Europop – Page 99

Saturday Flashback: Guards – Ready To Go

CHIMING BELLS.

Tim: Normally I hate stuff that TV channels put on screen over the programs, whether they’re massive promos for new shows or just irritating hashtags that say “hey! this is the way in which we’d like you not to pay attention to the show”. MTV, though, have a thing in their dramas where a fairly discreet “now playing” bars appears briefly for any incidental music tracks.

Tom: Huh. For their demographic, I suspect that’s a very good idea.

Tim: It’s via that that I found out what this track was, used recently in an episode of Teen Wolf (you’ll probably judge me based based on the title alone; I couldn’t care less).

Tom: I will.

Tim: Firstly, let’s get the obvious out of the way: CHIMING BELLS, and somehow it doesn’t sound like Christmas – that’s quite an achievement.

Tom: Ah, that’s ‘cos they’re not descending on a major scale.

Tim: True, true. Then there’s the unimportant things, like the lyrics, which are practically non-existent – about six verse lyrics, and then “we’re often ready to go” in there a full twenty four times.

Tom: Isn’t that “we’re up and ready to go”? Like you said, though, it doesn’t matter.

Tim: I thought so as well, but most lyric sites beg to differ.

The singing as well is, well, alright – decent enough, but hardly “you’ve got four yeses”. But all that’s okay, because there’s one thing that really makes this track: the production on it. Because, wow. We thought Hurts was good last week, and it was, but this is fantastic. The drums, the guitars, the bells, the keyboard, whatever else they’ve got in there, all just add together to give a total that is just brilliant.

Tom: Agreed: the ol’ wall-of-sound technique that can often see individual elements lost, but it’s handled rather well here. Yep, that’ll do nicely.

The Royal Concept – On Our Way

“If you’re going to echo someone else’s style…”

Tim: This is a Swedish band, comprised of Filip, Magnus, Povel and David; this is the first track of theirs that I’ve come across, and I’m glad I did.

Tim: I like the speed of this, because right from the start with the horse racing and the quick keyboard we’re clearly in for a good ride, and happily the song doesn’t fall short on that promise. (Metaphors are all over the place there; you know what I mean.)

Tom: That verses sound a bit like a cross between the synths from Baba O’Reilly and the vocals from Call Me Al – and I’m fairly sure I’ve heard that “on our way way way” chorus somewhere in Eurovision recently.

Tim: You have, and it took me a while to place it too – it’s from Eric Saade’s Popular.

Tom: But if you’re going to echo someone else’s style, those aren’t bad ones to echo.

Tim: The words come thick and fast, as to the lyrics in that video (which I like, in the way that’s it’s almost a struggle to keep up with it).

Tom: Agreed: they’ve got a proper designer or two in to handle putting that video together.

Tim: Also garnering points: the ‘we are young’ vibe, which is out in full force here, from the obvious let’s head to a party as quickly as possible in the chorus, through to the up all night in the middle eight and the rather clever “I miss her bed” – couldn’t care less about who she was, just the bed part of it. Classy. Excellent.

Tom: To be fair, I can understand that. My bed’s not particularly comfortable.

Tim: Well, yes. That’s clearly the reason.

Kristiina Wheeler – Rikki

“Starts out a lot darker.”

Tim: You may remember Muukalainen, Kristiina’s previous track that we reviewed. If you don’t, go and have another listen, because it’s lovely, and this one’s not going anywhere. Nor, in fact, is it remotely similar to that one, but never mind.

Tom: Blimey, that starts out a lot darker, doesn’t it? What’s it about?

Tim: ‘Rikki’ means broken; as for the other words, I started typing them into Google Translate but soon got incredibly bored, so I can’t really claim to know what’s going on here, though the tone suggests a relationship’s somewhat on the rocks.

Tom: Top quality music journalism right here.

Tim: Alright, fine – you type them in, then, and see how far you get before the continuous pausing to check and annoyance that the results don’t make much sense wear you down. Now, if we could get back to the song, rather than cruel, unnecessary and unfair digs at me, it’s very different in style, at least to start with, which was slightly jarring – previously we’d had mellow guitars building into upbeat almost Eurotrance, and to be presented with rather melancholy bass and drumbeats was less than what I was hoping for.

Tom: I didn’t go in with that hope — not after those first few bars — so it works rather well for me.

Tim: Nonetheless, it does the same good job of towards the ending of building up to something approximating a bit of a raver – there’s a tinge of optimism in the choruses, and by the end it’s really picked up very well. I like this. Not as much as the first one, but if we kept judging songs by previous standards I’d never have had time for any Jedward song since they did Ghostbusters.

Tom: WHO YA GONNA CALL?

Tim: Hmm.

Miss Li – Transformer

“Isn’t that all kinds of lovely?”

Tim: According to Linda Carlsson’s YouTube biography (apparently that’s a thing now), she experimented with just about every style of music going as a youngster; seven years back, aged 24, she chose Serious Authentic Music and took on the name Miss Li. Last year, though, was a slight switch to good rowdy pop, as evidenced by My Heart Goes Boom, which UK advert-watchers may recognise from a furniture superstore advert. New up: this.

Tim: And isn’t that all kinds of lovely?

Tom: Oh, it is. I like everything about it about from the word “Transformer”. It’d be lovely if the line of toys and movies didn’t exist; it’d just be a fairly whimsical choice of words. But it stands out like a sore thumb here.

Tim: You think? Because I have absolutely no problems with it whatsoever – doesn’t stick out at all.

Tom: That said, on a second listen it didn’t seem so obvious, so perhaps it’s one of those things that you just get used to over time.

Tim: The voice wavers between being fairly lacklustre and downbeat in the verses and all happy and bouncy in the chorus – so much, in fact, that we bounce up a key entirely and have an even happier closing section.

Tom: Which is strange, given that the lyrics could be interpreted in quite a dark way.

Tim: Yeah – I thought it was quite nice at first, until I noticed that single chorus line that turns it from “let’s have fun doing whatever you want” to basically a desperate plea not to dump her. It’s still sung with enough brightness, though, that you can’t really help but be uplifted by it. And, let’s face it, when you get right down to it, making you feel good is what pop music is meant to do, so well done here.

Agnetha Fältzkog – Dance Your Pain Away

Away from the ballads and on to the disco floor!

Tom: Agnetha! You’ve gotta see her! Go insane and out of your mind! …just me?

Tim: That version? Yes, yes it really is just you.

Tom: Hey, it’s a good version. (At least you actually followed the link, though.) Anyway! Agnetha. What’s she got?

Tim: Second single off her solo album (which is really very good indeed, by the way), and it’s away from the ballads and on to the disco floor!

Tom: A quick note for our reader: this advice is not backed up by medical facts.

https://soundcloud.com/agnethafaltskog/dance-your-pain-away

Tom: Blimey! Everything from the synths to the strings in the background: it’s like it’s taken from the Disco Textbook.

Tim: It’s quite fun, isn’t it? If there’s pain, just dance it all away. Certainly seems to work for Agnetha, as there’s really very little pain here at all – just lots of happy synths rolling up and down, vocals that really do sound like they’re coming for a smiling mouth, and plenty of assurance that ‘he got nothing on you’.

Tom: It’s a good disco track: not a floor-filler by any means, but there’s nothing wrong with it.

Tim: It’s a reassuring message, and, sure, it’s working. I think all my pain has gone.

Tom: Either that or ibuprofen. That say, I wouldn’t be surprised if that middle eight has mild analgesic properties.

Tim: Yes, we can’t overstate this enough – this is only for emotional pain. Dancing to this really isn’t the best way to soothe a headache, or a dislocated shoulder. For that, I’d advise seeing a pharmacist. Or just stick to Riverdance.

Lorde – Tennis Court

“Well, fairly nice.”

Tom: “Tennis Court”? Really?

Tim: That is indeed what it’s called, yes. The friend who introduced me to this song told me Lorde was French; she’s not, she’s from New Zealand, but let’s have it anyway because it’s nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe4BSUjqLxs

Tim: Well, fairly nice.

Tom: She sounds like… well, a lot of this decade’s female singers. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just that a lot of people are going to think she’s someone else. It’s a bit slow and dark for me, but I can see the appeal.

Tim: It doesn’t really go anywhere, but it doesn’t really need to, I don’t think, because that chorus is really rather good.

Tom: Pity about that “yeah” sample; it stands out like a sore thumb to me, even through all the synths.

Tim: Really? I dont have a problem with it.

The verses don’t have much to them – the rhythm of the vocal in their second halves is good, though, moving along quickly contrasting with the slowness and near non-existence of what’s underneath – but that really just serves to say “pay attention to the chorus”. And that’s good – the lyrical momentum is kept up nicely, the instrumentation builds up a big and we’re given a chorus that just kind of works, even if there is a sudden disjoint between the end of the loud chorus and the beginning of the teeny tiny verse. I like it.

Tom: And I don’t mind it. Between us, that’s practically an endorsement.

Magnus Carlsson – Glorious

We get whacked sharply on the head by that almighty chorus.

Tim: One of the most notable names in Swedish pop over the past couple of decades, Magnus is back with a new track. And, well, no prizes for guessing the word I’m considering using to describe it.

Tom: That’s a heck of a lead-in. This had better be… well, you know.

Tom: And it is! Well, that’s a nice surprise, although given his history I suppose I’d have been more startled if it was anything but.

Tim: It is brilliant, isn’t it? What a joyous track it is. The way there’s no real verse to speak of – just a couple of can’t-really-be-bothered lines before we head into the nice build-up of the pre-chorus, and get whacked sharply on the head by that almighty chorus.

Tom: And that almighty — pun intended — key change.

Tim: If you can’t quite work out where you’ve heard the ‘GLORIOUS’ melody before, it’s in Never Ending Story – he claims this is a mix of that and his previous Live Forever, “in a steamy affair with Carola’s Evighet and with Pet Shop Boys choirs and an overtone of my own Kom Hem.”

Tom: Well, at least he acknowledges it, although I do still want to do the descending “la la la” bit from Never Ending Story over the end.

Tim: We all do, Tom, and it seems even Magnus can’t help himself a couple of times. It’s quite an ambitious mixture he describes, but what a mixture it turns out to be. It’s wonderful, and it’s properly perked up my Friday. I love it.

Tom: I can only agree. Top work, Magnus.

Bright Light Bright Light – Moves

“The seventh (that’s seventh) and final single from the album.”

Tim: The seventh (that’s seventh) and final single from the album Make Me Believe In Hope also comes with its own EP launching in America and a nice video, featuring Rod (which is his name) being very sweaty and topless.

Tom: Seven singles off one album? What was it, a double-cassette compilation or something?

Tim: Nope – just a damn good album.

Tim: And what a lovely track that is to close the album’s output with.

Tom: The first verse lost me, and I found my attention wandering to other thing — until that chorus kicked in. I think the start of the chorus, and that waily-synthesiser middle-eight, are the only parts of the track I can really get behind… but they are really very good parts.

Tim: Absolutely – wonderful production underneath as ever, and brilliantly sung lyrics conveying exactly the right tone – “We can move apart, I guess, and I can move along, I guess, and I can do my best, I guess, but then what’s the use?” – a long, despondent realisation that a relationship’s over and there’s, well, nothing left.

Tom: Agreed that it’s brilliantly sung. Perhaps more of an album track than a single, but hell, after six previous ones I can forgive it not being a full-on attention-grabbing crowd-pleaser.

Tim: The video, cutting between him dancing around on his own, and lying on his bed looking somewhat less than happy is spot on as well, and I don’t think there’s anything else to ask for.

Utterly brilliant, top marks, and I cannot recommend the album highly enough. Get it.

Icona Pop – Girlfriend

“What band hasn’t succeeded in a new country by splitting sales across two tracks?”

Tim: About a decade after it was originally released, I Love It is finally getting a release and gradually building up airplay in the UK.

Tom: A year, to be fair – there have been longer gaps between release and international success. So what’s with the new single?

Tim: Well, it’s the obvious step: put out their follow-up international release. After all, what band hasn’t succeeded in a new country by splitting sales across two tracks?

Tim: And, why mess with a winning formula? Fairly aggressive vocals, excellent production underneath, a great enough tune to get any party going.

Tom: Plus occasional use of “shit”, which seems to be emerging as one of their trademarks.

Tim: To give them their due, it’s a great track, and one I actually prefer to I Love It.

Tom: I still reckon I Love It is the better track — I don’t think they’d have had success if they’d released this first — but it’s a competent followup.

Tim: You’re right – it’s not got the same “listen to us, we here and demand your attention” quality that I Love It has that you’d think would be first and foremost in their minds.

I say “them”, it’s probably more the label’s fault than theirs, as I Love It went down a storm in the US a few months back and so now’s a good time to release this for that market. But why delay the UK one so much (and, while you’re at it, entirely cancel the remix EP)? Such silliness.

Christophe Lallet – Långt Bort Härifrån

“Actual competent singing, for a start”

Tim: Hey, remember that time a British footballer released a single and it went well for them? No? Strange, I don’t either.

Tom: Thankfully, Wikipedia has a full list of “UK hit singles released by footballers“. The only one by a footballer, not a team, that could reasonably be classed as being well-received is, of course, Gazza’s “Fog on the Tyne”—

Tim: Of course.

Tom: –and I don’t think that could still be classed as “going well”.

Tim: Nevertheless, this mid-fielder for Hammarby IF (research, you’ll note) is hoping that the same rules don’t apply in Sweden.

Tom: So this is probably going to be awful?

Tom: Huh. It’s not awful.

Tim: It’s not, no. The title translates to Far Away From Here, though that aside I’ve no idea what it’s about, but since it’s actually quite a good song, he just might do alright. It’s actual competent singing, for a start, it’s got decent production underneath it, and there’s a nice melody to it. It is, in fact, exactly what you don’t expect a football song to sound like, largely because he’s actually trying out music as a secondary career, rather than just the odd novelty track for the fans to buy.

Tom: I still reckon the best football single is the first football single. For starters, it’s only two minutes long.

Tim: That’s one good thing you can say about it.