1. Free Your Mind – Cut Copy – The beat pattern is quite clever and the howling at the “moooon shines brighter than the sun” is a good hook, but the vocal isn’t there and the rest of the track doesn’t pay it off – B-
2. Ordinary Human – Onerepublic – This exists to be popular and it may succeed because Ryan tedder has his finger on the pulse of rock bands playing pop in 2014. Still, horrible beyond belief – C
3. Did We Live Too Fast – Got A Girl – There is something continental in the backing piano, like they’ve taken from mainstream pop Francais what they want and left the rest – B+
4. I Believe (Get Over Yourself) – Nico Vega – The lead singer is married to the guy from Imaginary Dragons and if that wasn’t enough to dislike the indie pop band, the album sucks, but this OK – B
5. Impromptu – Kodomo – Really? It sure sounds studied to me – B
6. Christmas Card – Joyce Manor – Emo rockers manage a goodie until they fuck up the bridge – B
7. Die Fischer – Richard Strauss – A major part of the German Romanticism era, this is from a major album of arrangements of strauss for piano – A
8. Frozen Vaults – National Jazz trio Of Scotland With Beans – Sounds like it escaped from a Burt Bacharach backing track – B
9. Up And Down Around here – The Muffs – New wavey, and at least it’s better than the Pixies – B
10. Amorist – Overkill – Heavy rat-atattat drumming – B
