Infinity – Rainbow Sky

“Endlessly upbeat”.

Tim: Infinity had a few hits in Norway in the glory Eurodance days of the late 1990s; now they’re back with this. Advance warning: there is a part of this – specifically, the second half of the first verse – that you won’t like. But PUSH THROUGH IT.

Tom: Actually, all that pretty much works for me. I don’t know why: I normally can’t deal with something so endlessly upbeat.

Tim: And oh, that chorus is just so… pleasant. It’s genuinely lovely. It’s the musical version of a cute little puppy, who everybody loves and can’t possibly not love.

Tom: Careful, Tim, that nearly tripped me over into cynicism. Believe me, it’s possible to not love a puppy.

Tim: Well, if you’re a monster, but the metaphor continues. Perhaps it could be described as a bit too saccharine, with a slight Raining Sunshine vibe, but then it goes and does a big poo, which in this metaphor represents the guy with his autotuned singing.

Tom: That’s a terrible metaphor, particularly because I actually think it works.

Tim: Really?

Tom: I don’t mind autotune as a good stylistic choice, or subtly used to fix things: it’s where it just suddenly creeps into otherwise-natural vocals that it bugs me.

Tim: Hmm, fair enough. But the rest of it – well, it’s rainbow skies. Happiness, and loveliness, and all the positive -inesses that there are, really. Just…all the niceness.

Tom: I’m so close to cynicism. So close.

Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling!

“Could there be a better place for this track than Eurovision?”

Tim: I know it’s a couple of months old, but this kind of slipped me by and I think we should discuss just what a really, really fantastic track it is. For a Euro vibe, remember when actual Justin Timberlake performed at Eurovision?!?!?!

Tim: Because man, what a chorus that is.

Tom: It really is! I wasn’t expecting much at all from a movie tie-in song, but it’s great.

Tim: Normally, I’d complain about a fairly short loop being on heavy repetition even coming out of the middle eight, not to mention actually before it starts – but damn, it’s just so good, I don’t care that it feels too long. Even if the verses weren’t pretty good, even if the instruments underneath weren’t full of such fun and intense vibes, that chorus might still be enough to clinch it. But as it is, it’s an enormous layer of icing on top of an already fairly large musical cake.

And could there be a better place for this track than Eurovision?

Tom: The strange thing is, yes. Because I think it’s a grower. I didn’t really like it the first time I heard it: it just sort of washed over me. Surrounded by so many other songs, it was too much. Hearing it again on its own: yes, this is good.

Tim: Hmm, you may have a point – but think. It comes with an immense party vibes, and OH just look at that aerial shot from 5:20 – there are bigger arenas, vastly bigger – but how many of them come together specifically for a massive party, in pure celebration of pop music? Not many, I’ll wager. Backing that up, and my particular favourite moment in this performance: the look on his face just after 4 minutes in, where he suddenly seems to realises that actually this twee Eurovision thing’s a bit big, isn’t it?

Dagny – Fool’s Gold

“Ooh, I do like a song that comes in strong.”

Tom: Our reader, Luca, sends in just-released gem — his words — from Norway. Luca also calls it a “climactic banger of titanic ambitions”, which is both a bold claim and an accurate descriptor of your mum.

Tim: Woah, what? Well that came out of the blue, but, erm, okay.

Tim: Ooh, I do like a song that comes in strong.

Tom: That is a pretty good chorus, though, isn’t it?

Tim: Certainly is – I will take that climactic banger, thank you.

Tom: It’s a chorus that sounds like it’d fit in perfectly as uplifting music for the end of a film. That chorus should kick in just in time the final sweeping track backwards, the big dramatic sweeping shot that leaves the main characters looking out onto an uncertain, but promising, future.

Tim: Yes – yeah, that fits. Lyrics would need a rewrite, but musically that sounds about right.

Tom: I know, that’s a specific description, but it’s rare for me to get such a strong image from a song. I think that’s a good sign.

Ingrid Michaelson – Hell No

“A decently fun solidarity-after-breakup song”

Tom: Our reader, Katherine, sends in this textbook example of how to ruin a pretty good song with a terrible video. So do yourself a favour: play this in a background tab.

Tom: That’s a pretty good song, right? Not about to hit number one or anything like that, but a decently fun solidarity-after-breakup song. There aren’t enough of them.

Tim: Also in its favour: doesn’t hang around. Knows how long it can last for, and makes the most of that time.

Tom: But then there’s the video.

Tim: Oh, we are watching. Hang on, brb.

Tim: Huh.

Tom: I know how good that video must have seen as a concept — but good grief, it doesn’t match with the song at all. There are so many ways this could have been done well on a small budget: but what you’ve got instead is a confusing mash that just looks amateur. It’s a shame.

Tim: Sort of – at the end when the chorus goes massive, then it sort of fits because there’s the whole “yes we’re having fun and enjoying life without him”; but you’re right, with the melancholic mood earlier in the song, yeah, just doesn’t go.

Saturday Flashback: Skylar Grey feat. Eminem – C’mon Let Me Ride

Tom: Always the bridesmaid, never the bride; Skylar Grey’s written a 10x-platinum-selling song and been the guest vocalist on quite a few hits. But she’s never had a big hit herself: and this, her first single from her first album, certainly wasn’t one.

Tim: Okay…

Tom: A few advance warnings: this video is borderline-NSFW. Heck, the audio’s probably NSFW. And more than this is one of the most irritating pop songs I’ve heard in a while. And it interprets a Queen track in a way that’s basically sacrilege. So why have I brought it to you?

Tim: I assume you’ll tell me later, but I’ll humour you first.

Tim: Oh…oh. That’s…somewhat surreal.

Tom: Because of THAT CHORUS. That chorus has been stuck in my head for days. And the bassline that sits under it. Everything about this is good, apart from… well, the important bits.

Tim: Ah, see I hate that baseline. But yep, that chorus is a STONKER.

Matoma feat. Becky Hill – False Alarm

“We still have tropical house to keep us sane.”

Tim: Second half of 2016, and despite all that might be going bonkers politically, we still have tropical house to keep us sane.

Tom: I’m not entirely sure that’s valid, but sure, let’s go with it.

Tim: Matoma’s Norwegian, Becky’s from London, and that’s about all you need to know. So grab yourself a 🍍, and use it to whack the play button.

Tim: And that is…perfectly plausible for a middle of the set, the middle of the compilation disc.

Tom: See, I was about to agree with you there, but I can’t actually find anything wrong with it to say why it seems “plausible, middle of the set” rather than anything better. Maybe the verse is a bit slow, maybe it seems a bit long? Either way, every individual part seems good.

Tim: It’s pretty good throughout, but of particular note is her vocal which is just great, and especially notable as such when it’s just on its own like at the start or after the first instrumental chorus. And as for that instrumental chorus: also very good. All in all, I’m very happy with this. Nice one.

Roxette – Some Other Summer

“Listen to that intro! That’s such a good intro!”

Tim: I don’t know why, but I always get really excited when a new Roxette track comes along – I’d never think of them if asked what my favourite band was, but they do have a tendency to produce great tracks. So let’s push play and see.

Tom: Listen to that intro! That’s such a good intro! And it leads into a great song, too.

Tim: Still going with the repeat to fade, which is disappointing, especially when it takes up a full third of the song; on the other hand, that chorus itself is very enjoyable, the verses also entirely hit the spot, and all in all I’m put in mind of a Pet Shop Boys, BWO style track, and for that reason I like it a lot.

Tom: That’s a good comparison: this sounds a really solid BWO track, particularly that crash into a very different middle-eight — a middle-eight that was initially disappointing, but by the end: blimey, that’s well produced.

Tim: Yes, I’d have liked a lot more coming out of it than a standard chorus repeated and slightly building until the fade, mind, but the first two thirds: jolly excellent.

Tom: You know what? For once, I don’t mind that at all. That final chorus is switched around enough that I don’t mind. Although there’s got to be a better alternative to fading it out.

Aura – Love Somebody

“Alvin and the Chipmunks on backing vocals.”

Tim: Aura’s dropped her surname since her last release several years back, and we have what appears to be Alvin and the Chipmunks on backing vocals.

Tom: Oh, I shouldn’t like that. Why do I like that? What does it remind me of?

Tim: See, not only does that have a perfectly decent beat and verse, and very good chorus, but it also throws a bit of masturbation in there to make you sit up and pay attention if your mind drifts a bit.

Tom: Not something that gets referred to in songs all that often.

Tim: Which is good, because your mind shouldn’t be drifting – like I said, that’s a very good chorus there, much deserving of attention, even if the more attention I paid it the more it reminded me of Only Teardrops.

Tom: That’s it! That’s what it reminds me of! And now you mention it, it’s really obvious.

Tim: But who cares? GOOD GOOD GOOD.

LeAnn Rimes – The Story

“What do you mean “all those lines across my face”? You’re 33!”

Tom: She’s still going! Her off Can’t Fight The Moonlight and that weird Elton John-Tim Rice Aida musical!

Tim: Really? Huh, okay.

Tom: First of all: what do you mean “all those lines across my face”? You’re 33! This song sounds like it’s written for a 60-year-old.

Tim: Age wise, yes, but she has apparently got sixteen full albums under her belt, so they could be there from all the stress, you never know.

Tom: Mind you, there are a few moments where that vibrato goes a bit too far, and it sounds a bit like it’s being sung by a 60-year-old. And is that obvious autotune I hear (on ‘told’ at 0:25)? I’m not sure.

Tim: I don’t know, sounds fine for me. On a similar line to vibrato, the wobbly violin into the drop seems a bit odd, and possibly contributes to your point there.

Tom: Technical notes aside: that is one hell of a chorus. Less sure about the verses, much less sure about the lyrics, but that is one hell of a chorus.

Tim: Hmmmm…can’t quite bring myself for “hell of a”, but it’s good enough, certainly.

Baby Alice – Naked

“Very similar style? It’s basically the same song!”

Tim: Cast your mind back six years, you might recall Piña Colada Boy; if you’re really unlucky you’ll recall their follow up Heaven is a Dancefloor

Tom: Yes (and it was an excellent), and… no, no I don’t, thankfully, despite the fact that I apparently had opinions on it.

Tim: Here’s their newest attempt to recapture the magic of 2010, which, according to a suspiciously PR-smelling Wikipedia paragraph, is “Baby Alice’s brand new summer song for 2016 and considered to be a follow-up to their hit single ‘Pina Colada Boy’ from 2010, with a very similar style”.

Tom: Very similar style? It’s basically the same song!

Tim: Two quick notes first: I’d like to thank them for not employing a male vocalist to sing “feel the air when I shake it”, because that’d be weird, and also I’d like to award bonus points for a key change, because I honestly can’t remember the last time I heard one in a summer dance tune.

Tom: When your song’s getting old after two out of three minutes, you do what you have to do. Despite that complaint, though… ah, hell, I like it, because it sounds like Piña Colada Boy only newer.

Tim: As for the rest of it: I actually really quite like it – it’s ear wormy, sure, but it’s not an unpleasant one; it’s light hearted, fun and most of all I’d look forward to dancing to this on a beach, with or without clothes on, and I think that’s what counts. It’s not a massive anthem that’ll be played for years to come, but it is a decent dance tune. BANGER.