Song reviews

Although somewhat sluggish in the rhythm department and heavy handed in the guitar department, Misun – from Washington DC – have just enough oddball charm to get “After Me” to the finish line. The underlying appeal, however, is in the edgy paranoia of the lo-fi female vocals.

Pleasingly insistent, Austrian electro pop duo Leyya have learned lessons from the dancefloor and applied them to their song “Superego” with the laconic female vocal easily exceeding the click track in emotion.

The cynical amongst you might regard “Take It Back” as an attempt at attaining indie credibility but is it wrong that Liza Anne has crossed the road and made it to the coffee shop? I hazard a guess that fans of Sara Bareilles will think not. Two sugars in mine, please.

A gloriously anarchic song that revels in its guitar thrashing punk roots, “Sick Of This Shit” kicks the man mercilessly in such an infectious way that you want to put on your best Doc Marten boots and join in the fun. We should have more elections so that we can all sing along to their tune. I would vote for that.

“Black Swan” takes a bit too long to get going but there is enough dramatic swagger in the lady’s voice to suggest a better arrangement would transform the potential of Astrid’s Tea Party brand of moody and downbeat electro pop.

Whilst the song is basic four on the floor rock, London band Chinese Missy, with “Blood On Your Hands”, nonetheless show that they are capable of both a spirited performance and going large on those guitars. That works for me.

No idea why this song took so long to cross the pond but the verdict is the same now as it would have been then. Palaye Royale rough it up like young guys with a Rolling Stones fixation should and turn “Get Higher” into brown sugar so, and you know what’s coming next, let yourself go.

I’m sure they would really like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony but perhaps not today as Not Right have taken to stage instead with a, lyrically economical, post punk political rant called “Tory Scum”. You can, no doubt, guess their musical direction but at least they have stood up and been counted.

Suitably intense and sincere, Aubrey Whitfield does what singer songwriters do when they get a band behind them and “Every Cloud” is therefore stamped with confidence and calculated mainstream appeal. The song, however, fails to match the effort that has gone into making it acceptable to the masses.

Clearly possessed of lyrical integrity, Kerchief takes emotional confusion and reflections on life asset acquisition as the fuel for her song “Milk & Honey”. Her musical influences are more urban than, say, Ani DiFranco but she has the same strength of character. One to watch, perhaps.

Pleasingly skewed towards the house of art, Vienna Ditto show that there is more to electro pop than just locking it to the beat with singer Hatty Taylor sparking the match that sets “Oh Josephine” on fire and sends it off to burn the nightclub down to the ground.

Determinedly time travelling, Axis/Orbit right click on the past and send their song “Riot Canal” meandering off on a journey through the land of the psychedelic instrumental with only a short visit to krautrock city diverting them from guitar solo nirvana. Alternatively, they could just get their collective hair cut and join the army.