aaamusic | On 17, Dec 2012

You will probably have heard ‘Annie’s Song’. It is the soundtrack for TalkTalk’s current TV campaign. It’s all over the television. As a result, British trio Honey Ryder, the pop-folk band behind ‘Annie’s Song’, have latched it onto their recent second album ‘Marley’s Chains’.

Honey Ryder, led by singer Lindsay O’Mahony, create accessible but sickly sweet county rock and folk pop. ‘Annie’s Song’ is laced with overbearing strings and simplistic acoustic guitar strumming, and powered by O’Mahony’s strong vocals. There’s a real cheesy, Christmas vibe going on with this track, thanks predominantly to those strings, and the X-Factor type structure and progression.

It’s a so-so song, and I’m sure Honey Ryder are capable of better, but it’s a fine festive cut, and this soft, soppy music is all the range for commercial adverts at the moment.

★★★★★

Clive Rozario