(via Shutterstock)
I love songs with heart and soul.
While dancing or bopping along to a track is a joy in and of itself, having an artist pour real and affecting thought and emotion into the songs they produce, and have them have an effect on you, is a real privilege and joy.
It’s everywhere in these five songs, especially in the first track reviewed which frankly is my favourite song of the year so far because it doesn’t just wear its heart on its sleeve, it sews it into the very depths of all of us and reminds us that being human means being connected.
Especially by music …
“Click Clack Symphony” by RAYE
(courtesy official RAYE Instagram page)
If you listen carefully, and to be honest, many pop songs don’t get anywhere near that level of scrutiny, you will notice that a lot of artists pour their hearts and souls into their music.
It’s what creative types do, and it elevates three-minute (or more) pop songs into something altogether rich and more complex, music and words in heartfelt sync; but nowhere recently have I heard this more clearly, and yes, profoundly, than in “Click Clack Symphony” by British singer-songwriter-record producer RAYE who has written for many artists including Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Ellie Goulding, and Little Mix, but also, incredibly rewarding for the music listening public, herself.
“Click Clack Symphony”, lifted from her recently released second album, This Music May Contain Hope, has a lavishly epic theatricality to it (thanks in large part of the contribution of composer, Hans Zimmer and a live orchestra recording), moving through almost Bohemian Rhapsody shifts in music and tone but always, always, remain intimately about how depression can steal so many things from your life but what happens if you decide to fight back, especially on a Friday night?
The song title seems to be lifted from the “click clack” of the shoes of her girlfriends coming to rescue her after she puts out an S.O.S. and its delivery imbues the song with a poetically staccato urgency matched by lyrics that might seem playful but which point to someone in a world of emotional trouble.
It’s lush, it’s epic, it’s alive with terrible pain and uplifting hope and tightknit community and it speaks to the need all of us have to have friends ride to our rescue in our darkest hour.
“Aperture” by Harry Styles
(courtesy official Harry Styles Facebook page)
I was never a huge One Direction fan so I don’t feel too bad in saying that singer-songwriter-actor, Harry Styles has always been my favourite among the five members.
He’s always come across as endlessly creative, gregariously quirky (I adore quirkiness if everything), with a knack for marrying insightful lyrics with immensely melodic music, all of which comes to the fore in “Aperture”, lifted from his 2026 album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally..
The song, which comes with a suitably visually evocative clip, was the album’s lead single back in January, and as calling cards for an album four years in the making, it can’t be beat, described by When the Horn Blows thus:
Built as a slow burn, “Aperture” thrives on delayed gratification. Over a house-leaning pulse and hypnotic synth textures, Styles delivers one of his most intimate vocal performances to date. The refrain, “I’m going on clean”, loops like a mantra, anchoring a song that meditates on desire, intoxication, and emotional vulnerability. It’s romantic, but not rose-tinted; euphoric, yet tinged with self-awareness. The track unfolds patiently, revealing new textures and emotional cues with each listen, making it less a radio-first statement and more a grower destined for late-night dancefloors.
It’s a song that demands repeat listens, a joyously nuanced track that feels richer and richer every time you listen to it.
“Fabulous” by MEEK
(courtesy official MEEK YouTube channel)
I love affirmatively emphatic declarations of your own fabulousness.
I’m not talking egocentric, narcissistic love letters to your self; rather, the kind of self-love anthems that honour the fact that, flaws and failures aside, you are an amazing human, and if no one else will say it (and friends and family often are if you’ll just care to listen), you will.
They power the soul and are an antidote to the cruel takedowns of the world around us, and they have found perfect form in “Fabulous” by British singer-songwriter MEEK aka Georgia Meek, who rebranded in 2024 from her full birth name to the mononym which stands in direct contrast to the vibrantly out-there public persona of the artist.
Coming complete with a ballsy, gorgeously costumed clip which lives the song out in arrestingly declarative visuals, the song is the rebranded artist’s debut single, and listening to its upbeat emotiveness is to be empowered and to get a huge shot to the soul.
It’s the theatrical mixed with the emotionally intense and it works absolutely brilliant – the world done you wrong? Put this song on loud and dare it to do more!
“Go Lucky” by Vera Blue
(courtesy official Vera Blue Facebook page)
Australian singer-songwriter Vera Blue has been around for over a decade now ever since placing second on the season two of The Voice Australia and it’s not hard to see what lies behind her enduring appeal.
Gifted with the ability to play the guitar and the violin, Blue crafts songs that come with some delicacy and yet which pack a punch lyrically.
Case very much in point is “Go Lucky” which starts out stark in the opening verse before picking some harmonic richness in the chorus which makes captivating use of her luminously beautiful vocals and which picks up some energising dance floor brio which keeps the songs surging magnetically throughout which the artist says was always the intent (Rolling Stone Australia).
From the beginning we knew it needed to feel like a nostalgic 90s dance-inspired, feel-good track that lifts you the moment it starts. The kind of beat that reminds you that freedom is a feeling you can create for yourself.
And it comes with an encouraging note that love can make all the difference.
It’s a reminder that luck doesn’t define you… you define you and when you’re surrounded by the right love, you can go even higher.
“Surrender” by Lindsey Stirling
(courtesy official Lindsey Stirling Facebook page)
Somewhere around the end of the Noughties, I joined a writing group, and amongst all the creative expression and words on digital paper, we talked about all kinds of things including the kind of music that made our worlds go round.
My friend Zja happened to mention one day that she loved an American pop violinist called Lindsey Stirling, which came as a surprise because Zja’s great love is metal music of all stripes, but as I listened to Stirling, I could see why she would appeal across all kinds of genre preferences.
She has the ability to inject real energy and powerful fun into her music and that’s evident all through “Surrender” which has the melancholic richness and melodic beauty of all her music, its sound heartfelt and joyous and rapturously, gorgeously alive.
It helps that Stirling herself is a consummate performer, an artist who gives her music even more life by living and breathing and giving it animated, physical form.
She’s a joy to watch and her music does something to the soul that lingers and grows and enriches and leaves you feeling better.
SONGS, SONGS AND MORE SONGS EXTRA!
Fifty years ago legendary Swedish pop group recorded a TV special called ABBA Down Under which as an ardent ten-year-old fan I watched glued to the set. Now, to mark the fact that five decades have elapsed since that moment, the videos have been made available through ABBA’s YouTube channel.
here’s what the email announcing the release had to say …
Back in 1976 ABBA went “down under” to Australia to record their very own TV-Special, filled with current hits and new songs from their then upcoming album Arrival.
From “Waterloo” to “Dancing Queen” this TV-Special showcased the group both in a relaxed setting visiting different locations around Sydney, and their performances from a TV studio.
Later on, the TV-Special would be named ABBA Down Under, and you can now watch different performances from this on ABBA’s YouTube.
You can watch the rest on the official ABBA YouTube channel.
Confessions II coming soon from Madonna
It’s been a long time between dancefloor drinks for Madonna who is coming back this 3 July with Confessions II, a sequel to 2005’s Confessions on a Dancefloor, which gave us the infinitely danceable pleasure of “Hung Up”, which sampled ABBA’s song “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” (the band almost never authorises sampling so this was a BIG deal). My memories of this album are warm and vivid, with the album being played, at my friend’s 40th birthday party in Vancouver.
It’s exciting to have new music from the legendary artist. Roll in mid-year – we need to dance!