Song reviews

No matter how you look at it, Dave Arcari and only an acoustic guitar is a formidable combination with “Givers & Takers” showing that, even with the volume turned down and his whisky glass empty, he can turn a few words into a message for us all. That’s the blues, for sure.

Swedish pop music with female lead vocals and solid American style influences might perhaps sound unappetising but there is singalong ear candy aplenty within the bounds of Trolleberg’s song “Constipated”.

Using the power of sequenced repetition almost to excess, Illyin Pipes exorcise the ghost of urban ennui with a drifting female voice and thus provide the soul to take this song out of the bedsit and into the Subaru of life.

Dawa are to be commended for the understated elegance that drives their minimalist indie folk song “Put It Away” forward although it is likely that the tastemakers will pass it by for that very same reason.

“Best Me” manages to sound so familiar that you think you must have heard it before. However, I’m not sure if Davies was attempting such a deliberate irony or just trying to sound like the rest of the mainstream pack.

A pleasingly melodic song, Little Geronimo’s “Change” proves that indie rock American style is a hell of a lot more interesting than indie rock UK style. Sure, the guitars still cascade in lines that are straight but you can, at very least, sing along to this one whilst halted at the traffic lights of life.

“Beautiful” by Los Angeles band Tokyo may be the kind of song that is light as a summer breeze yet there is something enchanting about these plastic coated escapees from the dancefloor that leads even the cynical towards thoughts of better times.

“Crazy Idea” is the kind of super commercial song that makes the country charts these days with just enough pedal steel on show to turn Jessica Lynn into the pickup truck princess of choice for the next few years.

Sounds more like musclebound indie rock than anything else, “Murder Ballad” nonetheless has more than enough hints at unhealthy pursuits to persuade non-believers that worship of this Sheffield band is worthwhile. Vultures is their name (before you ask).

Clearly unafraid to wear her heart on her sleeve, Katey Morley makes much more of a point than most with her song “Good Little Girls”. She’s more than just heart though with some sharp words making their way through the mix to provide the payload for this big bang song.

As decidedly retro as the style gurus of synth pop decree, Night Drive still manage to inject enough emotion into their song “Rise And Fall” to make that late night journey across town in your BMW worthwhile.

On first acquaintance, you might find yourself ready to dismiss “I’ve Told Lies” as just the product of another white girl trying to squeeze into the confines of the urban genre but Dani Le Rose instead exudes more the scent of the adventurous than the avaricious.