Tag: Loreen

Saturday Reject: Loreen – Statements

“The least intelligible chorus since REM.”

Tim: So, this year saw 2012 Eurovision victor Loreen return to the Melodifestivalen stage, with this, which was binned off from Andra Chansen after a duel with a much more conventional song. Have a listen, bearing in mind that your average voter gets just one chance to experience this.

Tom: Well, I’m not giving a second chance. How on earth did this get to Andra Chansen?

Tim: Yes, I was surprised as well – my guess is that it got through largely on name alone, because my word that’s one weird track. She’s openly admitted as much, and that it’s there mainly as a bit of a novelty, because she wanted to send a message. Quite what that message is I’ve no idea, not least because it took me three listens before I could work out what the chorus was, and only then because I looked up the lyrics and read along. Let’s face it: it’s a bit of a racket.

Tom: That’s the least intelligible chorus since REM. (“Call me when you try to wake her up”, incidentally.) Still, it’s nice to see the girl from The Ring getting some more work.

Tim: You know, I had more to write here, but now you’ve pointed that out I can’t stop giggling. Much appreciated.

Loreen – I’m In It With You

“Can confidently be described as soaring.”

Tim: And another her off winning Eurovision, of course, but without a different sound.

Tom: Still can’t believe she hasn’t covered “Jolene”, really.

Tim: Truly disgraceful.

Tim: And that there is lovely Loreen fare, I hope you’ll agree?

Tom: Yes! For once, I’m right with you: when even the first verse — albeit only the second bit of it — makes me pay attention, I’m probably going to like the song. This is exactly what you’d expect from her, and it’s good.

Tim: Perfect vocals, nice melody below it and then a hefty but not overpowering bass. Verses with her trademarks breathiness all over them, a pre-chorus that sets the tone nicely and then a chorus that can confidently be described as soaring. It’s not another Euphoria, but then what would be? What it is is a great all-round track, clearly from her who sang Euphoria. And for that, it’s great.

Loreen – Paper Light (Higher)

“I’m really not sure what I think of it.”

Tim: New one off the Eurovision winner, unveiled just in time to be performed on Melodifestivalen’s Andra Chansen show, with one of the weirdest performances I’ve seen there. But here’s the proper version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gce8U1-JWew

Tim: And…and I’m really not sure what I think of it.

Tom: I opened this in a background tab, and I’ll be honest: I couldn’t make out a single one of those lyrics until I actually looked at it. I genuinely didn’t think it was in English.

Tim: I’ve listened to it a good seven or eight times now, over the past few days, and still I’m having trouble forming an opinion; from that, I reckon I can derive two facts: I don’t hate it, and I don’t love it.

Tom: I’m not sure my brain recognises it as “pop music”. It’s verging into the experimental.

Tim: I think it’s the fact that it’s a fairly complex song – you’ve got your standard vocal, which is pretty good, over the light piano instrumental, also good. But then you’ve the chorus, which has the dance part to it, but also has that pitch-shifted vocal, which is where things become unsure for me. What do you reckon?

Tom: Ultimately, we’re a blog about Europop here, and I just can’t count it as being good pop. Musically, it may well be extremely interesting — but I don’t want to listen to it again, and that’s what I’ve got to score it on.

Loreen – We Got The Power

To be honest, I’m not all that keen.

Tim: You’ll have heard this on Saturday night; it’s a bit different, isn’t it?

Tom: I’ll say this much: the Eurovision interval act is a hell of a plug for a new single.

Tim: So, what to say? It’s the lead from her second album, out later this year, and to be honest I’m not keen on it.

Tom: I wasn’t expecting that from you. Why’s that?

Tim: I like Loreen – I like the type of music she’s come out with, and her first album was very good. There’s still plenty of material there to plunder, so I can only assume this is a sort of change of direction; that’s a real shame, because if all her new stuff’s going to sound like this then, well, then I won’t like it very much.

Tom: It certainly is a change, but it’s one I’m rather happy with it. Drumline backing and a sinister guitar may not be high-energy pop, but it’s certainly music that I enjoy listening to. This is a cracking pop song, even if it’s more minor-key than we’re used to.

Tim: I want arms in the air, spaced out dance music, not military-drumming stuff that only really inspires me to get up in order to skip to the next track. Am I demanding too much?

Tom: No, but you are demanding something different.

Loreen – Crying Out The Pain

Tim: This is the new single for Swedish people from Loreen; internationally she’s just released My Heart Is Refusing Me, but that’s not on YouTube. Fortunately, this is.

Tom: That sounds a lot like Euphoria. That’s not a bad thing, mind.

Tim: Along with Euphoria, that’s three tracks so far, and together they paint Loreen as having a Thing: half-sung, half-whispered vocals over quiet synths for the verses, and then going all out for the chorus. And I like that, kind of, even if it does mean I’ll sometime skip over the first thirty seconds.

Tom: I got into an argument with someone the other night about finishing books: I maintain it’s absolutely fine to give up on a book if you’re not enjoying it, while they said that, once you’ve got a bit into it, you have to carry on to the end – or at least pretend to yourself that you’re going to.

The reason I mention this is: skipping the first 30 seconds of something like ‘Euphoria’ is just wrong. The build-up’s part of the track, and an important part. It’s like skipping into a Pink Floyd album half way through. You just don’t do it.

Tim: Perhaps not, but if I’m getting ready to go out, say, or just want to hear some properly BANGING BEATS, the early bits of the song aren’t right for it. (Though I agree with you about the book thing.)

Anyway, the whole concept does serve to emphasise what a lovely lovely voice she has, really, and that’s a good thing. Will it get boring? Possibly, after a while, and I’m hoping the entire album (October 29th) isn’t like this, but for the time being I’m very happy with what I’m hearing.

Loreen – Euphoria

Tim: The winner. Of Melodifestivalen, and of Eurovision itself. Deserved?

Tom: Yes.

Tim: Oh yes.

Tom: And I think anyone who knew the tracks in advance could have called it. It’s the only one in there which sounds like it deserves to be at the top of every chart in Europe.

Tim: EXACTLY.

Now I’ll be frank: there were others I preferred. Jedward did well for Ireland, I enjoyed Malta with their on-stage DJ and fancy footwork, and Gréta Salóme & Jónsi’s Iceland performance was a highlight for me. But this— this victory is manna from above for us Eurovision fans. Because here we have a winner that’s acceptable worldwide, by the general populace.

Tom: The UK had Love Shine A Light back in the nineties, and – of course – Lena’s Satellite did the same for most of Europe if not the UK. This is the trouble with the British entries: we keep sending somewhat-silly entries, and we keep getting knocked down.

Tim: I don’t know about silly entries – Blue last year took it seriously and did well, and everyone involved genuinely thought The Hump had a good chance this year. But you’re right that people think of it as silly, but maybe that’ll change a bit. Because people can comment on how Eurovision’s ridiculous, or a terrible collection of music, or that the best song never wins, but then we’ll say, “But what about Loreen? That went top 10 all across Europe, got a great deal of radio airplay and was big in clubs all summer long, and that’s a Eurovision graduate.”

Now, I’m perhaps exaggerating a bit, and possibly getting my hopes up too much. But this was at number 1 on iTunes in the UK within eighteen hours of being performed. This is a big tune, and possibly, and hopefully, this generation’s Waterloo.

Tom: I’m not going to go that far: Waterloo’s what I’d call a “wedding disco song”, and perhaps only one or two tracks every year graduate into that kind of utterly mainstream, known-by-everyone success. (Recently: I Gotta Feeling and Party Rock Anthem.) But is it going to be the summer’s European hit? Almost certainly. And it deserves to be.