Song reviews

Low key and downbeat in her approach, Josephine Philip nonetheless exudes enough class and literate sentiment to gift wrap “The Clue” and send it on to those who seek more than just plastic smiles in their Spotify playlists.

Blue collar superhero – well, he could be – Joe Normal simultaneously goes all piano mellow and manically ironic to take “Setbacks” all the way to the, hopefully Brooklyn, bridge. Throw in some fifties rock ‘n’ roll moves and you have a song that’s good enough for me.

Jessica Wilde keeps her song “Down To Earth” resolutely on the civilised side of the street with her classy club voice guaranteeing this mid paced urban groove VIP entrance to past midnight hangouts of the style cognoscenti. The champagne is on the table.

Robust in execution, Step By Step-Project tick all the mainstream rock radio style boxes with solid musicianship much to the fore. Seraina Telli’s in your face vocals provide enough colour and attitude to make “Listen” worthy of, wait for it, a listen.

They say that the Devil has all the best tunes and Altareth provide proof that the horned one isn’t into sharing. “Satan Hole” is, in truth, more overdriven grunge than doom metal but the short guitar solo compensates somewhat for the sledgehammer bleakness.

Synth pop has always had a special place in my heart and Katherine Aly digs up some old school sequencer moves for “Glow & Ignite” and tops them off with some sweet vocals and a girl next door attitude. She’s the maple syrup on my French toast.

Retro melodrama from Eddie Monroe but, let’s face it, you can’t go far wrong when you counterpoint showtune on steroids vocals with an excess of piano and a bucketful of powerful riffs. There was a time indeed.

Looping like a super cool lady on a mission to move music into the better part of town, Amaris twists her song “Time Traveler” into a soundtrack suitable for playback in a top of the range hybrid Lexus. Smooth!

Melodic and always unafraid of taking it to the bridge, Caroline Sky is the kind of songstress that can make any song easy on the ear and it is therefore no surprise that “Dancing in July” is both polished and sonorous.

Quirky in a good way, “Me Myself and I” ricochets between 8 bit and Celtic with the angular lyrics easily keeping the song on course and marking Fieldsy as more than a just a big city festival favourite. Let there be an album forthcoming!

It has been a week for happy songs but “Daydream Blues” most certainly isn’t a happy song. Nonetheless, Cherry White infuse their song with more than enough angst and melancholy to ensure your attention does not wander.

Girl power is here to stay, and Grace Otto duly kicks the walls hard with her song “You’re The Worst”. There’s acid in her words and, with her sledgehammer delivery, she soon moves ahead of the crowd. Shifting gear!