Song reviews

Proving that you can put a message in a song and still make it memorable to even the casual listener is Hayley Mary. “Like A Woman Should” might sound like a polished prayer to retro times but it lacks neither substance nor a modern edge. Sparky!

Whilst sort of old fashioned in its upbeat tone, “So Much Love” remains the kind of pop song that deserves to sell a million or two just like such songs did back in the day. Nada Surf are therefore my preferred purveyors of feel good songs.

3am on the dancefloor and Mi Sko’s “It Ain’t Right” comes on. It’s just right for that time and place with enough in the way of rigid loops, synth breaks and passionate female vocals to put the icing on the cake that is your night out.

Now this is one robust song. Big on power chords, reverb and red meat vocal power, Sev Lah has no problem kicking “Free My Soul” right over the touchline. Play loud, drink beer and think of all those summer festivals that would be made better with this song.

A band that just has to be British, Mush add an endearing quirkiness to their Britpop flavoured song “Revising My Fee” and turn it into one of those songs that will bring a smile to your face no matter how miserable you normally are.

It’s not often that I get to describe a song as buoyant in these dark days but that’s exactly what “I’m Your Girl” by Beverly Girl is. Made from retro synth pop dancefloor moves and a touch of Prince, this is the kind of song that keeps your heart beating and your feet moving.

Skewing indiepop off towards the offbeat works well for Telquist – aka Sebastian Eggerbauer – and he duly uses looped beats, synth sounds and his dark sense of humour to make his song “Trash Talk” more interesting than most.

Just the thing to make the soundtrack to a sunset special, “Heebiejeebies” is all wistful and dreamy with Abi Muir weaving in enough simple innocence to make this minor key song seem deeper than might be expected from one so young.

These days country music isn’t the truth that it used to be, but we can always rely on Sofia Talvik to keep fighting the good fight against the mediocrity of the Nashville music monster. “Six Nights Alone” is sentimental reality in song and Ms. Talvik duly makes it special.

More insistent adoration of the golden days of synth pop from Secret Treehouse with their song “At Sunrise” successfully mixing the electronic rigidity of the sequencer with endearing female vocals and duly rendering the end result pleasing to the ear.

Curiously restrained for an indie rock band, Hook seem to be drawing more from the more cerebral days of seventies rock for the inspiration that drives their song “Spoiler Alert” ahead. Clever lyrics and a laidback guitar solo complete the package.

Yes, you can indeed hear class. Amy Swift has class and, with old school stylings keeping her song “Every Little Thing” on course, I would follow the song and her all the way to the bridge. Smooth is where it is at and she is already there.