10

Let's go to Norway.

Hailing from Oslo (although singing in English), Serena-Maneesh are not easily pigeonholed into a genre. Most frequently described as indie, shoegaze, alternative or pop, the seven band members employ a wide variety of instruments – some, such as the guitar and drums very commonplace, but others, such as the viola and organ certainly not so. 'Sapphire Eyes' is their second UK single release, following June 2006's 'Drain Cosmetics'; and can be found on their self-titled album, which was also released this June.

'Sapphire Eyes' opens with gentle singing that is so rhythmic as to be almost chanting combined with light percussion, soon exploding into something heavier before receding to the opening section's lighter feel. Throughout its three minutes and nineteen seconds 'Sapphire Eyes' follows this pattern of light into dark – unlike a Nordic winter, when light is a stranger. Singer Ann Sung-an Lee has a pleasant but unremarkable voice, and when one listens closely the guitar riffs and other instrumental sections don't appear as interesting as they should be. Overall, it's a pleasant and not easily forgotten track, but it has the aura of an idea not completely realised. Serena-Maneesh are a relatively young band however, and with a little more tweaking to their sound, experimentation and practice could soon be considered quite special.

Unfortunately there are no b-sides to this single release, only three remixes. The DJs behind these remixes are relative well-known – Tony Doogan and Brendon Lynch for example – but it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to listen to them more than once. There never seems to be much point in including remixes on such albums – the DJ and the band have totally different ideas for the track and are using different types of instruments (i.e. 'real' ones vs. electronic) without consideration to blending them together. As a consequence all three of these mixes feel defined into electronic and non-electronic sections and as such come across as rather cheap and tacky. Riton's remix is the best of the bunch, probably because it bares little resemblance to the original song and is a track in its own right. Opinions on remixes aside however, this is a promising single and it will be to our benefit if Serena-Maneesh spend more time in the UK in the future.