Europop – Page 23

Chloe Adams – Young Forever

“We go firmly into ‘BLOODY HELL’ territory.”

Tim: Our reader, Rob, sends this in rather favourably; last time we featured Chloe eighteen months ago, you said “blimey, that’s good”.

Tom: And now I can’t remember it at all! Although, listening back, yeah, I agree with what earlier-me said.

Tim: Care to see if it’s two for two?

Tom: Well done to the video designer for bothering to animate (what I assume are) the correct piano keys.

Tim: So, I’m going to describe that as ‘pretty good’, until about the halfway point. Because come then, we go firmly into “BLOODY HELL” territory.

Tom: That stripped-down early chorus is really good; but then the whole track decides to go all Kings of Leon and it’s just, well: I think you’re right, it’s two-for-two.

Tim: The song is good enough already, but BLIMEY that middle eight sounds incredible; I’ve played it six or seven times now and it’s not getting old, and nor is the drumbeat out of that into the final section, or indeed the bit right towards the end with the repeated “we’ll be young forever”, which has somehow ended up underneath the underlying chanting, which is an achievement in itself really.

Tom: The production is top-notch on this: balancing all these different elements, all of which want to be at the front, is a really, really difficult task.

Tim: As for the lyrics, Chloe’s made a video about it explaining that she doesn’t literally think she’s going to be physically young forever, which you’d think wouldn’t need explaining but maybe it does. Instead it’s keeping the mind young, and the outlook, and doing things your parents always say they wished they’d done. So there you go. Do the things.

Tom: It’s even got a message I can get behind. And after one listen, I could hum the chorus. Well done, Tim: you’ve sent me a song I actually like.

Saara Aalto – Let It Go

“Only five years too late. Wait, five years? Huh. Five years.”

Tim: She was one of the lead voices in the Finnish version of Frozen, she’s on YouTube singing the song in fifteen languages, she did it when she was on The X Factor and last night she sung it whilst skating.

Tom: Normally at this point, I gripe that someone’s reused a name from a massively popular track, but no, apparently not.

Tim: Finally, the time has come for her to properly release a cover of it.

Tom: Only five years too late. Wait, five years? Huh. Five years.

Tim: I had a listen to Saara’s album the other day, and pleasingly it’s really, really good. It goes in strong on the ‘mostly pop but with good dance backing’ that we hear for the majority of this, and it sounds entirely great, there and here. Sure, you’ve got your first opening verse being standard to lure the punters in, but then BOOM the second verse hits, you turn it sideways and put your stamp on it, and from then on it’s a great cover of an already fantastic song.

Tom: That second verse took me by surprise, but like you say: that’s probably the point. The voice is strong, and she’s definitely qualified to sing it: I think one of the things missing here, though, is the sheer force of emotion that Idina Menzel somehow managed to also cram into the original.

Tim: There are presumably hundreds of covers of the song lying around the music industry; right now, this is my favourite.

Saturday Flashback: Wizex – Tusen Och En Natt

“See if you can place it.”

Tom: I was driving through Sweden last week, Tim, and somehow I found this on the radio. Wizex have been going since 1973; this 1999 number translates as “Thousand And One Nights”, and it’s your typical dansband track with lyrics about love and devotion. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t work out why until much, much later. See if you can place it.

Tim: Ah, see this is where me being more of a Melodifestivalen nut than you harms the narrative. I’ll play along for our reader, though,

Tim: Ooh, Tom, I don’t know. Tell me, do.

Tom: Oh, don’t patronise me. Anyway, the next stage along was this version, turned into almost-Christmassy schlager-pop with a near-aggressive key change and credited just to the singer, from Melodifestivalen 1999. And from there: well, you tell the story

Tim: Words are rewritten in English, as per Sweden’s tradition for a non-English victor, and then we’ve (SPOILER for 1999) a beautiful Eurovision champion. Let’s have a watch, shall we?

Tim: Fun education in return for your efforts, though: Charlotte’s the aunt of Sebastian Ingrosso, of Swedish House Mafia and Axwell Λ Ingrosso fame.

Hugo Helmig – Young Like This

“I’m well aware I’m going into Grampa Simpson territory”

Tim: It almost saddens me to say this, but we’re dragging out the ‘we’re young so let’s have fun’ trope again.

Tom: Two rhyme schemes I hate in a row! “Young like this / dumb like this” may be the most irritatingly trite lyric I’ve heard in a while.

Tim: I dunno, I think it’s alright. But it’s the message I want to discuss, because, while I’m well aware I’m going into Grampa Simpson territory, here’s the thing: it’s bullshit.

Tom: You are entirely correct, although how much of that is based on the no-doubt-reasonable explanation you’re about to give, and how much is based on me being in my thirties now, I’m not sure.

Tim: Hugo (from Denmark) is university age right now, and yes I will accept that it is good to have fun at university and engage in one’s youth. But it is arguably so much better to have fun in your early to mid twenties, when you don’t have to worry about essays and dissertations, and the worst that’ll happen is you’ll get a stern ticking off for turning up to work with a hangover. You have experience and knowledge under your belt to stop you making a complete prick of yourself and dying, and you’re also not so worried about waking up tomorrow needing reading glasses and a toupee that you feel you need to get it all out of your system.

Tom: Harsh.

Tim: But fair. Basically, RELAX HUN, you’ve got at least a decade left of enjoying yourself, so stop moaning.

Tom: Welcome to your thirties, Tim.

Tim: A pleasure to be here.

Sval – Breathe Easy

“That’s a good introduction!”

Tim: Bit of lovely pop for you today, from Sval who’s been off for aaaaaages, but has now started singing in English for us.

Tom: That’s a good introduction! And a promising first verse.

Tim: Isn’t it? A quiet verse perhaps, but with that intermittent high note that reminds remind of a lovely Sound of Arrows track, so that’s fine by me, and then that’s just an all-round great chorus.

Tom: It is, although I think again you’re being a bit too generous with “great” there. It’s good! It’s not bad! I mean, it’s not awful, certainly. It’s, sure, it’ll do.

Tim: The clapping back in from the middle eight works well, although it’s possibly a tad uninspired, and everything’s just pretty good, really. It’s a nice track.

Molly Sandén – Jag E (Vierge moderne)

“It can’t exactly be worse than Len Goodman’s Partners in Rhyme.”

Tim: Normally here I’d tell you what the title translates to, but I’ll explain later. Might as well just press play.

Tim: So, yes, I would discuss the lyrics, but they’re a bit of a surreal nonsense where she lists things she is, which include, amongst many others, a fruit, a sun ray, a bowl, and also a network of fish. There is a reason, though, which is that there’s a Swedish TV series where pop stars make songs from the words of poems.

Tom: Huh. I… I guess that’s a TV format. I don’t know what to say.

Tim: Nope, me neither, but since it can’t exactly be worse than Len Goodman’s Partners in Rhyme or All Together Now (I’m not linking to those, they don’t deserve it), we don’t really get to criticise.

Tom: Fair. Okay, so my standards for this have been knocked down from “big pop track” to “song made for a TV show”. Got it.

Tim: Given that restriction, as a song I’d say it’s pretty good. Sure, it may start out a bit ballady, but given the source material that’s hard to avoid, and it picks up soon enough into a pretty listenable song. Nicely rescued, record producer.

Tom: For the first time this week, you’re on my level of cynicism, and we agree.

Bellhouse – Like You Loved Us

“Don’t promise me strings unless you’re backing it up with more than occasional sample.”

Tim: String-backed dance track?

Tom: You’ve got my attention. Wait, are you still in a really good mood as you write this? Because I think there’s going to be a pattern here.

Tim: Well, let’s see.

Tim: And isn’t that marvellous?

Tom: Not enough strings, Tim. Don’t promise me strings unless you’re backing it up with more than occasional sample. Other than that, I think we’re back on the same pattern: what qualifies this as marvellous for you?

Tim: The verses sound lovely, like a decent pop record, and then the chorus hits and you’ve got big pianos and drums and strings everywhere. According to Ms House–

Tom: Fair, that is her formal title.

Tim: Obviously–it’s about some worrying that the relationship’s over and stuff (hence the ‘give us a try’, I guess, it’s hardly subtle), but really this is too much of a big dance track to worry about all that – yes, you’ve got a couple of quiet verses, but it’s all about the beats. And they’re good beats.

Mila Nile – Young Hearts

“I got distracted by singing Leona Lewis’ ‘Bleeding Love’ over the first verse.”

Tim: A Swede, here, and while normally I’ve a fairly good idea of whether or not you’ll like a track, here I have absolutely no idea.

Tom: A grand total of 38 views as I write this. I’m surprised it’s a proper release. Then I got distracted by singing Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” over the first verse.

Tim: For me, you see, it was full of ups and downs – the initial ten seconds were slightly off-putting, the verse was alright, and the chorus was then a pleasant surprise (particularly the “I’m cliché but it’s true”, though I’m not entirely sure why). The post-chorus is fab, and it’s also pleasing that the second verse doesn’t dip down for too long before coming right back up again.

Tom: There’s nothing in here I dislike! Sadly, there’s also nothing that particularly makes me want to go ‘oh, I must listen to that again immediately’, but I think that might be why you couldn’t predict my reaction. It’s a good track. It’s solid.

Tim: I’m not entirely sure if I like the odd sound effect leading into the second chorus, but then that middle eight is lovely. Up and down, up and down, but all put together, I’m fairly sure I really like this.

Wiktoria – I Told Santa

“All I Want For Christmas Is You Sodding Right Off”

Tim: It had been FAR too long since we’ve featured new Christmas music, so here’s this, and it’s a bit odd: someone at Sony A&R had the feeling that there aren’t enough new Christmas songs, or some gubbins like that, and so they’ve put together an EP of five tracks from five unrelated artists. Cynics might argue that’s simply an excuse to plug all their upcoming talent at once; I’m just happy that it’s CHRISTMAS.

Tom: I mean, both those things can be true.

Tim: It’s safe to say that “All I Want For Christmas Is You Sodding Right Off”–

Tom: Ha!

Tim: –probably wouldn’t have sold quite as many records for Mariah, but other bands have done it entirely successfully (looking at you, Dragonette), and this pretty much works. Not as well as that Dragonette track, obviously, because that’s a work of art, but well enough.

Tom: Full marks to the producer for that step down from the chorus to the second verse: that steady descent turned what’s usually a dull bit of a track into something that fits really well. You’re right, there’s a lot to like here: the horn section, the big chorus, even the more-interesting-than-usual-for-pop rhythms that show up in the middle eight.

Tim: It’s got all the festive necessities, and while it may not be an all time great, this year we’ve got The Fizz for that, so this’ll do.

Tom: Mate. Well, at least we’ve got her offering from last year.

Patrik Jean – Lean On Me (ARMAN Remix)

“This is ‘beefed up’? I actually yawned at one point.”

Tim: So, I know we started a bit late this year, and we missed out a day for Alan (GREAT gig, by the way), but I’m fairly sure this is the first year that I could genuinely put out a half decent Christmas song for every day right up until the 25th. However, that doesn’t mean I’m actually going to, because even I have my limits.

Tom: And I’m grateful for that.

Tim: Let’s have this instead, a (very) slightly beefed up version of a slightly uninteresting track from six months back.

Tom: This is “beefed up”? I actually yawned at one point. I mean, that’s partly because I’m jetlagged, but it’s not exactly an exciting track.

Tim: I say beefed up, we’ve got those big but also quiet drums near the start, a revamped middle eight and also basically everything that sets the second verse apart from the first. Which is a good thing – the original got a tad boring because there was little variation, and for once I actually don’t mind those vocals being fiddled with, because it all fits.

Tom: I mean, I’m glad that you actually found something to write about here, because I’m struggling. It’s this half-way house between ballad and dance that ends up doing neither well.

Tim: It feels weird that the dance music effects fit on a ballad like this, but I can’t deny that it actually does. It’s nice.