Mainstream – Page 18

Franz Ferdinand – Feel The Love Go

“What would you expect a 2017 Franz Ferdinand to sound like?”

Tom: Today in “I didn’t even know they were still going news”, first track from the new album. It’s been 14 years since “Take Me Out”, incidentally.

Tom: I was astonished, half way through that astonishing sax solo, to find the song still had a minute to go. And it ends with a repeat to fade! I don’t really know what to think about that: it’s so out of step with what’s going on in the pop industry lately.

Tim: Which is weird, because your first two sentences are absolutely right – I thought it was time for it to end, and was almost bored by the end of it. The weird thing, though, is that the first three and a half minutes is pretty much exactly what I would have suggested if you’d asked me “what would you expect a 2017 Franz Ferdinand to sound like?” Still heavy on the guitars, with a small amount of synth work thrown to stay up to date.

Tom: The big problem, of course, is that it’s not “Take Me Out”. A band has one hit that big, and they’ll be compared to it for the rest of their career.

Tim: Yep – they may have had three other top ten hits, and four more top 20, but they’ll always be them who who did Take Me Out.

First Aid Kit – Fireworks

“Still going strong.”

Tim: We’ve not featured First Aid Kit for a few years now, but the country pop duo are still going strong.

Tom: Somehow, that’s a surprise to me. I don’t know why; it’s probably the name, which sounds like someone said “hey, that’s a good name for a band” at completely the wrong time and it stuck.

Tim: Here’s the first one up from their new album.

Tim: Not sure why, but ever since I brought it up when we were discussing Perfect, I’ve found myself noticing a lot more songs in 12/8 or 6/8 time, and for some reason that’s joined the key change as a thing the immediately makes a song better. Not automatically good, but maybe bumping it from a 7 to an 8, say. This, well it’s already quite nice, with its gentle swaying manner and its textbook First Aid Kit smile, and that just puts it a little bit higher, to give me a nice relaxed smile. I like it. It’s pleasant.

Tom: You’re not wrong there: although the strongest part for me was the intro and first verse, which was such a strong start that I assumed the chorus was going to be spectacular. Instead, it was good. That’s still high praise coming from me, don’t get me wrong, and I don’t know what else they could have done with it; but I just wasn’t sure that the chorus had actually started.

Tim: Now, if only someone could make a great song that’s also in 3 time and has a fantastic key ch-OH WAIT A MINUTE.

Justin Timberlake – Filthy

Tom: I didn’t get Can’t Stop The Feeling on first listen. It seemed like a bit of a mess. But it grew on me, and now it’s one of my favourite songs of… well, huh, 2016? Man, that stuck around. Anyway, here’s the new one.

Tim: Is that…is that a song about an orgy? With the ‘your friends, my friends, and they ain’t leaving til six in the morning’, and then ‘put your hands all over me…what you gonna do with all that beast’? Because, well, I mean I get the attraction, but come on, it’s January, we’re all still heavy from Christmas and to be honest you’ve got me feeling a bit queasy right now.

Tom: I mean, that lyric’s straight from Gin and Juice, but sure, I know what you mean. Better hope this is a grower, anyway: because this is a good one-minute intro and first verse stretched far, far too long.

Tim: Yeah, let’s just move on. Quickly please.

Saturday Flashback: Birdy + Rhodes – Let It All Go

“It did take a while for me to get it, mind.”

Tim: She’s Birdy, he’s Rhodes, they’re both British and we’re featuring it because I’ve had the lyrics up as one of the 60+ tabs on my iPhone’s web browser for somewhere between nine and twelve months.

Tom: How is that possible? Are… are you OK?

Tim: I’m trying to cut down, but I figured I probably saved them for a reason.

Tim: So, I’ve no memory of hearing this track before, but I’m quite glad I kept it. It did take a while for me to get it, mind, because it did what so many of a good but quiet tracks do: bore me slightly so I lose focus, then pick up in time for the second chorus and make me think ‘ooh, what’s happening here?’

Tom: Ha! Exactly the same. In my case, I was distracted by trying to work out what the visual effects artists did to the footage — how much of that pink is grading, is it filmed day-for-night, is there any… and there goes the chorus.

Tim: And I know that’s not really what I typically want from a track, but I think it does mean it’s good at being the song it wants to be: a quiet one that develops, slightly morose but nevertheless worth sticking with, just for the good bits. And that’ll do for me, when I’m in the right mood.

Charlie Puth feat. Boyz II Men – If You Leave Me Now

“It is good at what it is meant to be.”

Tom: I wouldn’t normally touch Charlie Puth’s high-pitched low-effort pop whining with a bargepole—

Tim: Ooh, that’s a bit…

Tom: (and if you think that’s harsh, you didn’t have to hear Attention on US radio stations every damn hour while in California).

Tim: Oh, fair enough.

Tom: But that’s a hell of a “Feat.” up in the title, so I gave this a listen.

Tom: I expected a Boyz II Men song. I got a Boyz II Men song. And somehow that made it all okay. Because they are still going; they are still, I think, the best at what they do; and while this is still a long way from the Europop we once set out to talk about here, I think it’s still a good track for its genre.

Tim: Hmmmmmmm….yes. I mean, I kind of have to agree with that, because it is, but it’s also, for me at least, throughly dull. But yes, I will grant it that it is good at what it is meant to be.

Tom: Yes, maybe it’s a minute too long. Yes, maybe a few more beats per minute would be a good idea. And, yes, of course we’d both prefer it if someone added a banging donk to it.

Tim: Well, obviously.

Tom: That said, it’s got a key change and a middle eight, so I’ll take it.

Cast of The Greatest Showman – The Greatest Show

“Powerful, confident, a good starter”

Tom: Wait, didn’t we just…

Tim: Happy New Year! Yes, I know we’ve already featured a track from this film, but (a) I saw it yesterday and it’s good, (b) I could happily spend a week writing about the songs, and (c) I think this is suitable to start a year to.

Tim: Well I like it anyway. Powerful, confident, a good starter, and to be honest, now I think about it, not the best track for a review site, because it can’t really be held to many standards that we might judge most regular tracks by.

Tom: Yes, I was going to say. I don’t really have much context for this: it certainly seems like a Big Number, but bear in mind my standard’s the Hamilton soundtrack, so I have to adjust my expec…

Huh. The chorus just kicked in, as I write this. That is a very very good chorus.

Tim: As the opening number for a musical, it has to set the scene (check), get everyone worked up (check), and ideally bring in a number of cast members, which is does fairly successfully: here we have Hugh Jackman taking the lead, Keala Settle joining in vociferously, Zac Efron taking over in the last chorus and then duetting with Zendaya for the closing lyrics, with everyone else trying their best to make themselves heard. Given those targets: a good opener, I think.

Tom: Sure, I’ll go for that. I almost want to see the rest of the film now. Almost. Not quite.

Tim: Incidentally, although I won’t foist any more tracks from the film on you, I will recommend A Million Dreams and Rewrite the Stars in particular as worth checking out, and also… actually, just see the film. It’s not as good a film as it could have been, given P.T. Barnum’s life as the source material, but it is a top notch feel good musical.

Steps – Dancing With A Broken Heart

“But the video, blimey.”

Tim: Their only single release this year that we’ve not covered, basically because the song’s not that great. The video, on the other hand, which I’ve just discovered, is, well.

Tim: I mean I say the song’s not that great, it’s certainly not bad – like so much of their 2017 comeback, it’s a surprisingly high standard for what it is, which here is a fourth single from the album; even if most of it’s not hugely exciting, it’s immediately raised 20 points when that key change appeared out of nowhere.

Tom: It’s definitely An Album Track, and that key-change wasn’t so much ‘deserved’ as ‘needed’.

Tim: But the video, blimey.

Tom: It’s like some sort of goth pantomime.

Tim: I don’t know what futurologists they’ve been speaking to, but that’s hardly a dance floor I’m looking forward to getting on. Simultaneously overcrowded and spacious, pouring with rain and set on fire, weird makeup and normal dress, it paints quite an unusual picture. And with that and the key change, I’d say it’s well worth a feature.

Ed Sheeran – Castle on the Hill

“Just a bit okay.”

Tom: Really? Really, we’re doing this again? I know this is Tracks We Missed Week, but seriously.

Tim: Yes, yes, I know we didn’t start this blog to write about multiple Ed Sheeran tracks in less than a week, but still. One thing they don’t tell you about working in retail is just how many times a day you’ll hear Ed Sheeran, and that on occasion you may hear Shape of You (awful) immediately followed by Galway Girl (ludicrous) immediately followed by this.

Tim: And that is actually a nicely redeeming song.

Tom: Is it, though? Is it?

Tim: I don’t know if it’s just that it’s worn me down eventually (that certainly hasn’t happened with Shape of You), but musically at least it’s a heck of an uplifting song.

Tom: Well, yes, okay, the chorus is great, but everything around it is just a bit okay. I just can’t get behind romanticising teenage years like that. There’s a song that I can’t find a copy of online — Billy Jones is Dead by MJ Hibbett — that’s a bit more bittersweet, and that works a lot better for me.

Tim: You may not have time for the childhood reminiscences (I actually visited that castle on several occasions in my younger days, so maybe I’m ever so slightly biased towards it), but even so I’m fairly sure it’s hard not to be taken away by that chorus, and the music beneath everything. For all the things we might not like about him, Ed Sheeran can be a damn good songwriter; fairly sure this holds that up.

Tom: Well done to whoever did the casting for ‘Young Ed Sheeran’, though. Spot on.

Tim: Incidentally, speaking of retail and music – the most prominent Christmas song on Apple’s festive playlist? The Sheeran-penned slightly damp When Christmas Comes Around. Bizarre, but true.

Naughty Boy feat. Joe Jonas – One Chance to Dance

Tim: Last week of the year, shall we have a game of Tracks We’ve Missed? This one’s from the beginning of November, one I’ve only just heard but kind of wish I’d heard sooner. Because it’s quite good.

Tom: Huh. I’m surprised I’ve missed that. Oddly, though, I think the introduction and first verse are the strongest part. I haven’t got tired of that overly-repetitive sample yet, and the vocals really stand out.

Oddly, I liked this less on second listen — but it did get a second listen, so it’s a cut above your normal pop track.

Tim: After all, you’ve got Naughty Boy’s production skills, Joe Jonas’s vocal skills, and a song with a very decent beat that’s all about dancing, ostensibly at least.

Tom: Well, yes, technically it is…

Tim: There may be some deeper meaning in there about something or other, but on top of everything, and going by the video, this is a song about Person A wanting to get with Person B by vaguely impressing them, and choosing the medium of dance. And as anyone who’s seen me dancing will know, that’s a medium I can very much get behind. Lovely.

Poppy – Bleach Blonde Baby

“Nice key change”

Tom: So I’m going to move us away from Christmas for today, Tim, because there’s some actually good new pop to talk about. (Or in this case, at least, a new music video — the track came out a couple of months ago.)

Poppy is part art-project, part music-project. I’m going to leave aside the weird art side for this, because, frankly, the new single is a banger.

Tim: Hmm, I guess banger is a subjective term – got to say, it left me a little cold. Sure, it’s a good chorus, but that second verse I just found dull, a right switch off. Nice key change, though.

Tom: Okay, it’s not entirely possible to leave the weird art aside, because that’s a hell of a video. This is a song that passes both my Good Pop Tests: I can hum the chorus after one listen, and I immediately hit replay.

Tim: Well, I’m with you on the chorus, we can agree there.

Tom: The middle eight’s a low point, true, and it’s not like there’s a great message in the lyrics anywhere. But, oh, that chorus.