Andrew & Sun Owl – Stop Waiting For Luck

“To me, it just sounds a bit weak.”

Tim: New pair here, setting out as a duo because they reckon their voices work well together. Shall we check that?

Tim: And it seems they do indeed. Apparently, with this track they’re going for Chariots of Fire mixed with Nintendo 8-bit.

Tom: That’s an actual quote from them?

Tim: Oh yes – to be precise, a “neon dressed lovechild” of the two.

Tom: Blimey.

Tim: Yes – some might say it’s a weird combination to choose, but it’s not far off what they’ve achieved, so I suppose well done to them. And not only have they done that, but they’ve managed to make it very listenable; I know that because I’ve just pushed play for the fifth time.

Tom: Mm. It’s more Nintendo than Vangelis; there’s no way it’s that close to Chariots of Fire.

Tim: True, but let’s look at the good lyrics: we’ve a track that’s chirpy but instructional, annoyed but upbeat.

Tom: I’m just not sure that combination works for me: the oddly compressed vocals and instrumentals, while fitting with the 8-bit part of their theme, don’t really work for me. By the final chorus, when everything’s a bit more rounded out, it starts to fit together — but to me, it just sounds a bit weak.

Tim: Really? I find it saying get off your arse, get going, but enjoy yourself while doing it. And that’s a very good message to hand out, I reckon. Definitely well done to them, then. And, sixth time.

Ola Salo – Go On Go On

“That sounds like so many other songs.”

Tim: Have a listen to this, why don’t you. I’m a tad conflicted, sort of, maybe, I’m not sure.

Tim: Actually, that’s not quite true, as the more I hear it the more I like it.

Tom: That sounds like so many other songs. The intro is the strings from every Pachelbel’s Canon ever, just in a different order; the opening verse is “Whenever, Wherever” by Shakira, over the synths from an OMD track. I swear I’ve heard every bit of that somewhere else, even that “won the war” pre-chorus bit, but I can’t quite place them.

Tim: You’re not wrong really, but it works. One immediate comparison that springs to mind is Andreas Johnson’s Glorious, though to be honest I’m not sure why. It’s partly the tone of the vocal, but I think also the manner of it.

Tom: Ah, in tone possibly — I just can’t get over how many musical associations it fired off in my head.

Tim: That vocal comes out in full force in the chorus, clearly intended to take the focus, but doesn’t quite manage it and instead the song is defined by the very very good instrumentation underneath.

Tom: Yep, if I can actually get my brain to concentrate on the actual song itself, I find myself agreeing with you. This is a really good track.

Tim: Right – especially when they both come along at the end, and it all combines into one wonderful section when every single component is desperately trying to be heard above the rest. Marvellous stuff, even if it does take a couple of goes to work properly.

Sigma feat. Labrinth – Higher

“Sadly, a bit generic.”

Tim: Ah, what’s brought this out of the woodwork?

Tom: Sigma, drum-and-bass duo responsible for the best Kanye West remix ever (in that it removed Kanye and got to number one). Labrinth, brilliant vocalist and writer. This should be…

Tom: …hmm. Sadly, a bit generic.

Tim: Not a fan, then?

Tom: That introduction — like the quiet middle eight — is wonderful, and promises so much.

Tim: Really? Because I find that part a bit tedious.

Tom: Well, yes, it is a bit too long, and crucially the payoff just isn’t quite worth it. I know drum and bass is ultimately a bit limited: once you start switching things up too much, it slides into being a different genre entirely. There’s a lot you can do in that relatively small sandbox — but there’s just not enough of interest here. The melody isn’t good enough to save this track.

Tim: I don’t know – ‘generic’ it possibly is, but I’d say that chorus with it’s ‘what is love?’ mantra delivers vastly more than what the meandering intro suggests. I really like this track.

Tom: My main problem with it, though: after a couple of repeats, I started hearing “higher, higher” as “hiya, hiya” and wondering how many people he was going to greet before the song was finally over.

Tim: See, I’m now working on chopping that up and setting it as my ringtone.

Tom: It’s better than that endless loop of the One Show theme you had.

Saturday Flashback: Northern Allstars – Don’t Stop Believing

“Somewhat ridiculous but very enjoyable”

Tom: Oh good heavens, I remember this. Why do you bring it back to haunt me?

Tim: No idea – for the life of me, I can’t imagine what it might have been that brought this to my mind when I awoke today, but anyway: it’s five years ago, Glee is steadily becoming a smash hit, and every act and their dog is trying to capitalise on that by covering Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’. This London-based singer’s version was one of the (comparatively) more adventurous takes on the song.

Tim: And that is somewhat ridiculous but nonetheless very enjoyable.

Tom: “Very”?

Tim: Oh yes. It’s easy to dismiss tracks like this as cheap and lazy, but this has actually had some thought put into it, and has some decent production values.

Tom: I’ll grant you that it’s got all the right production values for a generic dance cover, but it breaks one of the critical rules of a cover like this: don’t surprise the people singing along on the dancefloor. Missing out the first “Strangers, waiting” bit is pretty unforgivable.

Tim: Hmm, there is that. But on the other hand, one of the nicest things about this is that by the second chorus I worry it’s going to pull the same kind of fast one that Wednesday’s track did, with absolutely nothing happening at the end.

Tom: Oh, come on, you think they’re going to end that middle eight with anything but a stock Euphoric Build?

Tim: Oh no, and admittedly it doesn’t do anything it hasn’t really done before, but it’s done in such a way, contrasting with the dropped-down-to-nothing middle eight, and following that excitable build, that the chorus suddenly feels new and exciting again, and one I really, really want to jump around to with a massive grin on my face.

Tom: As long as you don’t follow his example and stand on the train tracks while you’re doing it. Honestly. Basic railway safety here, people, there’s a midnight train going anywhere arriving soon.

Tim: Not only that, but most importantly: NEON SIGNS AND ANGEL WINGS.

Axwell Λ Ingrosso – Something New

“One of the meanings of lambda is binding constructions in lambda calculus”

Tom: That is an uppercase Greek letter lambda in the credit, something that every music site seems to be copying and pasting without comment. Normally I’d replace it with “feat.” or “and”, but given that one of the meanings of lambda is binding constructions in lambda calculus, I’ll allow it.

Tim: I canot BELIEVE more music sites aren’t commenting on that.

Tom: ANYWAY. Two-thirds of Swedish House Mafia here…

Tom: …which is fitting, because this is a brilliant first two-thirds of a song.

Tim: What?

Tom: It’s clearly building: at the end of that “we belong to something new” I was expecting a big drop, and after the second instrumental build I was frankly expecting something ASTONISHING.

Instead we got a few bars of a first-chorus-quality drop, and then… it was pretty much it. Either it was back to the verse, or it was the end of the song.

Tim: Huh. Not entirely sure I agree with you there. Yes, if this was a stock song structure there’d be a middle eight and closing section after that, but I think it also works as an outro. Would I say no to some more? Absolutely not. But I don’t think it qualifies as particularly lacking – that’s a perfectly good dance section, and shouldn’t be dismissed as just a build.

Tom: I can only assume that the other one from Swedish House Mafia was generally responsible for providing some sense of LOUD BANGING CHOON CLOSURE and the other two didn’t know what to do without him.

Tim: Except write lyrics at 2:40 talking about Pret a Manger.

Tom: What do you… oh, for crying out loud. I can’t hear that any other way now.

Tim: Sir, your are very, very welcome.

Tim Schou – Goodbye

“It probably doesn’t need repeating but this man has an excellent name.”

Tim: It probably doesn’t need repeating but this man has an excellent name.

Tom: If by “excellent name” you mean “name that sounds like someone sneezing”.

Tim: Well yes I suppose there’s that as well. Can he better the fairly good Supernova, though?

Tim: Ehhh…kind of. He can certainly do a better ballad than he can do a dance, because there’s a reason singers don’t generally stand still and just move their arms – look what happened the last time we saw this. Points for the rest of the video, though, if only from a technical standpoint, with the screens and the single shot, though I was kind of hoping the choir would emerge when the back opened up.

Tom: Two things to ruin the video for you: the reflections on his necklace, and the careful “not really playing the piano” camera shot. But yes, technically impressive.

Tim: The song, though, which we should probably discuss at some point, is…well, somewhat average, which is probably why I left it until last to mention it.

Tom: Can we deal with the lyrics first? “This is so mad, this is so sad”. Is he… is he six years old?

Tim: No, no he isn’t, and he’s proves that by referencing his favourite grown-up TV show in the next line, which definitely won’t be an outdated reference twelve months from now.

Musically it’s a decent enough ballad, and the choir helps to prop it up a bit; problem is that it’s too slow and gentle a grower. Compare ten seconds in and three minutes later and there’s a vast improvement, but there’s no WOW moment where everything changes, and that’s what I want from a good ballad.

Tom: Right. For me, it’s those lyrics — not just that one bad line, but all of it — that ruin it for me. Like the video: technically, it’s all brilliant, it’s just the content isn’t quite there.

Tim: So far, so room for improvement.

Viktoria Tocca – Ready To Run

“I want more from it.”

Tim: New Swede here. (well, new as far as releasing music goes, not new as in newborn, but, well, anyway) with a decent chunk of pop for you, especially if you like yellow and turquoise.

Tom: Have you been on the port again? That’s a heck of an introduction.

Tim: Rude. No, just the beer. And watch the video, you’ll understand.

Tim: And I like that. I really do. Except…well, I want more from it.

Tom: You know why? Because this sounds like a TV theme. That introduction sounds like it’s going to be the lead-out from a teaser section into a title sequence.

Tim: Huh, yes, it does and all. I’ll tell you my main problem, though: I spent most of the middle eight thinking “I’m looking forward to the key change that’s coming soon, although I know there probably won’t be one.”

I think its main flaw is repeating the chorus immediately after its second outing. Typically, and this song is nothing if not typical, that’s what you do at the end, when you’re climaxing (for want of a better word).

Tom: Classy. But not only that: there’s not nearly enough delineation between the chorus and the verse. The whole chorus sounds like a build, not an actual chorus.

Tim: An enjoyable build, mind. The doubling gives the impression that “yep, we’ve done that already, so just IMAGINE what’s coming next,” and so I do imagine it, and then the only special thing is an (admittedly quite pleasant) instrumental bit. And it’s a bit of letdown. Which is a shame, because it’s a decent track – certainly leaves me wanting to see what’s next from her – but it just doesn’t deliver what it sort of promises.

T’Pau – Nowhere

“And it’s rather lovely, isn’t it?”

Tom: Yep, it’s the band that did the wonderful “China In Your Hand“, and a couple of other minor hits besides, in the late ’80s. And after a long time disbanded, they’ve surprisingly reunited, gone on tour, and recorded a new album.

Tim: Hmm. I’ve never sure, with a heritage like that, whether I want to hear an updated sound or not. Let’s find out.

Tom: And it’s rather lovely, isn’t it? I’ve fallen in love with good string sections lately, and this definitely has one.

Tim: Ooh, that’s very lovely. I was entirely ambivalent about it until the chorus hit, but it’s a very very good chorus. And, yes, a good string section.

Tom: I’m really not sure about how quiet it gets at the start of that second verse, but I reckon the guitar into piano-solo middle eight makes up for it.

Tim: Well, this is something we see many, many times – a quiet verse redeemed by an excellent chorus, then brought crashing back down again. Like you say, though, it’s made up for by the guitar and, again, the chorus.

Tom: But here’s the bit I like most about it: look at that waveform on the SoundCloud player. More than anything, that’s a retro sound coming back: it’s not crushed to oblivion, it’s not a brick wall of compressed sound. There’s space for all the instruments to be heard. I’m not a purist about that, at all; modern EDM shouldn’t have all that much headroom. But for a track like this? Yes, please.

Tim: It does work well – can’t disagree with that at all.

Tom: I doubt it’ll trouble the charts; it’ll probably get plonked somewhere on the Radio 2 playlist and get put in their setlist for the reunion tour. But this is a better comeback single than most bands manage, and they should be congratulated for it.

Tim: Then: congratulations, T’Pau!

Kelly Clarkson – Heartbeat Song

“TURN IT UP UP UP UP ALL NIGHT LONG.”

Tim: First song off her upcoming seventh (SEVENTH and that’s impressive enough on its own) album.

Tom: For someone who won American Idol, that’s staggering. I can’t think of a more successful reality show contestant.

Tim: But dammit, where is the opening to the chorus from?

Tim: Because it’s very very good, and I’m absolutely certain I’ve heard it before, but I can’t for the life of me think wh—

Tom: “It just takes some time / little girl you’re in the middle of the ride.”

Tim: THANK YOU YES, it’s straight out of Jimmy Eat World, which is also a very very good song, and weirdly it’s got exactly the same verse intro as well, with the “[syllable]……” and the drumbeat underneath.

Tom: It’s certainly close, although whether it’s “legal action” close I don’t know — because while there are some very similar parts, it’s clearly a Very Different Track.

Tim: It is indeed, and so regardless of any similarity, I love this, because there is no part that I don’t enjoy. Lyrics, great, with the “you are brilliant, and so is everything” message.

Tom: True, but if you’ve got “pins and needles in your tongue”, you might want to get something checked out.

Tim: Fair point. But then melody, chorus, verse, middle eight, all twisting in with those lyrics, being that everything, and all wonderful, whether I’ve heard them before or not.

Tom: Yep, I can’t disagree: this is brilliant.

Tim: This is pop – pure, glorious pop music, and it’s wonderful. Let’s TURN IT UP UP UP UP ALL NIGHT LONG.

Saturday Flashback: Lisa Miskovsky – Another Shape Of My Heart

“Does it remind you of anything?”

Tim: So here’s something fun: semi-notable Swede Lisa Miskovsky recorded this and put it on her 2008 Greatest Hits album.

Tom: Good grief, I can’t tell whether that introduction’s a compliment or an insult. Anyway, yes, off the Greatest Hits album.

Tim: Indeed, but does it remind you of anything?

Tom: Not off the top of my head. Why – what’ve you got stuck on?

Tim: Oh, not stuck on at all, but check out the title, the lines “Hold me now don’t bother, if every minute it makes me weaker” and then have a listen to this particular Backstreet Boys track. Go on, I’ll wait.

Tom: I haven’t heard that song in years! I’d completely forgotten it. So, what, an odd cover version?

Tim: No, far more interesting actually: Lisa Miskovsky, primarily known for her singing of several lovely songs, especially this one, did a bit of writing back in the day, and came up with the main structure for Shape Of My Heart. She got in touch with Max Martin and Rami Yacoub, who said something along the lines of “ooh, that’s nice, we’ll have a go with that,” then fiddled around with it, and a few months later, the Backstreet Boys have what’s destined to be one of their biggest hits.

Another eight years later, though, our Lisa thinks, “actually, they changed that a LOT, let’s see what I can do with it,” and so we have this, a pleasing behind the scenes insight into the world of songwriting. Fun, no?

Tom: And you know what, I reckon this track’s better than the Backstreet Boys version.

Tim: You know, in a lot of corners of the internet, that’d get you in serious trouble; here, though? You’re not far wrong, and not least because of the chorus line that sounds like the main line of Labrinth’s Read All About It and has lyrics to ‘phasers around us,’ which sounds very exciting.