Song reviews

Good things can come out of Canada and Leslie Rohonczy is one of them. Her song “Creativity” exorcises the ghost of pretentious eighties American rock and then stomps all over it in the name of ironic parody. Make it so!

With a voice of near theatrical expressiveness, Stephanie O transcends the limitations of the sensitive singer songwriter with “Grind”. Maturity is sometimes all you need to make a song work and she has that and a whole lot more.

An endearingly quirky take on the electro pop genre, “Blow” shows that Eyes of Blue Dog have the courage to escape the tyranny of the eighties revisionism while Elisabeth Nygård’s ever pirouetting voice takes the song right into the windmills of your mind.

It isn’t hard to believe that music has become plastic and, in the process, has lost the true meaning that one made music important. Gurrumul, with his devotional song “Jesu”, tips the balance back towards the truth. A much overused phrase perhaps but Gurrumul is a voice in the darkness.

Just when you think that you will sink in a sea of cynicism, along comes a rescue boat powered by the kind of catchy indie pop with sugary sweet female vocals that always chases the sharks away. The name on the lifebelt is “Tiny Islands” and the band is called Tangerine. We are saved!

Winsome in her approach, Australian Leah Senior never takes her song “The City Is A Stream” far from the traditional but, that said, her voice makes more sense of the poetry of her words than most could. If I were a betting man then I would put a few dollars down on her chances.

This is as about as lightweight as you will hear this summer with Milo McMahon taking his song “Caveman” for a stroll down the neo-folk yellow brick road. Whilst the intention, in production terms at least, was no doubt quirkiness, the result sounds somewhat incomplete.

Music is indeed a global thing as Professor Skank proves with his remix escapade “Flying Cyclist”. Professor Skank is actually from Greece and I certainly did not expect a seven minute dub groove from that part of the world but here it is. The appropriated trumpet of George Avramidis adds a bit of sophistication to the song’s dancefloor appeal.

Whilst decidedly lightweight in its presentation, “Plankton” is definitely a serious song and, with Louise Connell using wistful repetition to lead her words down the path to enlightenment, metaphorical melancholy has rarely been more appealing.

Australian indie popsters Sons of Rico strike out for success with “What Am I Doing Here?” It’s an energetic song that exudes hope and yet still finds room for the singalong chorus that is the secret of mass appeal.

A blues song with both purpose and soul, “A Million Men 2 Many” reeks of honesty with Amin El and Michael O’Neill showing that a social conscience can still co-exist with twelve bars. The overtly political lyrics are to be commended and are more than enough to make you wonder why, and how, hip-hop replaced the blues as the language of the streets.

Fred Abbott, formerly of Noah and The Whale, shows his true spirit and accordingly romps through his song “Adrenaline” like a man high on the glory days of American rock music. The guitars aren’t big enough for the job but our Mr. Abbott nonetheless throws his hat into the ring with this one.