Song reviews

“Butterfly” is about as commercial as you can get in the super safe world of Nashville country and Lizzie Sider – at a mere 14 years old – seems determined to use it to kickstart a career in da bizness. She has the attitude to get the job done but, given her tender years, it is perhaps unsurprising that she lacks the individuality that will stamp her indelibly in the memory of record buyers.

Nashville country is hardly deprived of big voiced female singers telling it like it but Carrie Zaruba nonetheless sets out to make her mark with “Woman on a Mission”. The song has that confident yet still girl next door Shania Twain type vibe and a by the numbers production elevated only by some energetic fiddle playing. Undeniably, the end result is very truckstop waitress friendly, if you know what I mean.

“Hospital” is a moody and bleak song that walks the line between ambient and post rock quite successfully. I’m not entirely convinced by the male vocals but they fit into place nicely. It would appear that Hospital Neon is an alias for the underrated PNDC so those of you in the know will appreciate what you are getting here.

“Ithaca” is a rather endearing bot of retro style synth pop that would surely have dented the charts if it had been released twenty years ago and would no doubt have put this London band on the trail of Depeche Mode if it had. Unfortunately, today is today but this song nonetheless has an appealing innocence in its favour.

There’s a bit of everything in “Mountains Define You”. There are smoky vocals, a Scottish indie pop jangle to the guitars, a harmonica solo and an overwhelming sense of the getting out of the dustbowl and into the city decorating the lyrics.  You could almost call it country if it were not for the knowing quirkiness of it all. I’m sold on this one.

“Dodos” turns out to be a mid paced and surprisingly mainstream rocker from this Glasgow band. Not that I’m complaining as it sounds professional and radio friendly without being obviously commercial and that, my friends, is usually the mark of true quality.

New Edinburgh band Very Well take the Idlewild road with “Dead Happy”. What you get is a melodic, vaguely retro, song that sounds more expensive than it should and is further distinguished by Daniel Abercrombie’s confident vocal. However, I am once again forced to comment on the lack of decent guitarists in dear old Scotland even if the end result was actually easy on the ear.

Leeds band doing a bit of old time indie pop. Little Victories’ song “Staring at The Ground“ might not stray far from the expected but they nonetheless manage to bring both warmth and bit of subtlety to its execution with the end result being quite endearing in its own way.

When you have the voice of a tormented angel like Marina Skiadaresi has, you can’t help but soar high above the norm. “500 days” is theatrical in both intent and delivery and simply overcomes you. Marina Skiadaresi may have been around a while and she might well live in the arthouse but she is magnificent.

You can’t go wrong with a bit of dance floor oriented synth pop and that’s what Rebel Rebel, from Sweden it would seem, give us with “Project Runaway“ with the female vocals drifting in an appealingly world weary way over the solidly sequenced beat.  Grudgingly, I have to admit to quite liking this song.

Scottish boys show themselves to be the jaggy bunnet wearing sons of Blur as “Sweeten The Deal” whoops it up with harmonies and, you heard it here first, an actual melody. This is a properly constructed pop song just like they used to make before the music business went power chords and unsuccessful beards. It’s enough to make you forget there is a recession.

Juba are from Lisbon and actually manage to make indie rock sound interesting with their song “Bloodvessels”. The pounding drums, cascading guitars and moody male vocals fall into place nicely and the end result responds well to being cranked up to full volume.