Author: tom

Robin Bengtsson – I Wanna Fall In Love Again

“It’s the sort of Sheeran-esque guitar faffing that I can’t stand. But then, there’s that chorus.”

Tim: F-bombs ahead on the latest track from him off Eurovision 2017; that song was dire, but I think you’ll find this one worth your time.

Tom: Listening to the intro of that, I had absolutely no idea why you thought I might like it. It’s the sort of Sheeran-esque guitar faffing that I can’t stand. But then, there’s that chorus.

Tim: I kind of want to split this in two, really, because the bits that are good (with the brass, the drumbeats, claps, extra vocals) are very good; the bits that aren’t good (just him over a lightly strummed guitar) are very not good. It’s not the first song that’s come along like this, obviously, but there aren’t many I can recall where there’s quite such an extreme difference between the two, and it’s frustrating.

Tom: There’s clearly a market for it, but I just can’t see why. And I’m not sure how I feel about that brass sample in the chorus, either.

Tim: I hear it on a playlist or whatever, not paying much attention, and think “ooh, this sounds good”; then I look it up, and, well, it’s like this. SHAME ON YOU ROBIN.

Feuerherz – Wenn du nicht Stopp sagst

“Remember these guys?” “No!”

Tim: Remember these guys?

Tom: No!

Tim: We featured a multi-lingual Christmas track of theirs last year, decscribing it roughly as a Basshunter backing with crap JLS vocals.

Tom: Harsh but fair. I mean, I don’t know, I don’t remember a thing about it, I’m just assuming we were harsh but fair.

Tim: This one: they’ve not got the dull harmonies.

Tim: Title is “If you don’t stay stop”; lyrical message is, fortunately, not one of impending sexual assault, but instead “if you don’t tell me you don’t want me to love you, I’ll be so desperate I’ll basically be drooling at your feet”. (I paraphrase somewhat.)

Tom: It took me several attempts to parse that sentence before I worked it out, but yes, okay, I see what you mean. It’s a terrible message for a song.

Tim: A bit icky, but also slightly nice, as it does give her a get-out option. But now to segue into the music, and I’m not sure whether to go with “and speaking of nice” or “and speaking of being thankful for a get-out option”.

Tom: I mean, it’s a schlager pop song. It’s exactly what I was expecting. There are literally no surprises in here.

Tim: It’s okay. It’s…largely unremarkable. The music’s good, and the singing’s competent, and I don’t think I’d actively skip it. Though, to be honest, “not bad enough for me to gather the energy to yell out ‘Hey Siri, skip this'” isn’t exactly a compliment.

Tom: How about “it would sit nicely on that all-cheesy-dance-pop radio station I discovered in the Netherlands”? No, that’s not much better.

Tim: Erm, try this: I would probably choose a playlist that had this track, on the basis that it would likely contain lots of other music like this.

Damn, I’m really not selling this, am I?

Tom: I will give this one good point, Tim: the choreographer has worked out that, with four of them, they can each do the same movement on different beats of the same bar. It’s the closest thing to innovation this track has.

Steve Aoki feat. AJR & Lil Yachty – Pretender

“I’m a fan of about 80% of it. You’ll work out why.”

Tim: Dance track for you; I’m a fan of about 80% of it. You’ll work out why.

Tim: Seem about right?

Tom: Oh, yes! That’s lovely. I understand why there’s a 20% you don’t like, but — for once — it does still work for me.

Tim: Hmm, fair enough. You can probably guess most of what I’m going to say, though: the music’s good, the lyrics speak to many many people, and the second verse is…well, not for me. Though that bit’s unusual, really – normally, with a feat. like this, you’d put it in for just the middle eight, but instead he’s got a whole verse.

Obviously you can’t go for a middle eight placing if you haven’t got one (insert standard moan here), but it still seems weird that he’s been given almost the same same amount of prominence as the other guys.

Not a bad thing, of course – it was presumably done to increase the potential audience – but it still seems a bit weird. Just me?

Tom: Just you, I think. Because for me, the whole thing works, start to finish — and with a video that’s just beautifully filmed, designed and edited. This is the best track we’ve had here in a few weeks, I reckon.

Bellhouse – White Dress Black Dress

Tim: Ms House (technically Ms Andersson, but she chose the stage name so I’m going with that) says this is “a reminder that you never truly know the people around you”, and about how “none of us are one-sided, but we struggle to drop the facade and share all of our nuances”. That’s all pretty much true, I guess, if a little disappointing for fans of heart-warming, everlasting relationships where two hearts beat as one.

Tom: I might like this track.

Tim: Anyway, it wouldn’t be the first time a downbeat message has made for a good pop song, so have a listen.

Tim: And it’s also made for a fairly good song here, no?

Tom: No! It would be if it weren’t for that awful, awful post-chorus. “White dress black dress” repeating over a dirge of a beat: this song could be great if it weren’t for that. It’s just unnecessary.

Tim: The lyrics make it even grimmer than the introductory message, implying as is does that Bell will struggle to find any lengthy or meaningful relationship, but none of it really matters to me as long as she can put a chorus that’s as good as this one, right from when it first swooshes in after the heartbeat style ending to the verse.

Tom: It is a very good chorus, and it follows a lovely verse.

Tim: It brings in that lovely high rising countermelody, bouncing along with those snare drums underneath, and all just sounds fabulous, really. Sod the lyrics, I’ll take this on chorus alone.

Tom: Just not what comes after.

Alesso – Remedy

“Press play and move to a background tab.”

Tim: Tom, a warning for you: the video here features two kids dressed up as unconvincing aliens being rescued by Alesso’s logo; it annoyed even me, so God knows what it’ll stir up in you.

Tom: I was looking through a list of new music, and the thumbnail alone made me not click it. But, still, here we are.

Tim: Feel free to press play and move to a background tab.

Tim: Alesso is one of the DJs I always think was part of Swedish House Mafia, then I remember he came along a bit later and so is actually younger than me. I realise that, now I’m very much into my early thirties, that’s going to happen a lot, but it still kind of annoys me, you know?

Tom: “Very much into my early thirties” gives way to “mid-thirties” very quickly, Tim.

Tim: Before I get into GET OFF MY LAWN territory, though: it’s a decent track. As I write this, it’s top 5 trending on YouTube, which we can safely put down to not just the name but also the decent sound he’s got going on.

Tom: True, but the fact that the video is directed by one of those ex-Vine YouTube celebrities is going to help with that a lot.

Tim: Unusually for him, he doesn’t credit the vocalist, but to be honest the best vocal work as far as I’m concerned is actually the group “hmm-mmmm-mm-mmm-mm-mmmm” in the chorus, middle eight and then forward. Add that to the good melody and the top notch production, and you’ve really got yourself a winner here. Nice one.

Tom: I’m a bit more cynical, as ever; I think the best I can say is that it’s “not unpleasant”. But then, maybe I was still put off by the video.

Cher – Gimme Gimme Gimme

“YES BITCH I’M CHER AND I’M DOING THIS.”

Tom: Right. There’s a dearth of new music. And I’ll admit that my eyes skipped over this when I saw it in the ‘new music’ lists: surely, it’s just a cash-in off Mamma Mia 2? Well, maybe it is: but it’s the lead single from an entire ABBA tribute album that Cher’s putting out. I heard it on the radio, and, well, have a listen to this:

Tim: Music aside, briefly: I LOVE that video, stating quite clearly YES BITCH I’M CHER AND I’M DOING THIS.

Tom: Does this need to exist? No, of course not. The original’s a classic, and it’s part of musical history. But you know what? I’d say that introduction and first verse might actually be an improvement on the original, even with all the vocoder there.

Tim: I don’t think you’re too wrong there – I mean, the intro’s basically identical, but her voice certainly adds a lot – it’s a lot stronger, particularly the ‘don’t wanna hear my praaaaaaaaaayer’ bit. Whether or not that vocal and the effect it comes with is an improvement is entirely subjective, and I know I like it.

Tom: This is a 21st-century cover, sung by someone who couldn’t just be replaced by a session singer.

Tim: See also: SOS, and indeed the entire album, which is coming out at the end of September, and which I cannot WAIT for.

NOTD feat. Tove Styrke – Been There Done That

“There seems to be a massive dearth of listenable new music, so let’s have it.”

Tim: Now, this is a track I’ve had waiting for a few days, and I like it, except I have basically nothing to say about it. However, there seems to be a massive dearth of listenable new music, so let’s have it.

Tim: In case you’ve lost track, this is the Tove who gave us the delightfully romantic Brains Out – a song that is, seven years on, still one of my favourites featured here, both video and song. This one – well, it’s very much of the it’ll do variety.

Tom: You might even say ‘been there, done that’.

Tim: It’s a decent track, entirely listenable and danceable – but I’ve really nothing to say about it. Sorry everyone.

Tom: And neither have I. Right. Tomorrow, I’ve sending you something CONTROVERSIAL.

Griffin, Elley Duhé – Tie Me Down

“I love what they’re doing with the instrumentation.”

Tim: Elley is currently primarily for her collaboration with Zedd, but here’s her most recent one; we found the former slightly anti-climactic, but how will this compare?

Tim: Oh, it’s much better.

Tom: And much more generic! But you’re right, it’s not a huge disappointment.

…as ever, that sounded less harsh in my head.

Tim: Partly because it doesn’t drop out at all, but also because (and this isn’t something I say often about dance music) I love what they’re doing with the instrumentation. I first noticed it at the end of the first chorus, but the layered melodies in the background are just lovely, as are the synths they’re played on.

Tom: Whereas I’m finding the mix confusing and a bit difficult to listen to. Yes, the instrumentation’s good, but the track just sounds a bit muddy and overcompressed. But hey, at least I can remember the chorus.

Tim: So sure, this has got a beat, a melody, and standard lyrics, and that’s all you really need for a dance track – but it’s also got a lot more, which I love.

Smith & Thell feat. Swedish Jam Factory – Forgive Me Friend

Tim: Smith & Thell are the singers as ever; as far as I can make out it’s Jam in the sense of music, not fruit, and they’re the ones dancing and playing the instruments (though not simultaneously, sadly).

Tim: Ain’t that lovely? Fast paced, knows where it’s going and what it’s doing, and is very efficient at it.

Tom: I mean, I was thinking it’s more like “Mumford and Sister”, but sure, yes, it gets the job done. I find it difficult to say anything specific about it, though: I feel like I’ve heard it before, even though I haven’t.

Tim: Lots of lovely moments in there – just to take one example (and I know it’s been done hundreds of times before), the ‘dum-dum-DUM-[beat]’ that happens just before each “cause you fill in…” sounds great. The heavy strumming’s great, the dancing’s impressive, the vocal’s strong, and overall it’s just got a massive amount of energy and life to it. And I love that.

Elina – Here With Me

“Here’s a song that doesn’t live up to its potential.”

Tim: So you’re not disappointed when what could happen doesn’t: here’s a song that doesn’t live up to its potential.

Tim: I mean listen to it. The vocal’s great, the backing’s nice, throughout the first verse I’m sitting wondering what’s going to happen in the chorus. The pre-chorus comes along, we get a little extra in the backing, and then her voice ramps up a bit..and then 30 seconds later I’m thinking ‘so, wait, that was the chorus?’. I don’t want to be thinking that.

Tom: I had exactly the same reaction. I did not realise we’d even reached the chorus. And there’s nothing wrong with having a quiet ballad, it’s just that — based on prior expectations — this sounds like it’s going to grow into something bigger.

Once you manage those expectations, sure, it’s a decent quiet song with a bad sound mix. Those clicks from the piano keys and the overly-stereo effect aren’t helping its case.

Tim: I want to be thinking that this is our next Rachel Platten, that it comes with a chorus that is enormous, that leaves me stunned and desperate for more. I don’t want this. I’m upset, dammit.