Song reviews

Oh, she’s Canadian. Not that it really matters as Stacey has clearly targeted Aimee Mann territory with her song “First Move” and scores valuable points for a confident and pleasing voice that lasts longer in the memory than the song that brought her to my attention.

So you have a London based rock band (called Kill For Eden) with some forthright female vocals and you have a song (called “Woke Up Alone”). What do you get when you put them together? Something rather more theatrical than you would expect of a rock band these days even if you wish they were just a bit more dangerous.

Pleasingly old-fashioned – and I mean that in a good way – Ian Thompson takes the feel good early seventies vibe and applies it liberally to his song “Inspiration” with the result being basically uplifting. That’s a nice thing to be in these dark days

Viniloversus turned out to be a Venezuelan band although their neatly polished song “Disintegrate Me” suggests overwhelming influences from the better parts of the good old US of A. Nonetheless this is a good commercial career move and a good commercial song with enough style to make it stand out from the crowd.

The downbeat vocals make “Sniper” something of a Monday morning song but Selfoss add enough eighties style meandering synths to keep your ears interested for the four minute plus running time.

Taking a rather laconic approach to the much loved, and usually upbeat, guitar pop format, Laughed The Boy stride purposely through their song “Indifferent” on their way to the Emerald City.

Wholesome, as all practitioners of Americana seem destined to be, Norway’s Darling West make a sonorous sound with their song “The Sweetest Tune” with only Mari Sandvær Kreken’s perfect diction hinting that this band is a product of somewhere other than the dustbowls of the good old US of A.

“Company of Thieves” turns out to be the kind of pop song that people might actually want to buy with Georgie’s robust vocals adding both an offbeat charm and the structural strength to hold the whole thing together. I want to be in her band.

I can’t say that rock music is my thing but Littermouth do seem to have more than adequately grasped the requirements of the genre with “Breathe” stretching out to well over seven minutes of masculine vocals, pounding drums and fiery guitars. It is, however, a song that grows on you.

Whilst many might regard “17” as just another example of the urban soul genre, it is nonetheless abundantly obvious that Sydney Raynee has the voice of a soul songstress and her song consequently proves spiritually uplifting. She has class and that’s a fact.

Although the intro to “Brother Jonathan” would suggest that discord is on the menu, Glenn Meling instead provides evidence that he is a downbeat crooner at heart. One for your Auntie Joan, perhaps?

I’m pretty sure that “Weetabix & Wine” is meant to be ironic yet Harri Larkin perform it with all the niceness of well brought up boys and girls. That may well be the true irony as making things seem what they are not is the sign of true talent.