Song reviews

Rather better than your average ska/rock hybrid band, London’s Mocara throw youthful enthusiasm in to enliven their lurching and strutting song “Beg, Steal or Borrow”. This is actually rather good with plenty of attitude on show and I would imagine that this band might also make for a rewarding live attraction.

Damn, I’m going back in time or at least it seems that way as Junebug go all seventies folk meet mainstream rock with “You & I”. Don’t get me wrong – this a wholesome song that rolls with a sense of purpose that many bands lack and, with some determined female vocals forever pushing the song forwards, this might well be a Glasgow band that could go the distance.

What can a man say about HM Hammarin? He goes all theatrical throughout “In Insanity” to such an extent that you are drawn to wonder if you missed the stage show. Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe we have found a genuine entertainer.

More urban sounds from Gwen and The Good Thing and “Heat Wave” is a by the numbers bit of looped until lifeless backbeat topped by Gwenann Taylor’s overdosed on vibrato voice. That said, she doesn’t sound like anyone else doing the rounds and that is actually a good thing in my book.

A rough and ready take on that ever, or in many cases never, loved edgy Scottish guitar pop sound, “Another Girl I Dropped” is lively enough but lacks the spark of greatness. It’s early days though for Tumfy & The Deecers and there is sufficient evidence here to suggest that they can do better.

Well it’s retro but it’s British retro for a change and The Everglows even squeeze a touch of that accursed indie rock as the secret ingredient in their reverential reinvention of that 60’s beat sound. “Until Tomorrow” therefore sounds duly respectful to a time long gone even if the light of success only shines brightly on the vocals of Andrew Smith.

I like a bit of class and the mellow jazzy worldliness of Martyna Wren is as fine an example of class as you are likely to get from this sceptered isle. She’s not out to scare your auntie and, in fact, your auntie would welcome her into her home with open arms and an offer of a nice cup of tea. Accordingly, “Al Capone’s Girl” tips its hat at times past whilst remaining eager to please in the present. Your best silver cutlery is safe with this woman.

Mark Saunders – he’s British so he knows the meaning of being taxed until it feels like you have picked up the soap – rants blues style in his cover of “Taxman” with not much more than a slide guitar and a voice partly influenced, at least, by whisky. It’s a cover right enough but he’s got the sentiment right.

“Real Life” is a quite sweet if unadventurous run through the gamut of analogue electro, and indeed retro, sounds and, if anything, serves to show how much better Molly Beanland’s voice is than her material. With a better song, I could see her doing some business.

Hey, this is actually a Swedish band although their name pretty much indicates both their style and influences. “Twenty Nine”, despite the best efforts of vocalist Anders Nilsson, is yet another retake of that west coast sound of the seventies American folk rock sound. The present is once more written in the past.

It’s been a while since we last heard from Will Tang and, with “Lifetime”, he has taken a temporary break from being a blues powered music missionary to show all those sensitive singer songwriters out there how to do it properly with this simple, stripped out song. Talent, as they say, always rises to the top.

Riffing down the middle of the indie rock highway are Weatherbird. “Where Eye Wanna Be” is certainly the kind of song that you would expect of manly boys on the way up but, when it comes down to it, we’ve all heard this kind of thing before. Many, many times before.