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.
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