Song reviews

“Breathe” is one of those songs that transcends its low key presentation and restrained musicality to capture, and indeed charm, your ears. Add in a degree of lyrical maturity and you have more than enough reason to pay attention to Hajk.

Although almost self-consciously stylish, Eulene mixes enough originality into the sequenced familiarity to make her song “Momma” a successful, if somewhat oblique, hybrid of urban and bleak synth pop influences.

Staying on the straight and narrow comes easy for Fife band Paris Street Rebels with “Freakshow” maxing out the combination of indie rock volume and post punk attitude to ear pleasing effect. Not quite angry young men but their enthusiasm is never in doubt.

Occupying the hinterland between indie pop and the genre’s spiritual jingle jangle guitar roots, Norway’s I Was a King demonstrate a mature approach to the art of song making that belies both their country of origin and their limited years on the planet. “Bubble” indeed.

Pause for a moment and consider the fate of the Glasgow singer songwriter in these EDM is everything days and duly wonder if Jamie Button’s sentimental song “Afterglow” is actually akin to a demand for the kind of yesterday that exists only in the hearts of musicians.

Can’t say that I had heard of Marlene Oak before “Come Home” made it all the way to my ears but she clearly knows how to inject emotion into the performance of a song. It’s an old school approach but one that still holds a certain organic appeal.

I’m getting to think that there is a shortage of happy songs in this world with Viking Moses adding to doom and gloom courtesy of his song “Headstrong”. That said, if your mood is bleak then this song is one to add to the soundtrack of your life.

“Songbird” is another downbeat – it must be the season for them - song from Paden that seems almost Scandi in its synthetic bleakness but the wistful female vocals and energetic guitar work will keep you going until the sun rises in the winter morning.

“Temporary” is one of those reflective songs that seems, initially, too reliant on repetition for its effect yet Teose adds enough vocal fragility to make that downbeat vibe seem rather more permanent than her song’s title might otherwise suggest.

Full of the kind of insistent pulsation that has made Scandi plastipop great, Norwegian band Secret Treehouse duly pump up their synth powered style and, with some elegant female vocals leading their song forward, turn “Fear of Frogs into something memorable.

Almost super cool, “Couldn’t Say Yes” highlights just why Rhonda are a band to listen out for. Whilst stylistically lost, like so many, in the reverb of the past, the intoxication that is the voice of Milo Milone soon entrances and your heart becomes hers. Immense!

Americana gets everywhere these days and it is therefore no surprise that Croatian band She Brought Me Gasoline have captured that old timey vibe and have duly used banjo power to give their song “A Hole In The Souls” the stamp of authenticity.