Medina – Sir Det Ikk

“Curious message, but hey ho, we’ve got a decent song about it.”

Tim: Says Medina, in her native Danish, “Don’t Say It”.

Tom: Video editors haven’t got bored of the VHS filter yet, then. Anyway, sorry, yes. “Don’t Say It”.

Tim: More specifically, the message is ‘don’t tell anyone you think I’m amazing, particularly not your current girlfriend’. Curious message, but hey ho, we’ve got a decent song about it so I’m not complaining.

Tom: Well, we got a decent chorus, at least. The rest… well, it certainly is a song.

Tim: That is, after all, an absolutely lovely chorus, and while it may not have the big energy of a truly amazing pop song, it does have a delightful melody, sounding brilliant coming in after that pre-chorus gap (which I’ve checked, and it isn’t just there for the video). Three and a half minutes of delight, here, only slightly spoiled by thirty seconds of garbage on the front of the video.

Tom: And about five seconds in the middle, just to make sure you’ll play it through Spotify instead.

Tim: Well, obviously. And why wouldn’t you? The music’s fabulous.

Medina – We Survive

“It’s competent, it’s danceable.”

Tim: Notable Dane Medina is back after a couple of years away, with the lead and title track off her sixth album (and her third English one), out next month, so feast your ears on this.

Tim: Fairly decent helping of electropop, I’d say – how’s it for you?

Tom: Are we just in the middle of a January of mediocre songs, Tim, or am I just in one of those funks where everything sounds “meh”?

Tim: Hmm, possibly the standard mid-winter blues? Mind you, I say ‘fairly decent’ – beyond that, there’s not a huge amount to say about it, really.

Tom: Right: it’s competent, it’s danceable. I know I’ve got high standards — I’m hoping for every song to be a Blank Space, and statistically that’s just not going to happen. This is good. It’s… it’s nice.

Tim: Yeah – strong beat, good vocal, great production; I’d play it at a party and would dance to it at a club, and that’s all I need from a track like this, really. Nice work.

Medina – Når Intet Er Godt Nok

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a song that’s so closely trod the line between BALLAD and BANGER.”

Tim: Or, if you’d prefer a translation from the Danish, ‘When Nothing Is Good Enough’. Because, you see, when nothing is good enough, you just have to write a song about it.

Tom: Yes, and I think a band called Fairground Attraction did, in 1988. You’ll recognise the chorus.

Tim: It’s been a while since we’ve had a song that’s so closely trod the line between BALLAD and BANGER, but here we’ve got a considerable helping of dark emotion in the vocal line and drums, and heavy instruments behind it making me want to get up and jump around a bit. Which is nice, as I like a bit of depth in my songs.

Tom: Half way between ballad and banger is a good description, really, but I feel like it falls into a bit of an awkward middle ground. It’s not quite danceable enough, and not quite ballad-y enough: it’s designed for radio play, not club play, and… that’s okay, I gu — WHOA OKAY I JUST REACHED THE KEY CHANGE. I did not expect that.

Tim: What’s also nice is the length: I believe I’ve mentioned before how three and a half minutes is a very good length for a song, and here it actually seems quite a bit shorter – when the key change comes along I find myself thinking “oh, is it almost over already?” And that works very well as far as the song goes, in fact, because it has me already reaching for the restart button way before the end, just in preparation.

Tom: It didn’t do that for me: to my mind, it’s one of those background songs that doesn’t get remembered. It’s competent, I can’t fault it technically, but it’s just not memorable.

Tim: Oh, probably not, no, but it’s still a lovely track, well executed.

Medina – Giv Slip

“Put simply, it’s really just a great pop song.”

Tim: Can I interest you in a good chorus earworm, Tom?

Tom: Always.

Tom: Hmm. Well, it’s not got stuck in there, sadly.

Tim: Oh. Well, it means Let Go, and it’s all about finally getting a release from someone who’s just not been right for her.

Tom: Heh. “Getting a release”. Care to rephrase that?

Tim: Erm, oh, no, it’s fine. And however it’s phrased, the idea’s conveyed very nicely in the tone of the music – slightly nervous-sounding vocals in the verse, but very much a joyful sound to close off the chorus. Put simply, it’s really just a great pop song, everything one should be.

Tom: I see where you’re coming from — all the component parts are solid — but I just can’t agree: rather than getting stuck as an earworm, it… well, it goes in one ear and out the other.

Tim: I disagree, and wish to close with: absolutely top marks.

Medina – Jalousi

“Despite being quite acousticy it doesn’t actually ever really get dull”

Tim: Danish for you now, with a title that translates as, believe it or not…

Tom: “Yes, lousy”?

Tim: Jealousy.

Tim: It’s very much not standard Medina, who typically does either big dance numbers or big downer tracks.

Tom: Huh. This is almost exactly in the middle of those two.

Tim: It is, yes – considerably middle of the road, and despite the other two options possibly being more enjoyable for us, this is still enjoyable enough. Certainly stands up to multiple plays, which is generally what matters. A good pop track, which despite being quite acousticy doesn’t actually ever really get dull, so well done there.

Tom: There’s some lovely moments in that chorus, enough to keep the song going — and that middle eight’s an interesting choice that works really well.

Tim: Indeed. Though if you want to bring back the big dance numbers, do feel free at any time.

Supermarket feat. Medina & Anders Bagge – Du Säger Du Älsker Mig

A nice pre-dance season dance tune.

Tim: Medina: famous Danish dance person. Anders Bagge: a Swedish musician who has previously been a judge on the Swedish version of Pop Idol, Idol. Supermarket: a band whom nobody seems to have heard of outside this track. Quite how they all ended up together I have no idea, but anyway: how do you feel about hearing a nice pre-dance season dance tune?

Tom: I’m glad it’s getting back to springtime: sunshine, flowers, and decent dance tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_R7tZPe_0s

Tim: It’s fairly standard stuff, but it gets me going.

Tom: It really is standard, isn’t it? I got distracted about thirty seconds in, and only realised two minutes later that the track was still playing. My brain suddenly snapped back and I thought “oh, yeah, I’m supposed to be reviewing this”. So I suppose that’s my review.

Tim: I would posit that the distraction was partly aided by the foreign lyrics; I’d certainly prefer it if I knew what the lyrics were all about, but I can cope without that. The return out of the bridge is nice – nothing amazing, but satisfactory, and I think that sums up the song nicely. It’s a good club track, and should be more than capable of filling a dance floor. Do we need anything else for the summer?

Tom: In a couple of months’ time, hay fever medication.