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Category: Playlist Review

  • Dave’s Re-Tracks Volume One

    Dave’s Re-Tracks Volume One

    This is a collection of reviews for various singles that I have written for Start-Track.com’s blog. It’s my plan to republish stuff here from time to time so that this website remains the definitive place for my musical writings, as much as possible. Please enjoy these reviews and tracks, if you haven’t read them already and also consider going to the Start-Track blog and giving it a look. There are a bunch of reviews for a whole lot of good music that are written by a whole host of people that truly enjoy music. 

    “All This Time” is Yasu Cub’s newest single. In it, they craft ethereal soundscapes that reach across the expanse of space and time. Seriously this song is packed full of timeless vibes. Front man, Jacob Oki Ahearn, delivers a smooth vocal performance seems to reach right through your heart and into your soul. The main guitar piece is also something special. It provides a twinkle effect that is inlayed across rhythm guitar to create a dream like charm. The lyrics speak of love, missed opportunities, and ultimately of being left wanting more. All this combined develops a resonant sincerity. “All This Time” is off Yasu Cub’s New Album, expected to be released March 2026. I, for one, have definitely been left wanting more. 

    iVy is an alternative pop duo based in Japan and formed during 2023. “Yugamu Pink” is their newest single following the release of their first album back in August of this year. The song features a stellar dreamlike music offering a vocal performance that is soft, sweet, a little forlorn and yet also in parts somehow optimistic. While I don’t speak Japanese, I do have a computer translation of the lyrics sheet. I am positive this translation fails to do the words justice. However, I am able to glean that the song is about regret and wanting to be with someone again and just be happy together. I think this matches well with the mood presented by the music and perhaps even suggests that maybe a little joy can be found in yearning for what was lost. 

    Here For You is an indie folk band from Brooklyn, New York. “Theme Song 2” is one of their newest singles released in the run up to their debut album, “The First Year”. If it is representative of the rest of the album, then folks, I can honestly say that we are all in for something special. The song starts with an understated guitar melody and a clicky beat. Then, in short, kicks up with a great guitar riff and accordion that is to die for. If you are a fan of unique instruments that fall outside of the prevue of mainstream popular music, I think you will fall in love with this song in the first 20 seconds. I know I did. The message of the song is about taking life as it comes with your friends by your side. It is imbued with such wide-eyed hopefulness that it is hard not to feel empowered by it. Not in a “I feel like I can punch a mountain in the face” kind of way, rather it’s a less intense, deep breath, “we got this” kind of way. It is honestly quite endearing. Check out “Theme Song 2” now and the rest of “The First Year” when it releases on the 24th of October.  

    Champ, from North Eastern, England, takes what it feels like to grow up in a small town, bottles and distills it into their latest release “Born in the Wild End”.  The crushing weight and expectations of tradition. The desire of your elders for you to continue to do what they have always done versus your desire to very much not do that and your need for something more. This song evokes a weird sense of bitter sweet nostalgia. Sweet, because you yearn for a time where you had it all figured out, because back in your small town everything seemed so simple. Bitter, because you now know that simplicity never really existed. This heartfelt retrospective is set to a smooth rock soundtrack with a soaring guitar solo to carry you out the back end of the song. It’s the perfect punctuation to a song that is packed with some much raw emotion. 

    If you liked the songs I reviewed here and want to support the artists as well as this blog please consider picking them up digitally via these Amazon affiliate links—>

    All This Time

    Yugamu Pink

    Theme Song 2

    Born in the Wild End

  • In Case You Missed It Vol. 2

    In Case You Missed It Vol. 2

    October has been a pretty wild month for releases. There have been several great albums that we have covered here on the blog and even more no doubt that have slipped past my gaze. There have also been an incredible amount of singles that were released this month. In this volume of, In Case You Missed It, I am going to spot light some of those releases that I really enjoyed. 

    “Temperance” by Mega Infinity; released October 7, 2025: Mega Infinity is a four piece ska band from New York City. They lean to the harder side of the genre and this song puts that on display. It’s the first single released in the run up to their newest album, releasing sometime winter of next year. The song uses the moon as a metaphor for personal empowerment. Michi’s vocals are powerful and maybe even a little angry. Especially as they scream, ‘I am the tide’. Something wholly appropriate for this kind of hype song. The guitar solo that sits almost directly in the middle of the song goes hard, and brings the hype up to an insane degree. Temperance hasn’t been this hard since the 1920’s. 

    “Heart Attack” by Cold Wrecks; released October 10, 2025: Cold Wrecks is from Brooklyn, New York, delivers a surprising up beat song about the struggles of dealing with anxiety and crisis. It is refreshing when artists engage with these kinds of topics in a way that can be uplifting rather than in a gloomy manner. While gloomy is valid, upbeat is good as well.  I have been a fan of Cold Wrecks for quite a while. If you have been following me since back when this blog was a ‘radio’ show streamed on twitch, you know I played them frequently. This is the second single they released this year. I hope this is a sign of a new album hitting the internet at some point in the near future.

    “Daydream” by Underneath The Lookout; October 14, 2025: Underneath The Lookout consists of the duo Suzy and Craig and hailing from the UK. They produce a unique blend of reggae dub and ska. Their newest single came out mid-October and clearly demonstrates that reggae and ska do indeed belong together with dub. This song has a lot going on in a way that makes it a wonderful cornucopia of sound. It’s got horns, melodica, some (I assume) synthesized ‘ska’ organ, and bass. And let me tell you, that bass is so good. It’s got a low rumble about it and beat that underpins the whole song. While I definitely think the musical composition is the star of this song, I do think that Suzy’s vocal performance is great as well and the message of the song is very much relevant to today. I too frequently despair about the downfalls of modern life. 

    “Time Warp” by Bad Mary; released October 21, 2025: This song made this list for multiple reasons. First of all, is that I have been wanting to write about Bad Mary for a while now. They are a great glam-punk band from Long Island, New York. Then there is the fact that it is Halloween today, so not including this spooky classic from my favorite musical felt wrong to me. It is an incredible rendition of the song. I could barely keep myself from singing along and grooving while listening to it while taking my kid and his friend to school this week. It was hard, but I think i succeeded. 

    “Radio Player” by Josaleigh Pollet//Crowd Shy; released October 28, 2025:  SLC musician, Josaleigh Pollet, just released this song and the moment I heard it I knew I had to write about it. The song starts out with the sound of a single beating heart and slowly is accompanied by this creepy, swirling, wispy, ethereal ambient noise. It is the perfect set up for a feeling of seclusion and loneliness. Moments later the synthesizer hits and it is also amazing at crafting the chilling ambiance. Then Josaleigh’s vocals kick in and they are soul-stirring and beautiful. The lyrics are cryptic and make you feel even more isolated and perhaps lost in time. The second half of the song is a reference to the famous scene from the movie poltergeist. It is at this point that you realize what you are experiencing is a haunting and it hits you with a shudder. The question then becomes, is Josaleigh talking to you about the ghost? Are they  talking to the ghost? Are you the ghost? Oh, lord, It is so good. 

    These songs are not by any stretch of the imagination the only good singles that dropped this month but they are a selection that I think you all should check out. I hope that y’all enjoy them as much as I have. 

    If you liked the songs I reviewed here and want to support the artists as well as this blog please consider picking them up digitally via these Amazon affiliate links—>

    Temperance 

    Heart Attack

    Daydream 

    Time Wrap

    Radio Player