Lili & Susie – Would You Be Mine

“Could be said to descend into a bit of a mess, but I rather like it.”

Tim: Pop greats of yesteryear arriving and sounding entirely 2014; not Kylie’s new single, which we’ll get to when I can find a link that hangs around long enough, but Lili & Susie. Have a listen to this.

Tom: Crikey, that comes in hard.

Tim: HA – JUST LIKE YOactually let’s keep this grown up. Yeah, it certainly gets going quickly, and at times, particularly the middle eight, it could be said to descend into a bit of a mess, but to be perfectly honest I rather like this, for a floor-thumping heavy beat electro tune.

Tom: Agreed: I think I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic if it hadn’t been for that opening — it was enough to get me through the first verse and into that chorus. And in particular, that odd down note before the chorus, and that first line, both of which are just glorious.

Tim: Right – it isn’t just floor thumping and beat heavy, it’s got melodic and emotive vocals, a nice instrumental line every now and again and, well, actually those are the two good things that stop it being just a bit tedious. But those are there, and the chorus in particular combines those and is properly great.

Tom: I can only agree.

Tim: Good. Well done everyone.

Mariette – If Only I Can

“A piano, some lovely ahh-ing and is that an accordion in the background?”

Tim: Mariette’s been through several names in her time; originally as Maryjet, then Mariette Hansson in Swedish Idol 2009, and now plain Mariette, a name which bring with it a lovely piano ballad.

Tim: As we all know too well, piano ballads especially have a potency to be entirely dull and dreary. This, fortunately, stays well away from that, because that chorus is very big, given that we only have a piano, some lovely ahh-ing and is that an accordion in the background?

Tom: I think so? It’s certainly accordion-esque. I wouldn’t put the chorus as “very big”, but it’s certainly emotive, and in a ballad like that, this is what counts.

Tim: It’s rather slow, even for a ballad, but that strangely doesn’t work against it – while there’s no time for a middle eight or closing section, it still feels like a fully fleshed out song. Which is good, because that’s exactly what it is – a lovely tune that’s gentle yet still full of emotion and feeling. Not an easy thing to do.

Julie Bergan – Younger

“You’re going to die soon.”

Tim: Tom, I hope you’re not feeling particularly old today, because if you are this probably isn’t the song for you.

Tim: No, Julie, we’re not getting any younger. Thank you for pointing that out so vividly.

Tom: And repeatedly.

Tim: Quite. It’s weird, really, because while that can often be put to good use as a ‘get out and do stuff’ lyrical vibe, here (and I’m not sure why) it just seems to be ‘you’re going to die soon’, which I’m not really sure is something I want blasted in my face at however many decibels (regardless of how pretty brilliant it is musically).

Tom: And I’m not sure it’s brilliant musically either: it’s certainly a powerful chorus — and I’m a sucker for a well-used “heeyyyy” sample — but it does go on a bit.

Tim: I don’t know, I don’t get that. Back to the age thing (which apparently I don’t seem to be able to let go of), it might be the surrounding lyrics – aside from ‘scream, shout, fire up this show’ there’s no real incitement, and let’s be honest screaming, shouting, and setting fire to things is exactly what someone’s who’s only got ten minutes to live may well do.

So, you know, lovely music in the chorus, but I’d rather have a happy message next time, if that’s okay?

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.

Tim: Cannot deny: that is true.

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.