The Loves - Technicolour (Fortuna Pop)

Exuberant pop from ace Cardiff beat combo The Loves, Technicolour is unashamedly 60s-tastic album made with great gusto and energy. The opening track is a Velvet Underground meets Bubblegum pop epic ‘Je T'aime, Baby' and is a paradoxically massive tune based around a simple love ditty and a sweet chord riff; the tune rises and falls with great aplomb. The superb melodic guitar riffs are prime time Loaded era, excellent. The magnificent garage cheese pop of ‘I My She Loves You' is sizzling good time bubblegum and is joy top the ears. A sugar shaking candy floss fizz of tune with a wild freak out at the end; the whacky organ, is ace too. ‘She'll Break Your Heart…Again' is a beat garage masterpiece of Phil Spector style symphonic proportions, The Loves even cheekily sample The Game of Love in the intro. ‘She'll Break Your Heart…Again' is a masterpiece of utterly glorious pop. Is it The Monkees?.. The Searchers?.. Or The Kingsmen?.. No, it's The Loves.

‘Rainbow Connection' is a dainty Victoria sponge of a tune, with a great lullaby vocal from Simon Love, in the spirit of The Beach Boys' In My Room. ‘Xs And Os' is a bubblegum glam stomp and yet another mega tune, making like T-Rex having ruck with The Music Explosion, rocknroll. The Beach Boys/The Ramones surf romp of ‘Honey' is a great good time summertime splash, get on those good vibrations. On ‘Jazz My Bads (For JT)' The Loves get their knives out on this is a monster R&B rampage, with a nastier trashy garage twist to this tune. ‘So Sad' is lilting lullaby waltz pop, the song swings its way into your unconsciousness. So Sad' is a sugar shaker with a melancholy edge, but its sadness shines in the sun. To top it all, the tune ends with surf style knees up, very paradoxical! ‘Summertime' is sung by Jenna, Liz and DC, the female cohort of The Loves and they create a good time pop shindig, with some sweet organ grooves. ‘How Does It Feel to Be Loved?' is a great portion of pop psyche, harmonies and melodies wash all around creating a sunshine smile of a short and sweet psychedelic tune. ‘(Gimme Gimme) The Good Times' goes all out for a big sing along song with a gigantic chorus, great pop. ‘Goodbye' finishes the album on a short and very sweet note. The girls lead on vocals and craft a sweet bubblegum end to this magnificent life affirming album. Jonny Magus

Butterflies Of Love – Famous Problems (Fortuna Pop )

US indie band fulfil their great potential on Famous Problems as Jeff Greene and Dan Greene (not brothers) swap vocal duties throughout, adding extra spice. Not sticking to a genre script, The Butterflies of Love have created an album filled with adventure, melody, rhythm and great songs. Opening tune ‘Take action' gets the rollercoaster riding with a visceral vocal from Jeff Greene and all out action guitar riffing on this strong opener, a muscularly melodic powerpop tune. ‘Act Deranged' is an easy going indie pop ditty similar in spirit to Luna and brims with catchiness. The wild and wired psychedelic ‘In A Blizzard In A lighthouse' is an amazing tune; the melancholic edge to Dan Greene's vocals and the sweeping and swooshing backing vocals gives the song an impression of a snowstorm, this is one mint tune. The edgy ‘No Moon No Sun No Star' has whacked out fuzzed up guitar work throughout, like a collision of intense indie rock and 60s garage, a far out fusion into deranged demented song, great stuff.

The catchy waltz swing of ‘Lies Will Sound Like The Truth' is breezy pop full of character and harmony, I dig the drumming on this tune by Neil O'Brien. The Kinks attack of ‘Conquer Every Woe' has a cool stomping rhythm and The Pavement like vocal gives the tune a surreal twist, creating a blend of indie pop with overt 60s guitar pop, the backwards psyche out guitar is very cool indeed. ‘Ghostride' is a ballad that builds into crescendos of crashing chords and swishing cymbals, sweet. Direct guitar pop of ‘Orbit Around You' has Jeff Greene's whiskey soaked vocals nicely juxtaposing with the upbeat rhythms, sweet backing vocals and ace guitar riffing. The laid back ‘Smite The White Eagle' is a mysterious though somewhat disturbing tune, as the demented lyrics and haunting melody make an impression on ones consciousness. ‘Once A Year' ends the album in Velvets style with chiming guitars and a very stoned out vocal, rocknroll. Famous Problems is an album of solid tunes, cool melodies and deranged interludes, what more can you ask for. Jonny Magus

Sodastream – Reservations (Fortuna Pop)

The lo-fi sparseness of Reservations drips subtlety and works very well across the whole album, all completed at a gentle pace, filled with thought and melody. ‘Warm July' with crisp melodic vocals from Karl Smith, is filled with space but shaded with the gentle sounds of a viola and horn on this contemplatively song. ‘Anti', a song of stripped down melody, has lyrical invention aplenty, as the singer explores understated sadness with a deft touch.

The direct simplicity of the lyrics adds to the impact of the words. The harmonies add to the melodic contemplation. Unafraid to take plenty of time, Sodastream explore mood and atmosphere through the interweaving of gentle vocals and song arrangements with plenty of breathing space. The brighter upbeat ‘Twin Lakes', with its bubbling rootsy feel, bounces along with a lightness of step, but with the dark lyrical undercurrent juxtaposes with the breezy melody.

The brooding horn and finger picking guitar has a more overt Nick Drake influence on ‘Ticket To The Fight', but the frantic lyrical content contrasts with the songs melodic grace. ‘Anniversary' is an exploration of love losing its grip. With piano leading the song, ‘Anniversary' is compelling ballad.

I have tried and I won't be holding on

The sparse and haunting ‘Michelle's Cabin' is a musical gale blowing across the moor. ‘Firelines' is a very dark song as the singers psyche seems to be is ripped up in confusion as he slowly edges towards desperation.

Could've been the weight outside that caught me unaware

And buried me with the things I wouldn't share

The album ends in melancholic style on ‘Young And Able'. The sadness is given a melodic edge with the close harmonies. Reservation is a contemplative album filled with sadness and the melodic subtlety, the sparse arrangements and mysterious lyrics make for thoughtful listening. Jonny Magus

Airport Girl – Slow Light (Fortuna Pop)

Airport Girl are an indie pop band taking influences from The Go-Betweens and The Silver Jews, but I also hear Luna, Galaxie 500, the Velvet Underground and those masters of melody Shack. Slow Light is a laid back album with world weary vocals from Rob Price, superb jangly guitars and all backed up with strings, horns, harmonica and roosty banjo. ‘There's A Crisis In Your Past' opens up the album in magnificent style, with the world weary melody full of melancholy soul, like Dean Wareham at his most intense.

The deep throaty vocal of Rob Price comes to the fore on ‘Hold Me Through The Night' and is like Galaxie 500 meets Phil Spector. The big chorus is slowed down to brim with slow burning intensity. The subtle strings make this a melancholic pop symphony. ‘Don't Let Me Down Again' has Velvets style guitar chords and is sparsely sounded through the verse, but the tune opens into a sweet pop chorus and is punctuated with a visceral guitar/horn musical breaks, that adds some spice to the stripped down feel of the tune.

Chiming guitars and vocals that are about to break apart from Price, make ‘Ode To The City' another intense tune, which opens out into melodic guitar solo. ‘I've Seen Mexico' is a folksy rootsy downbeat melancholic tune, with nice close backing harmonies on the chorus. The extremely melancholic ‘The Weather Song' starts like a downbeat sparse trembling tune, but bursts into a skipping beat and upbeat jazzy inflected sunshine tune with backing bah bahs and a wonky chorus. ‘The Weather Songs' is one off the wall tune that reminds me of a Liverpool band Shack. ‘Twice Around The Bay' is a short rhythmical pop tune with lots of melody. Short, sweet and very magical. The acoustic twelve string guitar comes to the fore on this catchy acoustic song ‘How Long Can This Go On?'.

The background harmonica enhances to the atmosphere and the melodic guitar licks are delightful. The jangly guitar of ‘Show Me The Way' creates mid paced indie pop with a superb vocal from Price, full of heart. ‘Low Coin (lullaby)' has crashing guitars simmering away in the background, a nursery rhyme melody, and a sparse arrangement that melds to compose a stripped down pop delight. The albums ends with ‘Bullfighting' an epic tune, awash with melodica, reverbed out guitars/piano and a whooshing chorus, a fine way to end this melancholically sweeping album. If you like your melodies with a world weary edge, and you dig inventive song craft, check out Slow Light by Airport Girl, I really enjoyed this album. Jonny Magus

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