Mainstream – Page 22

Pink – What About Us

“It’s still a bit odd”

Tom: First single from the new album. And it didn’t originally make any sense to me…

Tom: …but then I found out it’s co-written with half of Snow Patrol, and it all clicked together.

Tim: Hmm – it’s still a bit odd for me. The weird thing is, that’s a fantastic vocal line from her, and a fantastic Swedish House Mafia style dance tune as a backing. Together, though, they don’t mix so well, and for me this really doesn’t work.

Tom: This isn’t just a plain Pink track — it seemed like it was missing something a bit, well, a bit kick-ass for a first single. But if this were advertised as “Pink feat. Half Of Snow Patrol”, then I’d have got this on first listen.

Tim: Maybe you’re right, but it’s kind of like the co-writing process has gone horribly wrong – they’ve said “right, here’s the key, here’s the tempo”, then gone away and written their parts without much collaboration.

Tom: I mean, it’s no “Just Give Me A Reason”, or “Perfect”, or… well, it’s not a great first single is what I’m saying. But even a Pink album track is still a pretty good track.

Tim: Pretty good…yeah, okay, I’ll give you a pretty good track. But it’s also half two brilliant tracks.

HRVY – Phobia

“It’s not entirely awful!“

Tim: Hey, remember HRVY, in whose debut track we could find nothing good whatsoever? WELL, apparently his contract didn’t include an “ABANDON SHIP GET OUT NOW” clause, as he’s back with a follow-up. And…

Tim: It’s not entirely awful!

Tom: It looks like they actually filmed in Times Square when it was quiet, which is a bold move, he must be up way past his b… sorry, I just got interrupted by the chorus, and it’s actually good!

Tim: Isn’t it? There’s energy to it, there’s a fairly decent melody, and the lyrics, while being based around an admittedly poor base concept, aren’t all that bad. In fact, I could actually see myself not skipping this if it came up on a playlist. I’m not sure I’d choose actively to listen to it, but I do genuinely enjoy the melody of the chorus.

Tom: It does a Thing near the end of the chorus — I think it’s probably a shift to minor key, but I don’t have the music theory to say what exactly — and it’s lovely.

Tim: Judge me if you want, but I’m glad he didn’t pack it in and go back to Instagram.

Ed Sheeran – Bibia Be Ye Ye

“They might not be your typical Ghanaian issues.“

Tom: Oh, no, no, you’ve picked an Ed Sheeran song. Now I have to deliberately listen to an Ed Sheeran song.

Tim: Now now, open mind please. Ed proudly stated at the beginning of the year that ÷ contained music of a wide range of genres and influences, having spent six months travelling the world – we’ve already seen tropical pop, standard guitar pop and traditional Irish, and now that Despacito has in just seven months broken the all time record for YouTube plays, he reckons it’s time to give the summer foreign one a push.

Tom: Now, not only have I deliberately listened to an Ed Sheeran song, but I’ve found it not completely objectionable. I am not happy with today.

Tim: Please Tom, remember that we have a very strict “no such thing as a guilty pleasure” rule here. My cynicism from earlier was probably unfair, actually, or at least wrongly reasoned – it was more likely chosen because it’s revealed itself as a fan favourite (not something I’d considered previously about putting your whole album out at once – you can see which tracks people love and focus on those, rather than guessing).

Tom: You can also force the charts company to change their rules.

Tim: Well that’s a rant I’ll save for another day. And it’s a good video as well, not least because it’s all about folks in Ghana rather than him (title means All Will Be Well), even if the lyrics about throwing up hungover in a taxi and leaving shoes by an oak tree might not be your typical Ghanaian issues.

Tom: I was wondering about that.

Tim: I don’t know, maybe it is culturally way off lyrically, but it sounds good to me. I’ll take it.

Lana Del Rey feat. A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti – Summer Bummer

“That is a bloody awful title.”

Tom: That is a bloody awful title.

Tim: Can’t disagree with you there. We’ve previously had Summertime Sadness, with a slight lack of love for the season; big question is whether there’s been any change of heart yet. (Spoilers: no, and this contains strong language throughout.)

Tim: Now, I’ll be honest, I didn’t actually think it was possible for Lana to get any more miserable. And yet, somehow, she manages it. It’s rare for me to welcome the appearance of a guest rapper, as we all know, but at least here it breathes life into the song. The whole thing…I don’t know.

Tom: Well, it’s a style, certainly. And there are some absolutely beautiful moments in here: that piano backing, pretty much all the pre-chorus and the first part of middle eight, and… hmm. Well, not the big parts of the song.

Tim: I don’t know if she regrets painting herself into a corner with the “yeah, I sound miserable, live with it”, but I can’t help thinking it means some songs just don’t work.

The main line “don’t be a bummer babe, be my undercover lover babe” would be fine, if it actually sounded like she wanted him to stop him being a bummer.

Tom: I just sounds wrong every time for me. It’s a silly word in the middle of such a dark song.

Tim: But that’s the thing – lyrically, it’s not dark. Give it the music it deserves, and it’d be fine. As it is, it sounds like she wants him to join her in the bath as she picks up the toaster, and I really don’t think this works.

Saturday Flashback: Ben Haenow – Lions

“This calls for goddamn flamethrowers.”

Tim: Remember when I said his disappointingly quickly abandoned album was really quite good? Well here’s an example of why. (It starts out a bit strummy and rubbish, but you won’t regret sticking with it.)

Tom: That does start out strummy and rubbish, you’re right, and then…

Tim: WHAT A CHORUS. I mean sometimes you have a lighters out moment, but this calls for goddamn flamethrowers. I can also recommend Way Back When and Testify, but this is the real highlight for me. It’s all about the chorus – of course it is – which can sometimes be a problem, particularly if the verses are a bit weak.

Tom: Which they are here. Quite a bit.

Tim: Yes, fair point, or at least the first verse. Fortunately, we’ve got a fairly strong second verse, and also a middle eight that’s almost as good as the chorus, and the chorus itself which is just damn fantastic.

Tom: I think I’m just not sold on that chorus the way you are. I will agree with you that the middle eight — and the added backing over that final chorus — are good, but it takes a long time to get there.

Tim: It’s a great song, and it’s such a shame it never got any real recognition.

Tom: It’s no Second Hand Heart, though, is it?

Tim: Well, that’s just stating the obvious.

Ben Haenow – Alive

“A lot of missed opportunities here.”

Tim: Would you like to see the single most convincing argument ever for lyric videos to be professionally made?

Tom: I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?

Tim: I mean really, if you’re going to make a copyright infringing lyric video, at least put some effort to get the timing, and indeed the lyrics themselves, right.

Tom: I get the feeling the tool they used didn’t let them.

Tim: Hmm, possibly. But ANYWAY, let’s talk about Ben Haenow, because upsettingly basically nobody else is. Winner’s single aside, he got just one track from his (really quite good) first album released, with roughly no promotion at all even though it featured actual Kelly Clarkson, and then got binned off by Syco just three months later. Not quite a record – Steve Brookstein only lasted seven months, but then he’s Steve Brookstein.

Tom: And meanwhile, Fleur East is… well, still technically going.

Tim: Well fortunately, Ben’s a nice chap, and so is BACK with this, a darned good track.

Tom: Really? I mean, it’s not actively bad, but it seems like a lot of missed opportunities here. Each part of it seems to be just not quite there — the vocals are a bit buried in the mix, the backing almost seems discordant at times. What do you like?

Tim: There’s a slight Take Me To Church vibe about it – a (comparatively, but really not) calm verse, a quiet part and then going properly all in, deep, emotional and heartfelt, for that chorus. For me, that works so, so well, and I love it. Not as much as either of his previous ones, admittedly, but it’s still damn good.

Charli XCX – Boys

“I’m just going to watch the video again.”

Tim: Last week you mentioned that Demi Lovato had a good few celebrity cameos in her Sorry Not Sorry video. WELL, care to count?

Tom: I am certain that some else will have counted already. I’ll let them handle it.

Tim: Apparently Charli got a mental image one day of Joe Jonas eating breakfast saucily and it kind of tumbled from there, leading to a collection of 60-odd pop stars and YouTubers, and one particular diver (can’t think why), all looking somewhat seductive. (If you want a guide to who’s who, BuzzFeed’s been helpful.)

Tom: See? Told you someone else had counted.

Tim: Nice thing, though, is that even though it does distract from the song the first seven, eight, nine, (I don’t know, it’s distracting me now and I’m in double figures) times you watch it…

Tom: Mate.

Tim: Not even remotely ashamed. But even though it is distracting, it’s still a pretty good song.

Tom: Really? The stripped-down (heh) instrumentation doesn’t really do anything for me — unlike Back To You, it never really turns into anything. Are you sure you haven’t just been fooled by the video?

Tim: Oh, I’m sure – for starters, the lyrics are unapologetic, and I love that because now I can use that as an excuse if I want and not feel entirely weird. Music’s also good – I’ve no problems with the level it stays at – and so I’ve no problems with the song at all. But if you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to watch the video again.

Louis Tomlinson feat. Bebe Rexha, Digital Farm Animals – Back To You

“Doncaster.”

Tom: Let’s get the ridiculous things out of the way first. And I don’t just mean “Digital Farm Animals“; I mean this is filmed in Doncaster. Bebe Rexha filmed a music video in an alley somewhere in Doncaster. And Louis Tomlinson joined her, in a purple-and-yellow tracksuit.

Tim: Well he is signed to the football club, that’ll probably cut down on some of the costs.

Tom: On the plus side: brilliant, you’re representing Doncaster on the world stage! On the downside: mate, Doncaster?

Tim: Tom, I feel you underestimate Louis’s feelings for his hometown – don’t forget at one point he tried to buy the club.

Tom: This has one of the least promising intros and first verses in a while: oh, blimey, it’s going to be one of those terrible stripped-down tracks that just plod on. And then… then it starts doing something.

Tim: I’m guessing you mean when Bebe arrives?

Tom: “You drag me down, you fuck me up” is a really good lyric. And it’s about the first time that I heard that — as the piano really starts to build — that I thought “hang on, this could be good”.

Tim: It could be, and indeed it is, which is very nice indeed.

Tom: And then everything from the half-way point onwards — ie, not the verses — is just great. Yes, it’s all a bit quiet, yes, it’s a bit plodding at times, but that is just such a good chorus. For the first time in a while, not only is this a song I could sing after one listen, but it’s a song I wanted to hear again.

Tim: HUZZAH! I completely agree with you, it is a great chorus. Dips for the middle eight, but rises back up again in due course.

Tom: And it’s from Louis Tomlinson!

Tim: YAY!

Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry

“This had better be good.”

Tom: Okay. I’ve been really grumpy about music lately. Everything’s been “meh”. So here’s what I did: I went to the “New Music Videos” section of YouTube, picked the most popular pop song, and just decided that’s what we’re doing today. So here we go. This had better be good.

Tom: Okay, I’m not “meh” about this. Instead, I’m actually divided. There are some amazing bits in here: that profane pre-chorus, nearly all the chorus, and the “totally kidding” gag at the very end of the music video. And you know what, I’ll even give credit for some good celebrity cameos.

Tim: I will agree with you that there are some good bits here, or at least one good bit and a few not bad bits. But to be honest I wasn’t remotely sold on the this song until the chorus came along – it’s that bass-level twisted vocal that really gets me, and marks it out as a song I’m not going to like.

Tom: Bad: the actual “sorry, not sorry” bit. Not the meaning, just the actual line: after such a great build, there could be more there. The very next line starts doing something interesting again, but the key moment feels like it’s wasted.

Tim: Huh, see I have an almost exact opposite reaction – happy with the chorus, including that line, and I suppose the middle eight’s alright, but most of this just gets a bit nope from me.

Tom: And as for the video: if you’re going to do the ‘found footage’ style, at least commit to it. Don’t slap a bizarre, out-of-place 90s VHS filter on your footage and then also film a proper video, that just means you’re not confident. Look, this is how to do it, and no, I can’t believe I’m linking to a Justin Bieber video to prove a point. And let’s not even start about the godawful amount of product placement.

Tim: Yeah, that also put me right off, right from the Jaguar logo at the start. On the other hand, it does look like one hell of a pool party to have been at.

Tom: So there you go. I’m not “meh”. I’m both impressed and annoyed by this song. At least I’ve got a reaction.

OneRepublic & Seeb – Rich Love

“Those are promising names.”

Tom: Those are promising names up there.

Tim: Seeb, the Norwegian trio known originally for making Mike Posner listenable and more recently for reworking Ed Sheeran, produced their own What Do You Love last year, which did fairly well. Now they’re up with OneRepublic, with this delight.

Tom: Delight? I mean, it’s not bad, don’t get me wrong, but delight?

Tim: I think so, and that’s largely because it has pretty much everything I want from a song. Good vocal, check. Good melody and beat behind that vocal, check, both in chorus and verse. Flipping GREAT dance breakdown after the chorus, massive check.

Tom: I must be burned out on music again, Tim, because I just don’t hear any of that. I mean, it’s good, don’t get me wrong, Seeb know what they’re doing, but it’s still just a middle-of-the-road dance track.

Tim: Ooh, big disagreement here, then. I do have one complaint about it, though: what on earth does “broke as a bottle of wine” mean? I’ve never heard it before, can’t find any examples of usage of it, and it’s quite annoying, because it spoils what it otherwise a perfectly decent narrative in the lyrics.

Tom: I… guess someone broke a bottle of wine? I mean, it’s a thing you can break. But you’re right, it’s weird.

Tim: Flip side of the lyrics, though: I love the ‘hey man, nice to meet you’ distorted vocal in the chorus, really hits the spot for me. I love most of it, in fact. Just, aargh, what does that seemingly very important line mean?