Song reviews

Laced with gentle acoustic undulation, “Má Gbàgbé” walks slowly in the sunshine giving Lanré plenty of time to charm your ears with her unaffected vocal talents.  Admittedly, the song doesn’t really go anywhere and would benefit from being substantially shortened but it’s a nice enough way to pass the time.

Taking lo-fi into no-fi is Glasgow band Betamin. Underneath the murk and general untidiness “Laura” turns on the lovelight for those days when rock first met synth (at least I think it is a synth?) while the gruff vocals emoting words probably not meant to be understood give the song some purpose and direction. I think I’ll add them to the list for further investigation.

Positively uplifting bit of rock meets pop from Folks who use “My Mother” as a tightly focussed homage to the chart dominating talents of seventies luminaries Chinn and Chapman. We are talking commercial, we are talking clever, we are talking hummable and we are talking, by implication, about a proper song. Run it up the flag pole and salute it because you don’t hear too many like this these days.

The Merrylees, like so many Scottish bands trying to avoid the mediocrity of indie rock, draw from a gamut of American musical influences. Unfortunately, like so many bands before them, the spark of inspiration has deserted them and “For You”, whilst easy on the ear, will not trouble your memory for long.

Oddly appealing minimalism from Circle and they unleash (under cover of darkness probably) their eighties style sub electro ditty “Shake It Off”.  I must be getting mellow but this unassuming song worked for me even in the cold light of day.

A confident slice of indie rock pie from London’s The Beautiful Game, “From Angels To Enemies” has more substance than style which makes for a change. Jason Crowley has the attitude to match his voice and the guitars are actually interesting (again for a change). As a band, they are maturing nicely.

Decent vocals are the icing on the cake for “Motorway” but the fact remains that The Tax sound way too similar to the hundred and one other up and coming indie bands across this sceptred isle. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if they had better songs than this waiting in the wings.

Another day, another rough demo by an aspiring Scottish singer songwriter…the insipid “Taxi To Glasgow” ticks all the boxes to achieve mediocrity for Johnny Graham. I am tempted to say something like” must try harder” but would imply that Johnny Graham had actually tried in the first place.

Relentlessly commercial even if possessed of a sledgehammer like subtlety, “Forever On Your Team” could make Frida Selander’s mark on the mainstream pop music scene with her voice sounding just bruised enough to give the necessary credibility to the lyrics. I might get to like this one.

“Basket Press” is about as nice an example of mellow ambient rock as you will get. Apricot Rail meander aimlessly and endearingly through the five minutes plus of this poshed up soundtrack cue but are always easy on the ear and the song leaves you in no doubt regarding this band’s musical abilities.

What happened here? The Deep Red Sky that I remember was a band that knew a thing about adding sparkle to a song. The most interesting thing about “Zombies (Things Don't Stay The Same)" is the title and you will be hard pushed to distinguish this song from those of any of a dozen other insipid Edinburgh indie bands. A disappointment indeed.

I’m not really sure what to make of “Spaceship Swagger” by rapper on something or other RMR321Bo. It could be serious, it could be ironic or it could be the result of some substance abuse but with theremin like noises, dead beats and simplistic rhymes (me so down on the street talk, innit) it has an oddball appeal.