Saturday Reject: Zühlke – Perfect Villain

“I feel this is going to be something of a running theme this year.”

Tim: Two years ago, I couldn’t watch Eurovision because of Radio 1’s Big Weekend, and I was a bit annoyed but not so much because it was largely ballads, following Conchita’s 2014 victory. This year may well be the first year ever that I just won’t be bothered to watch, as we’re jam packed with ballads – very, very, dreary ballads.

Tom: Of course we are: because Ukraine won.

Tim: Finland’s entry, favourite somehow of both the public and international juries, is no exception to this.

Tom: I let out an “ugh” half way through that and turned it off. It is a lovely song in isolation, and I can see why it won, but it’ll likely match all the others and just sink to the bottom.

Tim: Second place in both, though, was this vastly more acceptable entry.

Tim: Before you jump in: yes, the X-Men/kryptonite lyrics are awful (and not least because of the fact kryptonite would have no effect on X-Men whatsoever, even if it did exist in the same universe as them).

Tom: Okay, good, because I was about to take serious issue with that. I mean, that’s not even comic book nerdery, that’s anyone who’s seen a superhero movie in the last ten years.

Tim: And yes, those dancers in the background make no sense at all in any way. However – and I feel this is going to be something of a running theme this year – at least it’s active, it’s loud, there’s a beat to it, hell, there are proper explosions.

Tom: I don’t think it’d take victory, but at least it’d stand out.

Tim: It’s not perfect, I know – but it’s so, so much better. AAAARGH.

Lune – Healing Song

“I did get genuinely quite bored.”

Tim: If you get your expectations from song titles, the first line here will BLOW YOUR MIND.

Tom: Well, yes, that’s certainly not what I expected. Neither is the odd chorus-vocoder effect, but it’s certainly a style choice that fits the track.

Tim: Lune’s Swedish and has been away for quite a while, and she’s back with a song that is basically all about that instrumental, so much so that during the minute or so following it going away the first time I did get genuinely quite bored.

Tom: Same here: and I’m not sure that instrumental’s good enough to justify everything that builds up to it. The melody’s basic — which can work, don’t get me wrong, but here it just seems to fall flat.

Tim: The vocal parts on their own are okay – pleasant enough sound, but nowhere near enough to hang a song on. And however good that instrumental may be, you’ve got precisely sixty seconds of it, in two big chunks. Give us more of it, or perhaps even just break it up a bit, and this might work. As it is: I don’t want to be thinking “look, is that good bit coming back soon or what?”.

Tom: I’m not even sure it’s the good bit.

Hats feat. Diana Golbi – Take It Away

“What the hell is going on in that video”

Tim: This was sent in by our reader, Emma, who simply writes “I LOVE IT!” Hats are an Israeli production duo who’ve been going a few years, and this is their latest.

Tim: So the first time I heard it I fund it difficult to pay much attention to the song because I was trying to work out just what the hell is going on in that video, but apparently it’s won loads of awards and stuff, so that’s something.

Tom: I’m going to file that video under “extended metaphor”. Not sure it’s suitable for this, though.

Tim: Listening to it again without the video they’ve chosen to accompany it, though, and it’s a pretty good dance track.

Tom: It is, although a lot of the sounds in here sound like they’re from about ten years ago — which is perhaps why I like it as well. All the this-year trends of single-instrument synth pads and messed-about lyric samples are absent. This could fit on a compilation CD from the 2000s. Which is fine by me, but I’ve no idea how well the rest of the world will look at it.

Tim: They’ve certainly got the big post-chorus nailed, with a great melody and mix of instruments – that last minute is just fantastic. I wouldn’t go as a far as “I LOVE IT!”, but I’d certainly play it again, quite a good few times.

Ulrika – Love Goes

“I think it could do with not-boring-us-getting-to-the-chorus a bit more.”

Tim: I pressed play, thought “hmm, this is okay, I’ll keep going”, switched over to Twitter. Then the chorus happened.

Tim: You see? While the song’s certainly not bad up until that point, it does slip into “decent but unremarkable ballad” territory.

Tom: And it stays there for a while, too: there is a lot of build-up to each of the choruses, and I think it could do with not-boring-us-getting-to-the-chorus a bit more.

Tim: You’re not wrong there – the chorus brings the song a whole new, and arguably quite needed, lease of life, turning it into one I properly want to click along to and get excited about.

Tom: Mm. Not quite that effect on me, despite a certain air of familiarity. What worked earlier this week just doesn’t here, for me.

Tim: And yes, I’m aware it sounds quite similar to some other track, but I don’t want to spend time worrying about what song it is – I just want to spend time listening to this, as it’s great.

Miss Li – Aqualung

“I’m still breeeeathing, I’m still breeeeeeathing……”

Tim: We haven’t featured Miss Li for ages, but right now she seems to be very strongly channeling one particular US artist.

Tom: Brad Paisley?

Tim: Erm…

Tom: Not Brad Paisley, then.

Tim: No. Hell of a of comparison to make, though – Sia, that is, not whoever that guy is that you suggested – and normally I’d pass it off briefly and move on. But here, it seems to be almost deliberate, and it’s so, so pervasive. Halfway through the verses I find myself drifting into “I’m still breeeeathing, I’m still breeeeeeathing……”, middle of the chorus I want to jump in with “you took it all, but I’m still breathing”.

Tom: There’s a bit of Rihanna in there as well, there, particularly in those first few opening notes. You’re right, though: and while she’s not quite pulling off quite as many Really Big Notes as Sia does, she’s certainly good enough to be… well, at least in the same league, even if she’s not at the top of it.

Tim: That’s very true, as I certainly don’t mean this all of this in a bad way. It’s very much a compliment, in fact, as most singers could only dream of vocals this strong. Yet, I really don’t think it’s a good thing that throughout the song I’m thinking I’ve heard it all before. And yet I am thinking I’ve heard it all before.

Rhys – Last Dance

“I’m damned if the instrumentation underneath it doesn’t it turn into something special.”

Tim: New artist off Sweden, not bothering with a surname as presumably that’s too much effort. Here’s the first track, co-written with half of ‘From Paris To Berlin’ hitmakers Infernal.

Tom: Given that Rhys is normally a male name, at least over here, I was surprised by that face and voice.

Tim: So weird thing about this: it sounds great…for most of it.

Tom: It really, really does. That pre-chorus actually made me say, out loud, “oh wow, that’s good”. I think that’s because the melody line there is riffing on something I already know, or perhaps many things I already know: that “if all we ever had” bit is definitely something I’ve heard before. (Any ideas?)

Tim: Oh, you bastard. I hadn’t heard it previously, but now you got me thinking – there’s a lot of Beneath Your Beautiful in that section. DAMN YOU.

Tom: Even if that’s not original, though, I’m damned if the instrumentation underneath it doesn’t it turn into something special.

Tim: Vocal is strong throughout the verses and pre-chorus, instrumentation’s good, particularly during the pre-chorus – but in the chorus it falls down slightly.

Tom: Really? We’ve got a good mixture between vocal hook and instrumental hook, and it sounds great to me. What’s wrong for you?

Tim: I don’t quite know what it is, but above that twisty twirly sound under the chorus, the vocal just doesn’t sound particularly strong, or as loud as it should do. It picks it up for the closing chorus fine, and it’s less noticeable in the second chorus, but at the first chorus it almost gets lost.

Maybe the building up is a designed thing, but it really doesn’t sound like the singing of someone who really is putting in all the effort for every god damn chance.

Tom: I have a feeling that the “god damn chance” bit will age badly. I don’t know how it’ll stand up to many repeat listens, but it’s stood two so far as I write this.

Tim: Other than that, though: great.

Tom: Tim, I almost never actively like new music that you send me.

Tim: Hmm – not entirely sure what that says about this site, but do continue.

Tom: It’s rare than I immediately hit replay, and even rarer that I immediately download the track.

I downloaded this track.

Saturday Reject: Salena Mastroianni – I Don’t Wanna Fight

“Fire them immediately.”

Tim: YES, it’s that time again – less than three months until Eurovision, so let’s have a rummage around the national competitions, see what Europe could have won. We’ll start with one from Britain, and you may remember when we reviewed our winner I said I was FUMING. To explain, I’ll show you Salena’s performance, as broadcast.

Tom: Wow. Tropical house synth patches near the start. That’s original and modern. And lyrics that’d have fitted in nicely as a parody of a Eurovision track. This is… pretty dire.

Tim: Well, you might say that – but I’d ask you to compare that with the studio version – most particularly, the backing levels. The broadcast is just SO, SO much weaker. This is a dance tune, the winner was a ballad, and yet the volume they were put out at was identical. Result: a cracking dance tune that sounded utterly lacklustre, and it’s just unforgivable.

Tom: As a bonus, that studio version means you don’t hear the live vocals, which… well, they weren’t quite studio quality, were they?

Tim: That is also something I’d give, particularly at the start. But the big thing is, in the venue everything was perfect, and the crowd adored it (as evidenced by the fact that the judge’s comments were inaudible due to the cheering after “do you think it’ll do well at Eurovision?”).

Tom: Wait, really? I’ve got a completely different opinion. This is a pretty mediocre song: dull lyrics, uninspired melody. Granted, in what’s probably going to be a Year of Ballads it’d do well, and the message might get a few points for politics. But even in the studio version, I… well, I’ll be honest, I just don’t like it.

Tim: Oh – well maybe I just got caught up in the mood and it was the best of a bad bunch. Listening again, though, I stand by this. And I don’t know who was responsible for sorting out the levels on the night, but I can’t help wondering if they’re the reason The Voice was so crap on the BBC. Fire them immediately.

The Magnettes – Sad Girls Club

“One of the worst lyrics I’ve ever heard.”

Tim: With advance warning of a few f-bombs from this pair of Swedes, Rebeka and Sanna, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Tim: Now, I’m not sure how I feel about this.

Tom: I am: the intro’s shouty and repetitive in a grating way. The verse keeps reminding me of the verses from Little Mix’s Black Magic, in a really irritating way. “Go get cancer” is one of the worst lyrics I’ve ever heard. In short: I do not like this song.

Tim: All of that is fine, particularly the lyric part. But I want to discuss the feeling and emotion of it. Apparently, the Sad Girls Club is ‘not something [the Magnettes] invented, but the idea of a sanctuary where you’re allowed to be sad, different or plain hostile. To counteract a world that tells you to smile when everything systematically sucks.’ And I guess that’s fair enough – why shouldn’t we accept shittiness when we find it and identify with it, or when we really, really don’t feel good?

Except, this is a party tune.

Tom: Right. And despite my strong dislike of the rest of it, I have to admit that this has a brilliant chorus. Seriously, this is one of the best choruses I’ve heard all this year. It’s Icona Pop on a good day, it’s incredibly well produced, it’s even good when it gets stripped down for the middle eight.

Tim: It is – it’s a great dance chorus, and like you said: it’s an Icona Pop style song, so much that if you were DJing somewhere you could go straight from I Love It to this and a lot of people wouldn’t even realise the song has changed. So the big question is, how is it counteracting a world that tells you to smile, when it is so clearly telling you to jump around and have the fun that, allegedly, they don’t want? Add to that the whole ‘mentally fucked up’ lyric – I just think this song is so horribly inappropriate.

Tom: Yep. There is so much potential here, and once the verses get out of the way, it’s not bad at all. But the rest of it just torpedoes it for me.

Tim: Obviously, depression songs shouldn’t start and end with Radiohead, but this? It’s way too far the other way, and for that I’ll take Nizlopi any day, please.

Tom: Do we have to? I’d forgotten about them.

Tim: Oh, I rather liked that one. But if not, and if we want a party tune, then strike out the lyrics, and I’m fine. AAARGH.

Dotter – Evolution

“It just carries itself, and me as a listener, forwards.”

Tim: Just me for today, and if you recall we first met Dotter about eighteen months ago and Tom and I were both mildly impressed; here, I found the intro fairly promising, and then when the beat dropped and the vocal hit I let out an audible “oh, yes.”

Tim: Now, as I write this, it’s half eleven at night and I’ve just got home from a long shift at work where I haven’t sat down once, and this is just such a lovely, lovely track to lie back to, relax, close my eyes and just enjoy. Coincidentally, this morning I was listening to one of my favourite soundtrack tunes ever, and I like this track for the same reason: it just carries itself, and me as a listener, forwards, almost floating along. I don’t have to focus on it, worry about anything – just relax to it. It might just be the mindset I’m in at the moment, but this is just lovely.

Jim – On & On

“I love the guitar melody in the chorus.”

Tim: Yes, just ‘Jim’ – we’ve previously featured his band Cars & Calories and been rather appreciative, and he’s his debut as, well, Jim.

Tim: And yesterday we had a great chorus, with the verses being good enough to hold the song together beyond those, and then more so; here, I’d say we’ve got a very similar thing.

Tom: I’m less sure on the verses on this, and even less on the somewhat-staccato lyric pacing that results in some bizarre emphases on phrases like “GPS”… but yes, that chorus is good.

Tim: It really comes into its own with that big drop, and I find that steady, unstoppable rhythm really brings some musical accompaniment to the “on & on” narrative of the lyrics. I also absolutely love the guitar melody in the chorus – that short falling riff linking the lines together, it’s a small thing but it just fits so well.

Tom: I was going to call that out too! You’re right, it’s such a simple counterpoint, but it works.

Tim: It’s wonderful.