Tag: Samir & Viktor

Tim: Summer’s here, in theory, so let’s have a dance track from these lads, shall we? Title translates to “what did you say were called?”, to be sung bleary-eyed the morning after.

Tim: As ever, potty language dotted throughout.

Tim: And there it is, an entirely typical Samir & Viktor track.

Tim: Will they ever get bored of their schtick, the old pretending-to-sing-but-it’s-basically-drunken-yelling stuck over a dance backing with a bit of brass? Probably not. Does it matter? Absolutely and entirely not.

Tim: God knows I couldn’t listen to an album of the stuff, but getting a new shouty dance track once or twice a year is kind of a tradition, really, and I wouldn’t dream of wanting to stop it.

Tim: So, I don’t know why, but I seem to be predisposed to like anything by these guys – objectively awful as they may be, they have enough of a Jedward quality about them to be, well, endearing is the wrong word, but something like that.

Tim: Anyway, here’s the new one, and you might be able to see where I’m going with that intro.

Tim: See, from a different artist, there are a number of things I’d dislike here – the excessive autotune, with no attempt to hide it as though it’s still 2011; the lack of a melody throughout a large part of it; in some areas, it just verges into a genre I’m not keen on. And yet, that chorus is so good and happy and uplifting, combined with their textbook enthusiasm, that I can’t dislike it.

Tim: I’d clarify that a bit: if they hadn’t opened with that chorus, I might have switched off after twenty seconds, so putting that first was a great move. All in all, it’s a song I can’t really bring myself to dislike.

Tim: Bring out the BRASS, because Samir & Viktor have gone ‘Immortal’.

Tim: Summer’s here, last summer was great, and now we’re feeling bloody brilliant and ready to do it all over again, is the basic message of this, and. well, why not really? Energetic, as we’d expect. Triumphant, as we’d expect. A mostly shouty chorus, as we’d expect, though there is a pleasing amount of melody in there.

Tim: All in all, a fun track, heralding the arrival of summer. JOYFUL, he writes, as he stares out of his window at a largely grey sky. Ehh, can’t have everything.

Tim: “We’ll Do It Anyway”, reckon the duo, as they celebrate 100 million streams in the video for their new one. Didn’t know that was a thing, but I suppose it makes sense, really, with streaming having vastly overtaken purchases (at least in Sweden – as far back as 2014, streaming made up 80% of all music revenue there).

Tim: Full marks for laziness in the video, which seems to consist purely of unused shots from previous videos, which I think is even lazier than using tour footage – at least with that effort gets put in to film it. Here: nah, let’s let’s rummage through the trashed clips.

Tim: Hmm, I guess that’s true. Songwise, though: well, it’s what you think of when you imagine a typical Samir & Viktor track, really. Loud, brash, just musical enough to count as a song (with a lovely surprise key change in there).

Tim: Oh, I’m not saying it’s bad, just similar – sure, there’s some difference in the styling, as we had between Fick Feeling and (the considerably superior) Kung, but overall, it’s like they say in the lyrics: “they said I couldn’t dance, I couldn’t sing, but I wanted to show them”. But it works. Just about.

Tim: Viktor off these two had a solo song out recently; it was a bit rubbish to be honest, all gentle guitary and ballady and basically bollocks. HOWEVER, they’re back as a duo, sounding GREAT, and also a bit offensive: an English/Swedish f-bomb right from the get go, and a couple of Swedish ones in each chorus. And some spelt out in the video. Basically, if you’re a prude, come back tomorrow.

Tim: Indeed – PARTY PARTY PARTY because that track has got me enthused enough to clap my hands above my head, not a frequent occurrence. As with most of their songs. as long as the vocals have been tweaked for a studio recording it sounds really good. Well, good enough for what they want it to be, anyway.

Tim: Hmm – there’s certainly different styles between them, you’re right. But regardless, it’s exactly what we’d expect from them – enthusiastic, getting everybody involved (particularly with De Vet Du joining them in the video for no apparent reason) and a fair amount of people getting their kit off.

Tim: When it gets results like this, though, I don’t mind extra effort. I’m very glad they’re back together and PLEASE don’t take a break again.

Tim: The follow-up to their Melodifestivalen entry, the lyrics begin “We’re back, Sweden’s wondering why,” so at least they’ve got some self-awareness. The answer to that question, though: they’ve Got The Feeling.

Tim: In fact, in the words of that chorus, “I’ve got the feeling, you’ve got the feeling, we’ve got the feeling, nothing can stop us.” And as a soundtrack to a summer party night, this is pretty good stuff.

Tim: It doesn’t matter that it’s closer to shouting than singing, because it should be shouting. Shouting about lying on the beach, bass pounding from the phone; about skipping work and going to a festival instead; about how the sun shines and you don’t feel guilty; and most importantly, about how “everything is better with a saxophone”, because yes, that actually is the lyric and it actually is the case.

Tim: The instrumental part gives me a similar feeling to the one in Bada Nakna – not enjoyable on its own, but perfectly well suited. What we have here is a PARTY TRACK that knows it and is advertising itself as exactly that. And it gets the job done very well indeed.

Tim: I didn’t realise until I looked it up just now, but the song title translates to “Skinny Dipping”, which suddenly brings a whole lot more sense to the performance.

Tim: That’s the performance from the final, there, which differs from the first heat and from Andra Chansen in that here they pull their trousers off as well as their tops, getting even more in the mood.

Tim: Another thing non-Swedes might not get: the first line of the chorus talks about getting your kit off in Sergels torg, a location that’s basically Stockholm’s version of Trafalgar Square. So now we know what sort of song it is, we’re in a better place to judge it.

And you know what? Despite their decidedly off point vocals, it’s a pretty good song, as we’d expect from the writers: one of them had a hand in Undo and another brought us Guld och Gröna Skogar, so we shouldn’t really be going wrong.

Tim: …and yet, it is. The problem, of course, is that it’s being sung by two guys who, while admittedly being very good looking and energetic, manage to hit approximately a quarter of all the notes.

Tim: We’ve pretty much got a song that only one act could pull off, and yet they can’t sing particularly well. You’re right – Jedward all over again. Oh, well, into the dustbin of musical history you go.

Tim: This isn’t necessarily one of the best songs we saw at the final, but I’d like to write about it, primarily because I want to see your reaction when I tell you that this duo consists of a reality TV star and a fashion blogger, and the performance involves liberal use of selfie sticks.

Tim: BUT, you’ll be pleased to know that despite the mentions, the song is not about the virtues of taking a selfie; more about the importance of discarding those in favour of ‘groupies’, so that’s alright then.

Tim: I would imagine so, yes – presumably intended as some sort of hilarious pun, as indicated with the repeated chorus at the end: “stand up, take out your cameras, stand up, we’ll be taking a groupie tonight”.

Tim: I started listening, then quickly thought it couldn’t get worse than all that giggling ten seconds in. Boy, was I wrong.

This, though: yes, it may get dated quicker than a pint of milk left in a sauna, but it’s basically about having a lot of fun with your mates, and with all the bright lights and colourful blocks it was a brilliant opening to the final.

Tim: I suppose it’s a bit like John Barrowman’s opening of Tonight’s The Night, really, except actually listenable.

Tim: Hahaha, somehow I’d forgotten about that. LOVELY.