Song reviews

Whilst clearly of the sensitive singer songwriter persuasion, Queenfish & Other Tales – aka Ewa Wikström - takes a more thorough approach than normal with “Dive In” being both emotive and elegantly arranged and Ms Wikström’s voice hitting just the right balance between melancholy and dignity.

A rambling yet appealing seventies style rock song, “All Returns”  shows Wolf People to be a band in awe of a past that was, in all probability, gone before they were even born.  However, the male vocal makes the most of obvious folk influences and, with skilled musicianship bringing up the rear, the result is pleasingly atmospheric.

Once again disappointment is the order of the day for Algernon Doll’s “Cassini” proves to be yet another downbeat and interminable scuzzathon tripped up by too many influences and minimal musical skills. Simply dull.

They must be doing some serious genetic engineering out there in Scandinavia as they seem to have an inexhaustible supply of upbeat electro pop bands. “When My Heart Breaks” shows Vanbot to be another chip of the old retro block but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and a good pop song is always welcome here.

A newcomer to the world of third rate laptop electronica, Jack Jefferson tries to put as many awkwardly edited sounds and inject as much unfortunate vocal processing into “Sin City” as his lack of imagination and ability will allow. No one should have to listen to this.

No idea who High Windows are but I reckon that I will have to find out.  “Knives In Our Pockets” is a jagged little song with unhealthy amounts of twisted guitars and impassioned vocals kicking it up and down the mean streets of the big city. I hear and believe what they are saying. (A free download from Bandcamp).

I am not a fan of minimalist – and usually inconsequential - ambient electronica and Jumpel’s “Blue Ceiling” would have been rapidly discarded were it not enlivened to the point of the hypnotic by the wistful vocals of Chloë March. Subtly beautiful.

Although locked in a sequenced time warp, Binary make with plenty of pleasant theatricality and consequently lift “G.O.D.” out of the ordinary and put it straight into the pockets of the nearest Coldplay fan. Unless I am greatly mistaken, this is what counts as commercial music these days.

Hushed vocals and a moody laptop actually succeed in giving “Debris”, by Tropical Tobacco, a dark and downbeat atmosphere and you might therefore be inclined to associate them, in musical terms at least, with a London basement of the nineties rather than the Portuguese sunshine.

I just can’t get enough of the currently prevalent Swedish take on europop. Well, actually I can but that doesn’t stop This Vision from turning on the retro rockets and locking their robotic sequencers on 1988. “Hungry Heart” would have been huge back in the day of synth pop and mascara.

Bones on Show – it’s an alias –is/are a little bit better than your average singer songwriter but, ultimately, average dexterity and a half decent voice won’t get you far in a world addicted to gimmicks. “Haunting” therefore fails to excite and the song soon drowns in a small pond of indifference

Likeable if somewaht limp indie rock from East Kilbride, Poor Frisco manage to turn “Burning Books” from what you would think should be a rock anthem into something that would not frighten even a wearer of cardigans from the west (or should that be wooss) end of Glasgow. All things considered, your sister is probably scarier than this song.