Song reviews

The pounding drums and jagged guitars may suggest another indie rock contender to many but St Andrews Fall clearly like to move things further up the musical ladder and “It’s Never You” has been brought up on a diet of Scottish rock to do just that.

Locked to the loop synth pop will never go out of fashion and Niki Kand adds to the appeal of such things by adding her own wistful style stamp. “Sexy But Sad” isn’t the biggest song you will ever hear but you will want hug her after you hear it.

Can’t say that I have heard of Me Not You before but “Does Anybody Out There Care?” is the kind of song that makes you curious to hear more. Appealing female vocals give the bleak lyrics the necessary impact and the song even has a guitar solo. Thumbs up!

A bit of drama goes a long way and Oliver Spalding spreads it right out to the length of his song “Xanax”. He has the voice for commercial success and, accordingly, the radio friendly song plays to the ears of the many.

Another song that benefits from cranking up the volume, “Money Honey” gives Felin the opportunity to show that she can kick down the walls in under three minutes whilst still staying on the subversive side of the street.

Distinctly insistent, “Radiant Star” gives Sofia Härdig another opportunity to stamp her purposeful presence upon a song. Whilst almost post rock in her musical stance, Ms. Härdig throws enough in the way of quirkiness to turn the song into a medium sized steamroller.

Keeping it simple works well for Dublin band Hook and the straightforward sentimentality of their song “I Love The World Because You’re In It” passes the time in a pleasantly direct way. Sometimes that is all that you need.

A Russian band, it would seem, yet Apache Rose sound more like muscular Americans with their purposeful song “Tiny Love” strutting confidently in the best rock music tradition. Play loud and add beer for best enjoyment.

Paul Andrew Sneddon keeps it homespun and rough edged through the two minutes or so that “The Lonely Ones” takes to capture your attention. The energy might well exceed the production values but he can undoubtedly take it to the bridge.

Sounding like she has dropped right out of the heyday of expansive pop songs comes easily to Violetta Zironi and “Hungry To Kill” duly qualifies as quality ear candy. The lyrics suggests darker intent but the sugar coating makes this song very easy to consume.

Sometimes you hear a song that sounds like it was designed for the dancefloor of the kind of club that only the best of the rest could attend and, with locked to loop sequencing and a splash of charm, HATT duly give us “Lay Down”. Snarky!

A curiously bleak song for someone so young, “Born Again” would persuade many that Hope Waidley is some sort of modern day gospel singer although the song avoids minor key misery by successfully infusing a fair measure of hope.