to put Skye Wallace on my playlist for the week.

More electro pop from the chilled cupboards of Scandinavia but, this time, Norway’s Dagny sets out to be a rather more upbeat contender than her contemporaries with her song “Love You Like That” shaping up as nice example of the modern day pop song.

It’s not often that I get to use the words sweet and innocent in a review yet Mallrat’s song “Better” deserves to be described as such with this particular Australian singer songwriter managing to sound like the soundtrack to some long lost, and simpler, times.

If you have to do a cover then at least cover a song that needs the exposure. That’s what Cara Salimando has done with her version of “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” and, while the result is perhaps less brooding than the original, she is certainly walking down the same street.

The Rebel Light are the kind of band that sound like they were born and bred on the west coast of the USA (and it would appear that they actually were) and their song “Where Did All The Love Go” duly soars with the sun into soft rock territory.

Another downbeat instrumental that draws on the ghosts of its electronic origins to evoke the sound of the heartbeat of the past midnight city. The song makes you think of peak period John Carpenter movies and of the ghosts that hide in the shadows cast by the streetlights.

Background music isn’t supposed to be oppressive so that must make Uppermost’s “Make A Change” something different with this instrumental electronica making more of an impact than you would expect of the genre.

“Roses” does seem like an old fashioned rock ‘n’ soul song on the first acquaintance but give it some time for Alabama band Sergio & The Satin Dogs are just doing it like it should be done. Sometimes the old ways are indeed the best.

Rather more upbeat and energetic than you would expect of the current crop of super cool Scandinavian electropop, Vanja V keeps it both 100% Norwegian and dance floor friendly with “Alt Du Treng”. All you need indeed.