Song reviews

Distinctly hypnotic in the way that afro-beat is, Amadou & Mariam nevertheless stamp some class on to their song “Boufou Safou” with the curiously familiar riff driving the song back on to the dancefloor for one more spin.

Not quite the sound of revolution, Tokyo keep it simple and familiar all the way through “Like What I Like” and will therefore undoubtedly achieve just what they deserve to achieve.

When it comes to setting the mood, Softspot hits the - ahem – spot with “Habits”. Cue Sarah Kinlaw’s wistful voice drifting over the kind of minimalist song that cries out for recognition by the intelligentsia.

It seems the done thing for country singers from this side of the pond to go to Nashville and do their recording thing with Norway’s Hege Oversveen doing just that and the end result – her song “Get The Fuck Out” – chases Miranda Lambert in the telling it like it is department.

“Only You” appears, on first acquaintance, to be another example of lo-fi electronica but They Called Him Zone manage to inject a dream like space in to what is usually obsessional claustrophobia.

No one will accuse Girls in Synthesis of subtlety with “The Mound” proceeding at maximum volume through the cemetery of post punk. Exhume it all and throw it at the wall for these primitives will soon rule the world.

Glasgow’s The Rotations drift through their song “Schadenfreude” with reverb laden indifference as if tripping on nineties Mancunian influences has dragged them forever into a downbeat vibe. That said, if I were listening to this on my IPhone on the late night bus, I would surely miss my stop and end up at the depot.

If your tastes run to pleasingly oblique continental pop then "H!!! Hue H!!! Han" by Josy & The Pony vs. The Poneymen should suit you down to the ground and, while some may accuse our European friends of turning arthouse pretension into sugar coated ear candy, their manic charm prevails.

Thoughtful and redolent of the kind of soundtrack that you used to get attached to Hollywood movies of the early seventies, “From The Mouth of the City” exudes class and a certain jazzy elegance thus showing that Garden is full of flowers rather than weeds.

Pleasingly electro-retro in their approach, Canadian band Monarch step out with their song “Remember Me” and duly stomp their way into their three minutes – OK, four minutes and seven seconds - of well justified potential fame.

It would appear that Storm The Palace are from Edinburgh which might well explain the downbeat tone that threatens to overcome “DLR Dreaming” but the wistful female vocals save the day and, by the end, nearly steal my heart.

Whilst melancholic Nordic electro pop seems the way to go for Sigrid, “Don’t Kill My Vibe” also demonstrates that expressed emotion and taking it to the bridge big style will always lift the spirits of the listener.