Sweden // Lavin - Vintersorg
Always a bad sign when people start scream-growling. Thought the intro was harmless enough and some of the less chuggy guitar lines later on were alright, but ultimately this is way out of the zone of stuff that I enjoy and I definitely couldn't do seven minutes of it again.
Slovenia // 18+ - Scene Queen
Enjoyed the fiery lyrics; I too am fucking tired of people that I used to respect turning out to be total shitheads (cough cough Win Butler). Musically, I did not like it.
eSwatini // Catch the Wind - The Irish Descendants
I do like a traditional Irish folk sound. This was simple and sweet, though obviously nothing revolutionary.
Mali // Standing at the Sky's Edge - Richard Hawley
(my entry!)
Hawley was one of the first artists that I really loved when I was expanding my musical horizons for the first time properly in my late teens, and one who's stuck around better than most of his contemporaries at the time. He's a very foundational presence in my library, and this is one of his best-ever tracks, the highlight of the album of the same name - which I would rate as his second-best behind Coles Corner, whose title track I put into SC1. Sky's Edge is a much rockier album than Coles Corner, exemplified by this song which has still has some of my favourite absolutely filthy guitar breaks.
Israel // Emotional Echoes - Sunhiausa
I liked the bits that weren't hyperactive electric screeching. Unfortunately, most of the bits were that.
Alpha Centauri // The Mirror Stage - Adagio
Are all prog metal bands required by law to use the same lead vocalist? I didn't enjoy myself with this one.
Peru // Brats - Liars
R̶͙͗̄i̴̼̪͝g̷̡̳͊͐h̵̩̮̊ṭ̴̑̋ ̴̞̪̏́a̸̳͠͝b̷̞́o̸͎̜̿͘ȕ̸̥t̶̞͎͋ ̸͙̍̄n̵͎̜̎͒o̵̪̺͝w̴̝̖̕,̴̖̑ ̶̟̇̈́t̶̲͕̀͝ḣ̶̬̆ê̷̱̱ ̷̧͓̇̈́f̴͈̄ũ̷̥͗n̶̟̘̈k̸̈́̃ͅ ̶̣͈̔s̵̨̬̈́͝o̴̹̾̿u̴̽̔͜l̷̗̔̇ ̸̠͒̔ͅb̶̗́̚r̶̻̽̒o̴͈̓t̴̛͙̐h̴̖̓̅e̵̩͝ř̷̘ ̸̙͕͒/̷̯̒͜ ̵̻̥̄̋C̷͉̣̔h̸̨͕̄̓e̴̼̣͊c̶̠̈́̾k̵̬̿̚ ̶͖̓̕i̵̛͓t̵̢̬́̃ ̶̼͊̀ô̵̜͙̚ŭ̸͙͉̇t̶̨̿̉ ̴̼͍̊̅n̵̯̖͑ö̸̤̳́ẃ̷͈,̴̟̿ ̶̤̕t̵͉̿h̴͚͓͒̑e̷͈͈̓ ̴̺̟̚f̴͕͚̓u̶̹̇n̵̦̾̈́k̶̙͋ ̷͇̑͆s̵̘͌̅ȍ̶̡̲͗ü̶̺̪̓ĺ̸̹̲̓ ̴͚̐̕ͅb̶̨̔͝r̷̝̿o̸̘̔t̷̝͠h̷̖̤̓̾ȅ̷̱r̴͚͉̚
I didn't hate it by any means but I basically could never stop thinking about how it sounded like it would break into The Rockefeller Skank at any second and how I'd probably like to just be listening to that instead.
Canada // Telecaster Stripe - Polkadot Stingray
As with a lot of Japanese rock, I kinda wish that the drums were about half as busy as they are, but the guitar and bass here are extremely on point. Not entirely convinced by the vocalist, who a few times dropped some breathy notes that sounded like they were scraping across the mic quite uncomfortably. But there's plenty to like here.
Iran // Get Out - Circa Survive
I've bought a couple of Circa Survive and Anthony Green tracks over the years (the Song Contest could easily be to blame for that, come to think of it) but I doubt that I'll be following up on this one. Green regularly toes the line between spine-chilling and just plain whiny and he falls on the wrong side of it here, I think; pairs less well with the crash-and-boom drums and general pace because it conjures the air of a spoilt child.
Iceland / Get Out of My House - Kate Bush
I haven't explored much of Bush's catalogue before, and I really should. She's super-distinctive and interesting, and gets a lot of leeway to explore when the results can sometimes be things like Running Up That Hill. I'd normally expect something like a recurring, vaguely atonal chant of "get out of my house" to get on my nerves, but it really works here with a kind of hall-of-mirrors vibe. That turmoil paired with very Police-y Walking on the Moon riffs makes for a fascinating contrast.
Wales // Is This How You Feel? - The Preatures
Hey, The Preatures - could you please decide whether or not your song has a question mark at the end of its title and make that consistent between the YouTube labeling and the on-screen text at the start of your music video? Sincerely, a proofreader.
With that out of the way, this is a funky little number, innit? Those restrained, bass-heavy verses are pretty infectious, making plenty of space for the moments when the lead guitar gets to shine. Yeah, I'm going to want to bop around to this again. Wriggly and satisfying.
Gibraltar // 2007 - JID
I feel like I would have got more out of this if I had more context about the wider rap scene - there are a lot of names and references here that mean nothing to me. There are a lot of things about the song that I like intellectually - particularly actually having a verse from his actual dad (am I right about that?) - but in practice it was seven-and-a-half minutes of stuff that didn't really deviate much in terms of style and structure, and the broad themes of 'I didn't have very much but I worked hard and I'm talented and now here I am' are probably quite effective if I have more context about his work but quite meat-and-potatoes in more general terms.
Chile // Love Guarantee - Young Gun Silver Fox
A well-executed throwback, although I now regret having had the temerity to criticise the previous song for having rote lyrical themes. It's pleasant enough, but has serious hotel-lobby energy.
Ireland // Praying - Kesha
That big squealy note at the end was the moment that the song turned from unthrilling but tolerable to actively getting on my nerves. I'm glad you're doing better, Kesha, but oof.
Jupiter // Achilles Come Down - Gang of Youths
I like Gang of Youths fairly well and this is probably in my top half of tracks from Go Farther in Lightness. Probably. The band's biggest hindrance is their determination to go as big as possible at all times - they like a track that runs 90 seconds longer than it probably needs to (like this one does, IMO) and they reeeeally like an album that runs at least 15 minutes longer than it needs to, a problem that holds back both this record and its slightly superior (IMO) successor, Angel in Realtime. That said, I absolutely forgive that kind of ambition and swinging for majesty when it can result in tracks like Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane or the ability to devastate in sparse contrast with the likes of Brothers.
Poland // Gladiator - Jann
This one mostly just bounced off me - not annoying or anything but the vaguely industrial goth style just didn't move the needle.
Malta // Rattling the Keys to the Kingdom - Hilltop Hoods
I don't normally fall for hip-hop on first listen, especially not brag tracks (I generally need an artist to earn the right to drop one of those on me through solid work on other subjects) but I gotta say that I dug this. Enjoyed the slightly sludgy synths and a super-solid earwormy hook.
Lithuania // Beleza Pula - Masayoshi Takanaka
A fun, chill vibe at first but, by golly, I did not need eight entire minutes of it when it switched things up that little.
USA // Big Bird - AJJ
I'm not completely on board with yer man here's voice but it not being very good arguably works in the song's favour; it helps things to feel raw and lost and desperate for confidence. Frankly, in that pursuit, the song seriously fucking works. Fair play. I think that I might be thinking about this one for a while.
Namibia // Kites Are Fun - The Free Design
I appreciate that it chooses 'put yourself in the perspective of your younger self' to express its themes of youth and childhood naivety but that approach does have the in-built problem of sounding like I'm listening to something that a child wrote. I just can't really take it seriously.
West Saturn // Synthesizers - Butch Walker
I mean, this is a little bit of the indie-pop equivalent of a brag track but, eh, I'll allow it. It's pretty fun and does kind of sneak up on you. A little more self-aware than I'd like but there's a real danger that I'll listen to it again so I've got to hold up my hands to that.
The Moon // Melocoton (The Donka Donk Song) - Subwoolfer
I did not, in fact, have any need for a sequel to a one-joke song.
