Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

“The Meghan Trainor of two years ago.”

Tim: I first heard this yesterday morning, when I woke up and thought “ooh, I never got round to listening to that new Carly Rae Jepsen track yesterday, let’s give it a go.” What an excellent decision that was.

Tom: I heard someone describe Carly Rae Jepsen as “the Meghan Trainor of two years ago”. Harsh, but not entirely unfair. Let’s see if she can break that.

Tim: Starts off nice and calmly, with a few seconds of gentle build and no indication of what’s to come, by which I mean that wonderful wonderful chorus, which for the first couple of times I heard it made me think there were too many ‘really’s in there, but of course there aren’t.

Tom: You cut off my first complaint there. There are several ‘really’s too many.

Tim: Nope, there are an excellent number, driving home the theme of being in an early relationship with a massive amount of feels and all the desperation that entails.

Tom: Oh good grief, you actually just used the phrase “massive amount of feels”. Tim. You are not 15. And I think that might sum up the difference between our reactions to the song: you see it as desperately emotional, I see it as desperately clingy.

Tim: I might not be 15, but I do know exactly how to push your buttons. Also, the people this song is targeted at, and will ideally be bought by, actually do have a massive amount of feels, and so can identify entirely with Carly when she sings that. You may hate the phrase, but I’m afraid it’s entirely suited for the task.

The lengthy ‘yeah’s at the end also pack it in, in case we haven’t yet got the message (which we totally have) or we still want to hear more (which we totally do). Quick obligatory mention of the verses (standard) and production (great), but really really it’s all about that chorus, because what a chorus line that is.

Tom: And I think my answer is “no”.

Tim: GREAT TRACK.

Tom: OKAY TRACK.

Timoteij – Wildfire

“I’d imagine she didn’t learn the accordion as a child”

Tim: Timoteij have been off for a while, during which they’ve misplaced a member, but now they’re back with this, which happens to be their first English track, and not all that bad as it happens.

Tom: And they still sound like an old brand of shampoo.

Tim: It wouldn’t particularly surprise me if the video was a case of “let’s go somewhere sunny because it’s cold in Sweden right now and we can write a holiday off against taxes”, but I see nothing wrong with that if something like this comes along as a by-product.

Tom: I was briefly convinced it was all done with bluescreen, but no: they actually appear be there. Although just a reminder: deserts get cold too.

Tim: A nice dance/pop track, and who can dispute the fun factor of an accordion, especially when it’s basically as big as the person playing it? I do wonder with stuff like this though how they decide which instruments to have on display and which not to – with no disrespect to the member involved, I’d imagine she didn’t learn the accordion as a child, so if you’re going to pick one at random to learn just enough to give a convincing impression, do you just pick it out of a hat?

Tom: Hey, it’s not like they shipped a laptop and a drum machine out there.

Tim: Anyway, that’s hardly important; basically, good track, and a nice video with plenty to ponder.

Tom: Like “were they trying to make it sound like Only Teardrops, or was it an accident?”.

Tim: Hmm, maybe. Anyway, good work.

Zedd feat. Selena Gomez – I Want You To Know

“Are you going somewhere with this?”

Tom: Remember that brilliant song that Zedd did with Ariana Grande?

Tim: Yes.

Tom: Or that brilliant song Zedd did with Hayley Williams?

Tim: Yup.

Tom: Or that brilliant song Zedd did with Foxes?

Tim: Are you going somewhere with this?

Tom: Well, it’s just like all those, only not as good.

Tim: Ah.

Tom: The structure’s roughly the same, the instrumentation’s roughly the same — the only thing that’s missing is the astonishing notes that Ariana Grande can hit, or the incredibly catchy, singalong melody that Hayley Williams was given, or the brilliant vocal quality of Foxes.

Tim: Yeah – there’s nothing particularly interesting about this – it’s kind of in one ear and out the other. Danceable, sure, but it finished just a few seconds ago and I suddenly realised I’d got distracted halfway through and stopped paying attention.

Tom: I mean, it’s not bad: the production is still fantastic, and even a fairly half-assed song is still going to sound good run through all that. Zedd’s got a good style, and it works well here — it just sounds like the formula’s suffering a bit of generation loss after being copied so many times.

Tim: I suppose that’s the problem with having a winning formula – when it’s good, it’s very good; when it’s not, it’s very noticeable.

Saturday Reject: Eeverest – Love It All Away

“It could easily have been so much better.”

Tim: Eeverest, a new dance trio who claim they will “bring mayhem to the dance floor with their own solid sound!”

Tom: That is a very 90s slogan. Will they, indeed, bring mayhem?

Tim: Well, not yet, no, as they were kicked out of heat 2 of Finland’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, and the two words that scream out to me here are: missed opportunity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Qgd4rsmHg

Tim: Because that’s a decent dance track. Good tune, good beat, but OHHH, it could easily have been so much better.

Tom: You’re absolutely right: it’s got a lot of brilliant ideas, but the execution just isn’t there.

Tim: First off: it’s about the performance, and however much the two guys are jumping around behind their keyboards, you’re not going to bring mayhem by standing still in a black dress, nervously moving your hand up and down a bit. Second, and I know this sounds harsh: that vocal doesn’t come across anywhere near strong enough.

Tom: Yep. It is harsh, but that seems like a really nervous and weak performance. Not even will.i.am would hit his button and spin his chair for that.

Tim: Admittedly it’s better in the studio version, but there on the stage? It’s drowned out, and no country is going to send a dance track, however good the production is, if the singer’s just putting out a seemingly very uncertain performance.

Tom: It’s better, but it’s still not Big Enough for a track like that. You need someone who’s belting out the notes — and while you’re at it, cranking the bass EQ up a few notches wouldn’t hurt.

Tim: No – dammit, it could have been so much more.

Alexia Divello feat. Daniella – Children of the Sun

“Oh, you lied to me, Tim. You lied to me.”

Tim: So here’s this, a summery dance track by a Swedish producer featuring a Swedish singer that’s possibly four months early but never mind, because you’re going to love this chorus.

Tom: Oh, you lied to me, Tim. You lied to me. Why would you do that?

Tim: Ahaha, I guess I’m just that kind of great guy.

And why not like it? Let’s face it, there’s nothing I like more when I’m pissed and on the dance floor trying to hook up with someone than a load of kids shouting about being children.

Tom: It’s not like it even works well, either: it’s not even a loud choir, it just sounds like someone hasn’t recorded the vocals properly.

Tim: It is weird: as though they didn’t really want to commit to it, so they did half a kids’ choir and half the normal and hope it would please everyone.

The ‘criticism just because it’s kids’ thing possibly a tad unfair, mind, as there are probably many successful dance tracks that have used child vocals; right now I’m having trouble thinking of one, though.

Tom: Even Robert Miles’ Children didn’t actually use children. Don’t do it, folks.

Tim: Anyway, the rest of it’s not bad – a nice euphoric number with a fairly unusual three-part chorus, decent beat, decent melody, and decently put together lyric video.

Tom: If you count “generic, repeated stock footage” as “decently put together”, then, yeah, sure.

Tim: Snarkiness aside: I’m all for this. BRING ON THE SUN.

Tom: Yep. Just ban anyone under 18.

Vetle – I Let Go

“The song would be great.”

Tim: This is a new guy from Norway, dabbling in poppier end of the synthpop realm, and this debut has a wonderful build throughout the first verse and chorus.

Tom: For my money, that’s the most promising introduction you’ve written in a long while.

Tim: Well…

Tim: …the problem is, it then entirely disappoints.

Tom: Not entirely, but yes: it should rattle into being a CHOON at least for a little while, instead of just plodding along.

Tim: Mmm, and that’s a real shame because I can see myself massively enjoying this song – all it needs is a four-bar somewhat big/enormous post-chorus, and I would have no complaints whatsoever. Admittedly, the “letting go” idea wouldn’t translate to the music quite at the same time that it’s sung, but you could either (a) delay that last line a bit or (b) just live with it, because it took me a couple of listens to realise that that idea was there at all.

Tom: Agreed. It’s so nearly a good song, and I see what it’s trying for.

Tim: Do either of those, and the song would be great, it would be one of my favourites in the genre for quite a while, and I would eagerly look forward to hearing what he comes out with next.

Tom: And let’s not forget: this is still a Really Good Synthpop Chorus here. We’re judging him harshly because of our opinion of what a song Should Have Done; if we get over that, this is still pretty damn good.

Tim: It is, yes – I still look forward to his next output, because there’s very definitely potential here, but this track won’t be hitting my Most Played any time soon.

Krista Siegfrieds – On & Off

“Keep one hand hovering over your Alt+Tab.”

Tim: Finland’s favourite bride-to-be is back with a rather good pop song, presented here for your enjoyment.

Tom: Oh heavens, not her again. Hopefully she’s getting a divorce.

Tim: Well, if her husband sees this video, they may well be headed that way: it’s not technically NSFW, but when they’re On they’re very very On, so you might want to keep one hand hovering over your Alt+Tab.

Tom: I was about to ask if that was a euphemism, but crikey, you’re not kidding.

Tim: Verses: 8/10 – pleasantly tuneful and melodic, with just the right amount of energy for the scenes and settings it’s describing. Chorus: also 8/10 – opposite of the verse, really, with a whole lot of energy but not much in the way of melody.

Tom: I’d rate both of those a little bit lower: that chorus is good, but the “on-and-off” bit just doesn’t work for me.

Tim: Middle eight: 7/10, mostly losing points for that “sh-” which sounds annoying, fools no-one, and since it’s not like you’re realistically going to get any English-speaking radio airplay, why bother?.

Tom: I can forgive them the censorship, but again: it’s just not quite working for me.

Tim: Post-chorus, though: SO MUCH/10, because that “on and off and on and off” is really very good indeed – lyrical genius it might not be, but it’s sure as hell immediately sing-alongable, memorable, and basically the highlight of the song.

Tom: And the trouble is, you’re absolutely right. I can remember it. I don’t want to, but I can remember it, and I suppose I’ve got to give it a few marks for that.

Conchita Wurst – You Are Unstoppable

‘Every member of the the team got this right.’

Tim: I’m writing the morning after a somewhat hefty night in the pub; I need this track to live up to its title.

Tom: I suspect it’s going to.

Tim: Oh and yes, yes it does. The sudden stop and start and the end of this clip annoy me a tad, but the song itself is EXACTLY the right sort of pickup track.

Tom: I’m going to guess that this is recorded off the radio: at least they removed the DJ’s chatter.

Tim: With this title and Conchita’s history the lyrics were always going to be on point, but it’s great here that the music provides everything it can as well – the strings get us off to a good start, then then when that drumbeat introduces the chorus with those long vocal notes, everything falls properly into place. And as for that return from the middle eight? Oof.

Tom: It’s not surprising in the least, but it doesn’t have to be: it’s very very good. There’s some really nice subtle production techniques on here: dipping the backing volume before punching it back up at the start of a bar; an “oh” sample half way through that, as far as I can tell, never returns; it’s not just the composer, songwriter or vocalist here, every member of the the team got this right.

Tim: It’s a while since I’ve heard anything quite so perfectly suited to its task. Top work all round.

PVRIS – St Patrick

“I can only assume they’re from the same place as CHVRCHES.”

Tom: I can only assume they’re from the same place as CHVRCHES. Musically, though…

Tom: …not bad.

Tim: Not bad at all.

Tom: Our resident Radio Insider sends us this one, saying they’re like a bit like a “rocky Kelly Clarkson” mixed with, as previously mentioned, CHVRCHES. And I can kind of see where he’s coming from.

Tim: Yes, it’s not bad at all, and a fitting description. I vastly prefer that chorus to the verses, mind, with the poppier music behind it, but yes, I can enjoy this.

Tom: The video’s straight from the Hurts playbook: desaturated, slow motion, dark clothing, moody walking.

Tim: It took me a few watches to work out what was going on with the baseball bats coming out of her Mary Poppins mirror.

Tim: I do, however, have one massive problem with this track, and it’s the chorus lyrics.

Tom: Oh?

Tim: “Something to talk about, talk about / that’s not the s— in my…” — complete that sentence. My brain insists that it’s going to be a rhyming couplet, hears the vowel in ‘about’, and promptly completes it with ‘mouth’. I know that’s not the actual lyric. But every time, my brain goes that way, and frankly it’s just unpleasant.

Tom: Huh. I don’t remotely get that – for me the rhythm is different enough not to predict that, so I’ve no problem with the chorus at all.

Saturday Reject: Rickard Söderberg & Elize Ryd – One By One

“Hahahahahaha. Hahaha. Ha.”

Tim: Yep, with three months to go it’s that time of the year again, where we look at all the tracks that were good, but not quite good enough. First off, to Sweden (where else?), and this, an opera singer paired with the lead singer of metal band Amaranthe.

Tom: They’re going to have to beat Malena Ernman and Casablanca’s La Voix performance in my head. High bar to clear.

Tim: It is indeed. Have a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu8Jmr2xCJE

Tom: Hahahahahaha. Hahaha. Ha.

Tim: Ermm, okay, so this got knocked out in the very strong first heat of Melodifestivalen, disappointingly, what with it almost being my favourite song of the night.

Tom: Wait, what? Really?

Tim: Oh, hell yes. Every now and again, I do love a good operatic rock song when it’s done well, and here it very much is. The two vocals combine very well, almost in a Nica & Joe style, and while I wouldn’t have said no to an even more out there female vocal, possibly even hitting Malena Ernman levels, I do think this combination works very well.

Tom: It really doesn’t. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re both brilliant vocalists, but the combination sounds like an incompetently-produced mashup. He’s got a voice for opera, and it just sounds wrong here.

Tim: Oh, please – it sounds great here.

Tom: No. No it doesn’t. Again: the voice on its own? Brilliant. Great opera singer. But it’s completely, utterly, out of place.

Tim: I think you are entirely wrong. Mind you, I wouldn’t listen to a whole album of it, but as a Eurovision competitor, many countries could (and, let’s face it, will) do a lot worse, because, well, to pick just one point, that return from the middle eight is just brilliant.

Tom: No, for once I completely disagree with you: it’s ridiculous, and it’d end up near the bottom of the table. The whole setup: the wind machines, the moustache, the bizarre eyeliner, and creepy stares at the camera: it’s just not a good track.

Tim: Well, I’ll grant you him looking ridiculous, but I reckon everything else about it is great.