Song reviews

Minimalism drenched in reverb pretty much defines Cate Von Csoke’s sound and “Dream Around” ticks all the boxes for fans of such things with that insistent guitar driving her swirling words straight into your head. Twinkle, little star.

Engaging fully with the retro style requirements are About Last Night and the singer has absorbed enough of the eighties power ballad vibe to take their song “Before The Dawn” all the way to the bridge and beyond. Glittery emotions abound.

The power of the sequencer energises “Indigo Sky” yet it is those wistful female vocals that truly entice you to join ISLE on their musical journey. This might be man/woman plus machine but the result is organically pleasing.

If you desire the honesty inherent to rock music of the old school, then you will appreciate “Watery Grave” by Canadian band The Jailbirds with solid guitar riffs and strong vocals easily providing enough buoyancy to keep this song afloat.

No one can deny that Marle Thomson is easy on the ear and her song “Surf Rising” duly drifts amiably through your consciousness on the way to a better tomorrow. This one would make an ideal soundtrack to summer in the city.

“Silver Fingers” by Edinburgh’s The Son(s) is the kind of song that answers the question about what summer bands like The Byrds would have sounded like if they had traded in their jingle jangle guitars for a hit of rainy day melancholy. Hear and understand.

Carla J Easton must have been feeding her synths with steroids and, consequently, has muscled up her pop sensibilities to, in turn, make “Get Lost” into the kind of robust pop song that could crossover to the both the dancefloor and the charts.

Indie rock needs to fully charged to work and Birmingham’s Future Fires clearly have enough in the way of blue collar conviction and power chords to light up their song “Halfway Down”. A song for a Friday night, without a doubt.

This one is going to be deep. With cascading guitars, spiralling lyrics and led by a voice that has the mark of a poet in recitation mode, Cosse take their song “The Ground” for a walk though the arthouse forest in search of salvation.

Everybody likes a song with a message such as “Wallflower” and Laur Elle is the kind of songwriter who likes to do songs with a message. She is also quite adept at adapting the message into a form that will attract both ears and mind.

If you like, as I do, a sugary musical snack then you will find it no hardship to consume “September” by Lucy and The Rats. It’s power pop with punk on the side and, in 3 minutes, it will surely satisfy your appetite.

Chemicals is probably the buzzword for the weekend these days and “Chemicals” by SG Lewis rounds up all those synthetic sounds and shapes them into a cool groove that makes the walk home after the last bus so much more rewarding.