Song reviews

Never a band to waste your time, Seattle spunky punkers Pony time enlist Lisa Prank to front their sub two minute psychotic rant “Stop Talking”. Turn it right up and it’s 1978 all over again.

A downright reverential take on the old school synth pop style, “Beyond Memory” shows that the past is the new black and that Nina has the voice to make that post midnight feeling of déjà vu into something so right.

Reminiscent of peak period Ryuichi Sakamato, Fiordmoss successfully mix tribal and urban rhythms together with the result that “Madstone” sounds like a work of electro maturity. The haunting isolation of the female vocals add the organic touch.

Not sure if "Dukes Up" song is meant to be pastiche of the urban style but the robotic simplicity would suggest so even if the irony evident in Miss Krystle’s voice points at aggression rather than regression. Girls don’t just want to have fun, after all, and ambition, as always, is the new black.

“Moving Up” is a conventional and affectionate retake on the early days of melodic rock with Greeves, who are from Australia, throwing in enough additional grooviness to keep your ears happy.

Cool song from a cool French pop band conceptually about the second coolest man in the world (ever). The alternating male and female vocals add that certain je ne sais quoi to “Alain Delon” and make you wish you were either Alain Delon or in the band. Love is blue.

Surprisingly robust for a song borne of the folk genre, “Fayre” steers clear of the expected twee romanticism and substitutes instead David Webster’s vocal pyrotechnics as the means to impress the listener. That turns out to be a very wise choice indeed.

The chilled backing track to “Year of Valor!” highlights the hypnotic power of the sequencer but it is Maryam Sadeghian’s voice that add the necessary emotion to take the song out of the shadows and into the sunshine.

“So Natural” is everything but that yet credit must be given to Saigo for taking the opportunity to breakout from the sequenced imprisonment that is so often the trademark of the urban genre. The song is oblique in its presentation but there is enough jazz and Stevie Wonder seasoning to make it respectful of both the past and the present.

New York’s Nina Yasmineh clearly has more ambition than most singer songwriters and that works to the benefit of her song “Energy”. There’s plenty of anguish in her voice and that is complemented by some robust guitar work with the result having more than enough power to take the song deep into the city.

Although, on the face of it, “Swim” by Australian band Rigasaurus seems just another collection of the same old riffs weaved into a rock song format, it is saved from mediocrity by the distinctly theatrical vocals that add a disturbing sense of menace to the song.

“Memory Man” is a tidy song from a tidy British band called Juke Jaxon. There’s enough indie to make the song rock and enough soul to catch the attention of many an educated ear in search of atmosphere.