Song reviews

One man and a song should surely be enough or at least that is what Nick Ferrio asks within the walls of his song “How Will I Know”. It’s a question many might also ask but at least our Nick has something of an answer with this pop rock pick.

As haunted by the ghosts of pop punk past as they are, Candy Ambulance nevertheless keep their song “Spray” on the rough-edged right side of the tracks for all of its two minute duration. The guitar, as is so often the case, says all there is to say.

Happy songs are not in vogue these days so “Pink California” by Eden Warsaw ticks the necessary downbeat style boxes whilst adding enough electro rock influences to make all that brooding melancholy seem worthwhile.

Active Bird Community mix the raucous with downbeat successfully with their song “Sweaty Lake” with the result making the concept of mature indie rock more of a reality than any press hype could ever hope to do.

Giving us another downbeat slice of Scandi electro pop is Danish singer LEW with her song “You Said” ticking all the style boxes that have to be ticked in these postmodern days. Nonetheless, this is a song more effective than most.

“Lions” is a suitably robust song from Austrian band At Pavillon that highlights that there are still bands out there that can add some retro love to the indie rock sound without actually taking the whole thing further into parody.

The rerun of the analogue synth sound as a musical staple continues apace with Roosevelt adding his particular brand of melancholy to “Getaway” but with enough emotions present to compensate for the closed looping that drives the song.

Pretty much defining what is expected of a pop song in these forever cloudy days, GRAACE reaches for the heartstrings and plucks them all the way through her song “Last Night”. Some might say that this is a sign of our times and they would be right.

The influence of that Americana sound cannot be underestimated and, duly, London’s own Copper Viper break out the fiddle and the sagebrush to give their song “Hung Up Alone” a touch of both technology and rose-tinted glasses.

With definite appeal for the occupiers of upmarket coffee and cake shops, Annie Goodchild ticks all the trendy boxes with consummate ease whilst leading us on to a promised land far, far away. Classy, without a doubt.

An offbeat combination of nineties guitar pop, retro synth and indie rock moves, “Up To You” marks Swym out as the kind of guy who can turn influences into ideas. He’s not quite the sound of youthful rebellion but he is, thankfully, walking down his own path.

A decidedly low-key retake on the retro synth sound, “True North” plays like a long lost friend from a time mascara has not forgotten whilst providing proof that Trade Secrets have a substantial record collection dating from those halcyon days.