Song reviews

Time for something transcendental. Sister Wives inject enough in the way of muscular guitars and rather more delicate female vocals to make you think that “YnCanu” is some sort of trip into the mystical realm. I hear the clouds.

You can just feel that the art is strong in Ché Aimee Dorval and her song “Joyride” overlays brooding intent and emotional intensity over some stylishly presented and urban influenced beats. This is a cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles.

Erik Flaa takes a suitably mature approach to making his song “Storyline Mania” work with the tempo shifting and stretched out arrangement adding an element of theatricality but, below the surface, there is a serious point made.

“Jump Start” is an interesting concoction of heavyweight loops, fifties rock ‘n’ roll guitars and deadpan vocals. Samurai Drive duly take their song out on the style highway and just about stay within the speed limit.

If indie rock ever had an intellectual cousin then an example of this probably fictional genre would be “Even Dad Had A Fiver On Love” by Woahgetter. Laconic lead vocals and downbeat sentiments successfully keep this one out of the coffee shop.

Going full retro in both style and content, “Heart of Coal” sounds like it could have fallen off the late sixties folk rock bandwagon yet, with maturity much to the fore, Martin John Henry has no problem selling his song to my ears.

Polish skate punk band CF98 hit the retro road with their upbeat anthem “1993” sounding just like it was actually from the halcyon days of pop punk. Any song that makes you happier just by listening to it works for me.

“New Eden” does not lack in emotional intensity and St Catherine’s Child’s confident approach to the delivery of downbeat songs full of melancholy and self-reflection is more than enough to make you hope and pray for a better tomorrow.

If your musical tastes stretch to pop punk then you will likely find “Forget My Name” by Dial Drive to your taste with frenetic drumming, power chords and square peg in a round hole lyrics all being present and correct.

Rodina’s “We Go Out Of Our Way” sounds remarkably natural with good old fashioned musicianship driving this seventies jazz funk style song along the road to ear candy land. It’s the righteous road to follow.

Sixth Wonder are undoubtedly made of metal with all the tick boxes expected of the genre being duly completed but “Thorn” proves they have not forgotten melody and drama with the song’s theatrical presentation being the evidence.

5pm to Nowhere take the, almost traditional, indie rock path with their song “One More Chance”. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and their combination of guitars, vocals and melody will indeed take you to the bridge.