Song reviews

You don’t really expect any surprises from a song that, superficially, seems like just another example of the urban genre yet Ego Ella May springs one on us all with “Girls Don’t Always Sing About Boys” as she twists both words and music into something deeper, darker and different.

With a pleasing directness, Unbroken Expanse plough the furrows of proper rock history with their song “Go” and dig up more than enough in the way of guitar solos and blue collar, beer drinking energy to make any Friday night worthwhile.

More of a groove than a song, “Main Squeeze” still finds space for enough urban influences and hypnotic percussion to allow Jazz The Glass to get the song down the tracks to the next radio station. Smooth is where it is at

You don’t find many artists with a true sense of the dramatic these days but “Hopeless Romantics” demonstrates that Emmrose has the voice and attitude to make what is a straightforward song into something that crosses the border into chanson.

Some standard alt rock moves disguise the observant lyrics and nonstandard stylisations that Deva St John brings to “The Information Age” thus making her song equally acceptable to those who know and to those who do not know.

One for those who appreciate an artist who defiantly mixes and matches her musical boundaries in order to make a song interesting and, to some at least, challenging. “Monument” duly marks Kid Be Kid out as one worthy of respect.

“Your Time” is a splendidly retro song that has all that it takes to fill a dancefloor of today or yesteryear with Orus ticking off all the style boxes necessary to take this song to both your heart and your feet.

Spacious melancholy pretty much describes the Cayley Thomas sound and “Midnight Hours” duly drifts, somewhat wistfully, towards the dawn whilst subtly encouraging you to join her on a journey towards the heart of the matter.

A prettily polished pop song of this time and place, “Twentysomething” shows that LOST feat. Illian has all the right moves to get some attention from the people who appreciate songs that make the perfect soundtrack to a movie montage.

Like a ghost from the past exorcised by a priest who worshipped the jingle jangle of west coast pop rock of the late sixties, “Mystery Man” resonates with reverb, melody and positive vibes thus making The Echo Session a band of today, last summer and tomorrow.

Steering a course left of centre, SoLBLoMMa juggles old style vocoder interludes, neo jazz stylisations and her own special brand of individuality for the length of her song “Magic Space Man”. Definitely not conventional but I like her style.

A song with a bit of scale for a change, “Peter Pan” aims for emotional grandeur and hits the target square on with enough in the way of emotive vocals and guitar solos to guarantee Mona Visa a place on your Spotify playlist.