Song reviews

“Cold Shoulder” might well be downbeat and somewhat old fashioned in style but Glasgow’s Barbary Coast have got what it takes to get the song into second gear and out on to the highway with extra credit due to Craig Rodger for treating the lyrics like they were Shakespeare.

Although from Canada, Second Rate Brain’s frenetic song “Animal Thoughts” sounds more like the kind of band that you might have heard on American college radio in the eighties. The guitar, as you might expect, leads the song into battle.

Like some spectre, Sheila K Cameron sings from the ether and her song “Goodbye Baby Blues” moves from nowhere to somewhere with the kind of spiritual precision more akin to the French chanson style while the multiple tempo shifts subtly suggest underlying torment.

With a voice that exudes both spirit and poise, Yaara Levi waltzes her way through “Eretz Ktana Im Safam” like some sixties soulful songstress whilst the offbeat jazzy arrangement ensures that the song stays in your head. Pure quality.

A power pop song by any other name would sound as sweet and Bones Garage stamp their commercial sensibilities all over “Birthmarks”. The tempo changes add the necessary variety but it the voice that leads the song forever forward.

The middle of the road can be a very nice place to be especially if you are listening to a band like Polaris Rose. Endearing boy-girl vocals and some spirited guitar make “TigerBait” very easy on the ear.

I hesitate to call anything stylish these days but The Bohos are likely to cause an outbreak of finger snapping whilst smoking French cigarettes and “The Leaders Don’t Love You” gains substance from both sharp lyrics and vocal performance.

Even in Turkey they love the past or so it would seem from Cagri Raydemir’s song “Plastic Cirque”. There is a hint of Bowie to his voice and a whole lot of seventies rock guitar to take it to the proverbial bridge. Such things never go out of fashion.

Possessed of a more than respectable voice, Kit strides purposefully through her song “How Hard” with all the conviction of a woman determined to stand out from the crowd. Well worth a listen.

Hitting the protest road again, Cause of Accident plunder the eighties for the musical motivation the keeps their song “Designs” rolling inexorably forward toward the moral high ground. Nonetheless, it’s good to hear a band that sings about something other than themselves and, as a bonus, you can even sing along with this one.

High on wistful melancholy, Lee Eller makes her song “Angel” more self-discovery than mere entertainment. Her voice suits the song well and the sparse musical support leaves plenty of space for reflection.

Country music isn’t really rebel country these days so Jake McVey wisely keeps “Y’All Girls” on the right side of the road that always leads to Nashville with his robust voice adding to the unmistakeable radio friendliness of the song.