Song reviews

“We Are All The Universe” turns out to be an energetic and melodic slice of civilised rock music from what I assume is a new Glasgow band Enemies of the State.  Confident vocals from Kris Tennant – I recognise that name – and an upbeat sing-along chorus add sonic potency to the spirited guitar that drives the song along.  Promising.

The laptop takes control of “Ten Reasons To Be Happy” and makes every effort to destroy the downbeat charms of Gordon Duthie’s voice and doom laden lyrics with the kind of computerised ineptness that just annoys your ears into switching the damn thing off. An opportunity wasted.

Relentlessly derivative but none the worse for that, Faux Ferocious steal a riff or four from the here, there and everywhere of pop history and use said riffs to decorate “Right on Track”. The lo-fi sound loses the vocals somewhere in the mix but I don’t suppose the words matter as much as the feel. Hozac, here they come!

Sort of indie poppy and then altogether sort of stormy, Savannah based duo Sunglasses take “Blessing” from the land of twee to a destination somewhere close to a land where late sixties psych pop meets downbeat industrial rhythms. Marks are duly awarded for having the courage to derail your own song and then get it back on the tracks before the fade.

Endearingly lo-fi and innocently bouncy, “You Think You’re Cooler” makes for a very respectable introduction to the music of Glasgow duo Mistake Pageant. Nothing in the song seems to be in the right place but despite the awkward tempo changes, primary school guitar technique and the straining to stay in key female vocals, the end result is sweet and huggable. You’d take this song home. You know you would.

Classic rock lost in England style from Naked Sunday as they stroll confidently with much thudding and riffing through “Sunflowers In the Rain”. While they might never stray far from the clichés of the genre, they do at least demonstrate a very respectable amount of ability.

Help me Jesus! The eighties have finally reached Australia with the proof being the enigmatically named “1 2 3 Faux Leopard” from Circle. There’s a decent vocal in there but the locked in lumpy circles (ha!) plastic backing track lets the side down badly. Rocking like it is 1984 (but, like, in Switzerland).

Whilst they don’t seem to be trying anything particularly radical during the course of “Slow Motion”, Alberta manage to sound remarkably convincing as if they had been downloaded from more truthful times. A nice touch of melancholy seasons the male singer’s voice too.

A singer songwriter from the UK it would seem,  Arron Brown treads lightly through “Stargazing” as if scared of attracting a beating from the school bullies but is nearly overpowered by the laptop in a loop backing track anyway. Kind of sweet even if our Arron seems unsure what he is trying to achieve.

Upbeat Swedish rock band with a convincing melodic feel and more than a tip of the hat to late seventies Rolling Stones in style. “Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea” sounds like the kind of song that they don’t make any more and is none the worse for that. Your aunt will love it.

A mid paced display of lightweight but poetic sensitivity, “What If” leaves plenty of space for the melancholic male vocals to shine through. Nice enough but there are many many more like it, as they say.

Offbeat and displaced male vocals ride a lo-fi looped bit of reasonably convincing of plastic coated indie rock. However, you do get the feeling that the band are missing a guitarist but, that said, the lyrics do suggest a lot more intelligence than the laptop in a frenzy backing track would otherwise have you believe.