Song reviews

You can’t go far wrong taking a walk on the (loud) reverb side. Josy & Pony duly do so with their song “Indécent Pur-Sang” and, in less than three minutes, convince you that all you need is attitude laden vocals and a vanload of manic riffs. Kaboom!

I didn’t think that anyone made music that could be described as middle of the road anymore but it would appear that piano man Joe Antaine does and “Awaiting The Storm” has more than enough polish to make him songwriter of choice for the next Steps reunion album.

Sounding wholesome comes easily to Carrie Scrimgeour with “Bigger Than Me” maintaining a positive note for all of its three and half minute duration. Add in her ability to scale things up when needed and you have a song that even your gran will like.

“What If” is an endearing slice of indie pop cake with The Switch adding enough jingly guitars and melancholy filled vocals to make the song rather less sugary than the classic take it to the chorus construction might have otherwise suggested.

After hearing “Seven Seas”, no one will have any doubt that Curtis Walsh has his finger on the pulse of commercial expectations as he confidently sidesteps the potholes of originality in his soon to be successful search for the mainstream. Good voice though.

YUAR go all warm and fuzzy with their song “Summer Song”. The synths stick to the playbook for this sort of thing but there is enough wistful endeavour in the singer’s voice to both give life to the lyrics and make an imprint on your memory.

Bony Macaroni spread their retro cheese all over their new song “Atlas Fugged” and then throw on a tasty bit of teen angst to make their musical sandwich complete. Their Weezer worship continues but, hey, you can’t go far wrong with the right historical perspective.

Lightweight but curiously downbeat for a song released at this time of year, Sail By Summer get all reflective and take their song “LowLowLow” for a walk down the heavily looped trail to the rose tinted days of summers past.

Rough and ready is pretty much the indie rock way but Let Man Loose throw in a surprise amongst the sweaty guitar riffs by injecting some undeniably sharp lyrics to thus make their song “Two Way Glass” more modern and memorable than most will ever manage.

“Leave” is the sort of song that will never be short on staying power and Jula walks the song along a meandering mystical path littered with emotional intensity and first degree melancholy. The lyrics seem lost but her true intent is easily found.

Ha! Bet you thought that guitar powered indie irony had fallen down the drain of apathy but, no, The Hector Collectors still fly the flag with “It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a 25 Minute Response Video to DESTROY your Argument” (to use the song’s Sunday name). Maverick magical!

Giving us a song that is easy to like, Andi Pomato has drawn his retro influences from the days of proper song writing and it is therefore no surprise that melody and upbeat lyrics fuel the fire underneath his song “Red Color”. I feel better already.