The Vamps – Wild Heart

“Four young British lads, all with lovely hair – of course you’re going to be a boyband.”

Tim: Four young British lads, all with lovely hair – of course you’re going to be a boyband.

Tom: Crikey, it’s like McFly went acoustic. And were ten years younger.

Tim: It’s surely time to wonder if the British boyband market is yet saturated; perhaps it is, though these guys see themselves more in the ‘be actually musical’ vein of McFly and Busted than the ‘stand around and sing’ vein of One Direction, Union J and The Wanted. They’ve supported McFly on tour, are managed by the same group and their B-sides include covers of Year 3000 and Five Colours In Her Hair.

Tom: Ha. That makes sense.

Tim: Speaking of B-sides, they’ve certainly done everything they can to sell this, with eleven ways for the dedicated adolescent to purchase it, including CDs (one that comes with baseball cards), a signed DVD, a Nashville remix, a version featuring Pixie Lott, the obligatory dance remix and finally a couple of ‘just them’ recordings, with differing members taking lead vocal duties.

Tom: And each version will count separately for the charts.

Tim: Of course, none of that matters if it’s a crap track (though actually, Little Things became one of One Direction’s biggest hits so ignore that), but it isn’t a crap track, it’s a good track, so well done to everyone.

Tom: Agreed: this is well written, well sung, and well produced.

Tim: Or at least well done for this version; I really can’t be bothered to listen to all of them.

Saturday Flashback: Thunderbugs – Friends Forever

They had one hit, in 1999. This was it.

Tim: Erm, who?

Tom: They had one hit, in 1999. This was it.

Tim: Oh.

Tom: The teenage version of me might have fancied the lead singer a bit, although that might just be the current version of me fancying the lead singer a bit and projecting that backwards in time. I definitely liked the song back then, although I can’t remember if I ever saw the video.

Tom: Apart from that godawful spoken middle eight, of course. And the “Thelma and Louise” line, which implies some sort of mutual suicide pact.

Tim: Hmm. It’s another one that sounds like it could be straight out of High School Musical – a lovely happy vibe (minus, yeah, the Thelma and Louise bit), lots of singing and chirpiness, over-dramatising in the video, but no actual bite to it, especially at the end when it just starts drifting.

Tom: Actually, I think the only thing that really stands out from this, now I stop to analyse it, is that beautiful “you’re not alone” descant that pops up a few times. Apart from that, it’s a good girl-pop track. I guess.

Tim: Could do with a key change. Could definitely do with a key change.

Tom: I think I might have just accidentally killed off a piece of my childhood.

Tim: Oh well.

Ida LaFontaine – YOLO

“That Title is a big thing to get past.”

Tom: Really?

Tim: Yes, I know. But have a listen anyway.

Tim: So despite That Title, it’s a pretty good track.

Tom: Agreed, but That Title is a big thing to get past.

Tim: Well, fair play to them, they’ve resisted outright saying it a lot more than they could have – yes, the middle eight is full of it, to an horrific extent, but all the rest is somewhat tame. After all, the ONCE shout at the end of the chorus could easily be replaced by a YO, with the first (and probably many more) of the following ‘oh’s replaced by a LO. So I suppose well done to whoever had the final say there.

Tom: Mmf. If I tune out the lyrics and just let it sit in the background, I guess I can’t deny that it’s a pretty good track.

Tim: Pretty great, in fact; whatever your thoughts are to the particular ‘word’ it’s a decent piece of pop. Big chorus, big verses, a decent voice – the only problem is that middle eight which is basically just shoutiness. So basically the song is fine except for that middle eight. Oh well.

Tom: The Lonely Island did it better.

Tim: Cannot deny: that is true.

Matilda Thompson – What We Do

“How We Do”.

Tim: Prediction: you’ll find the opening couple of lines a bit harsh, and like the rest of it.

Tim: Well, that’s what I did.

Tom: Yep, that introduction is worryingly Cher Lloyd-like. Fortunately, it swung away from that quickly.

Tim: This is Matilda, a Dane who musically first appeared in public in 2002; she was 12 and part of a group competing to represent Denmark at Eurovision that year. They didn’t, but they kept going anyway, and oh, there’s a whole load of tedious biography on her slightly outdated website if you want it. According to that, she is “primed for global exposure in 2012”, and is “about to be unleashed.” So that’s good.

Tom: I know how difficult it is to keep a web site up to date, but two years? That’s impressive.

Tim: Like I said earlier, I wasn’t entirely sold on the first few lines, as there wasn’t much of a melody and only a hard repetitive synth in the backing; come the second half of the verse when the singing picks up a bit, and then the chorus where everything kicks off, it’s all sorts of brilliant, really.

Tom: Yes. But I think that’s mainly because it’s Rita Ora’s How We Do.

Tim: Oh. Ohh…

Tom: I mean, the instrumentation’s about the same, the melody’s close, the vocal style is remarkably similar, and there’s that “cos when” and “we do, do, do” echoing. Granted, it doesn’t have the “party and bullshit” chant, but it’s pretty much the same track aside from that.

Tim: Yes, it is a bit similar isn’t it. Oh well, let’s ignore that. We’ve a hugely upbeat chorus, a decent hook and a song nicely targeted at people who just want to have fun, party all night, and stay, well, forever young, as the lyrics say. And who doesn’t?

Belle – Attraction

“Outstays its welcome”

Tim: Fancy a nicely compiled lyric video with a trick up its sleeve?

Tom: Nicely compiled, possibly, but far too much textspeak for my taste.

Tom: But you’re right, I wasn’t expecting it to suddenly crank up a key or two.

Tim: Yes, it’s a heavy electro track with a key change, which isn’t something I ever thought might exist; I had to flip back a couple of times just to check I’d not made it up.

Tom: It’s really not to my taste, though: I’ll admit the key change livens it up, but only for a little while: that chorus outstays its welcome very quickly.

Tim: Do I like this track a lot? Well, maybe on a dance floor with a good number of run and cokes inside me, I could jump around to it and throw my hands up in delight when the key change makes its appearance. On the other hand, typing this at my desk it’s a bit of a racket, albeit a racket I never really thought I’d hear, which is something I suppose.

Klingande – Jubel

“Nearly every individual part of it is beautiful.”

Tim: Readers may remember that on Saturday we had a brass-infected track; here’s a dance tune that’s pretty much pure sax.

Tom: Ooh, now that sounds promising.

Tim: Klingande are a French duo, and while it got released four months ago I’ve heard it three times in the past 12 hours on Swedish radio, so it’s presumably still going strong.

Tom: Oh, I want to like that, because nearly every individual part of it is beautiful.

Tim: Nearly? Cause I like pretty much all of it. Admittedly there’s not much going on, really, either in the video or in the song; that’s fine, I suppose, but it does make the initial potentially dramatic, “save me” line somewhat less impressive. On the other hand, it’s a lovely sax melody and despite being short and repeated considerably I’m really not growing tired of it. Because it’s just quite lovely – the occasionally vocal, the twanging guitar, the piano keeping this together when nothing else is around.

Tom: Agreed – with one exception, one really notable, jarring exception, which is that phasing WER WER WER WER WER WER WER WER synth line that’s behind the sax.

Tim: Oh, that bit.

Tom: It’s loud, it’s grating, and the in-and-out of it is just too strong. It takes over absolutely everything and I can’t stop hearing just that.

Tim: I’ve got no problem with that. If I were being harsh I’d say it’s basically backing music, but it’s very enjoyable, pleasant and relaxing backing music, so I’m not going to be harsh. It’s great.

Tom: Dial down that synth, and I’d absolutely be with you. As it is… not so much.

Foxes – Let Go For Tonight

“What an absolutely cracking chorus.”

Tim: Follow-up single to Youth, the next track from her soon out and probably aptly titled album Glorious.

Tom: What an absolutely cracking chorus. Not sure about initial those verses, but at least they’re brief.

Tim: Melancholy verses are fairly standard for the genre – “does this relationship have a future” is the particular theme here – before we see an appearance from a lovely upbeat chorus – “so what, let’s have fun” being the continuing theme.

Tom: And a lovely theme it is. I think ‘fun’ is a bit euphemistic though.

Tim: I don’t know – the fun in the video involves paint fights and running around around in the countryside; I suppose it’s possible there may have been other things on the lyricist’s mind during writing, but those are nice things to have fun doing, aren’t they? In fact, it’s quite fun all round, really, and if past tracks are anything to go by this album (23rd February) should be very good indeed.

Saturday Flashback: Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

Forty different styles of dance.

Tim: Tom’s left the country right now, so it’s just me today. Well, me and this, from American band Capital Cities. It first came out about three years back, but didn’t really get big attention until a major label picked them up twelve months back, since when it’s gone top 10 in a decent number of countries worldwide, and top 20 in plenty more, because it’s really very good. So let’s have a 20th century dance retrospective, shall we?

Tim: Believe it or not, I don’t have a list of favourite music videos (though off the top of my head, Nova, Little Talk and Rock n Roll are particular highlights), but this’d probably make the cut. Last month it won a VMA and got nominated for a Grammy, so turns out there is justice after all. There are apparently over forty different styles of dance being exhibited there; you could try to count them all if you’d like, but to be honest I’d rather spend the extra time focusing on the music.

Because that music, well, speaking of Little Talk, what excellent use of brass we have here. Triumphant is the word that springs to mind, and that works well with the lyrics – no negativity at all, it’s all about the positivity of two people being together. So let’s give this universal appreciation, and finish with a quote from the video’s director: “the true heart here is that there’s still some hidden magic out there in the world, and it comes from people connecting and doing what they love.”

Ellie Goulding – Goodness Gracious

Tom: I’m assuming this doesn’t have anything to do with the BBC sketch show?

Tim: Not remotely. Instead, Genuinely Nice Popstar Ellie has chosen yet another cut from the Halcyon album (or, more specifically, the Halcyon Days re-release), and, well, I do hope you like a bit of colour and excitement in your videos.

Tom: I do indeed, and that certainly qualifies.

Tim: Good. Arguably, a large part of the success of her two most recent big hits, Burn and Anything Could Happen, – has been partly due to the repetitive in a good way and very good hooks – “and we’re gonna let it BURN burn burn” and repeat 5 times, “anything could happen” and “ooh, ooh, ooh, OOH oh” and repeat about a million times. This doesn’t have anything like that; instead it’s blessed with a wonderful chorus line and, in my mind, and even better pre-chorus.

Tom: Yep, there’s not much I can add to that. I found the repetition in her previous hits a bit grating, and I’m not finding that here.

Tim: Top it all off with her trademark slightly hoarse voice and great production and synth work, and whilst it probably won’t be such a massive smash as the recent two it clearly deserves to do well.

Eagle-Eye Cherry & Darin – Dream Away

“Start simple, end big.”

Tom: Now that’s an interesting combination of names.

Tim: Not a collaboration that most people would instinctively jump to, but let’s have a charity single. (Oh, and fact that turned up during research: ‘Eagle-Eye Cherry’ is his actual name.)

Tim: So, it starts off all Save Tonight-ish, graduates into a Lovekiller/Save Tonight blend and then goes full on Lovekiller for the chorus. And if you’ve had the idea of merging the two styles together, that’s a cracking way of doing it.

Tom: Agreed: start simple, end big.

Tim: And, having heard this, the resulting question is why wouldn’t you have the idea? Well, actually because they sound completely different and don’t really play all that nicely, as indicated by the necessary pauses before each chorus.

Tom: True: I don’t think you could blend them easily without doing that, but it’s not like the song goes completely silent.

Tim: Darin’s vocal carries over them nicely so they don’t jar, though, and what we’re left with in the end is, against all the odds, an absolute triumph. A TRIUMPH, you hear me?

Tom: It is, but I think there’s a better Eagle-Eye Cherry mashup out there.

Tim: Huh. Fun.