I listen to a lot of new music every day. Because of this, even if I really like a song, I hardly ever find I’m singing it to myself inadvertently the next day. Why then, six months after hearing Take me to the Sea for the first time, does it still pop into my head unannounced?

Some people will say it’s because the chorus is ‘catchy’. It is. But that can’t be the whole story. To me, it sounds like Salt Cathedral have written a killer vocal melody and then been really clever with it; the song has very few vocal lines, it’s just a short verse, short chorus repeated one after the other. In spite of this repetition, you’re never in danger of switching off and losing interest because the Foals-esque backing underneath each vocal section is constantly changing in texture and rhythmic feel. This combination of familiarity and novelty of musical ideas means you have something easy to remember and you’re alert and interested enough to remember it. Add in Juliana Ronderos’ crystalline voice and you’re on to a guaranteed ‘stick-in-your-head’ pop song.

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Cathy Wilcock