Initially seeming serious enough to be the sons of eighties synth pop, “Sitting Pretty” makes the most of Iconique’s retro influences whilst actually being a considerably smarter song than you might reasonably expect of these melancholic servants of the sequencer.
Plaintive yet pleasing lo-fi rock from Esper Scout with “Gaps in the Border Fence” stepping steadily up the scale as the song progresses thus providing the kind of big finish that such a song should have. Big guitars, big future.
“International Waters” is an example of the kind of edgy guitar pop that seems prevalent in the big city these days with Zozo adding enough in the way of theatrical touches to make the song stand out in a manic, all the way back to the eighties, kind of way.
Surprisingly, this quirky and playful song comes from a Glasgow trio called Reptile House. In lyrical terms, “Meet Me At The River” echoes the established sentiments of country music yet is presented in a way that takes you all the way back to the sunshine days of folk rock.
“Real” is the kind of intelligent song of the heart that you would expect of someone like Grace Joyner. City girls might often write this kind of coffee shop song but few do it as well and that’s a fact.
Scandinavia does seem to be home of downbeat electropop these days and Denmark’s AyOwA do not disappoint with their stylish and, as you might expect, downbeat song “Sommer” with Hannah Schneider’s voice managing to intellectualise torment.
“If You Stay” stays locked to the click track for a song of this type yet Canadian synth poppers Vogue Dot squeeze enough laconicism and spiritual indifference between those beats to make even their black clouds appealing.
“One Sixty” is enough of a song to make you feel all sentimental about the sunshine days of punk American style with The Silence Kit having enough reverence to make the song seem more than a mere pop punk pastiche.
Pixx adds passion to the cold electronic world where her musical demons reside with “Baboo” having more than enough poetry and pop sensibility to make the song uplifting. Over too soon, as they say.
A Canadian synth pop duo, Prince Innocence play the game of numbers with their downbeat and wistful song “Polished”. Repression, oppression, depression – it’s all squeezed into those sequenced beats.
It would appear that Michelle Rosen is from Israel yet her song “In The Sun” has that polished sentimentality that you might expect of a New Yorker. It’s a big city song but she has the kind of innocent voice to carry it off into the sunset.
Karen Meat and the Computer are so deliberately laconic that they might well be the royalty of anti-cool yet their little lo-fi synth pop ditty “On The Couch” has enough countryfied rough edges and sheer sequenced persistence to make you want to drink a lot of beer and then apply to join their band.
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