Rainmode – 7D

“This is… this is brilliant.”

Tim: Here is a synthpop track for you that’s very very lovely indeed, and with a nice swirly picture on the SoundCloud embed as well.

Tom: Oh! That surprised me — when you send synthpop over I assume it’s going to be all slow and dreamy. This isn’t. This is… this is brilliant. You’re right, that’s lovely.

Tim: So lovely in fact, that I’ve had it to repeat for a good half hour now, and I’m showing no signs at all of getting bored of it. Mostly because it reminds me of a certain wonderful band, whose Twitter account has sadly been inactive for over a year now, right down to the aforementioned artwork.

Tom: But this isn’t ethereal like the Sound of Arrows: this is proper, four-on-the-floor synthpop.

Tim: It’s great, although I’m having trouble writing about because for no readily apparent reason I have Israel’s entry for this year’s Eurovision stuck in my head.

Tom: Even after half an hour of this? That’s quite the earworm.

Tim: It was, yes. But anyway, nice ethereal vocals–

Tom: Which is where I interrupt and say that the vocals do annoy me a little: the simple rhyming couplet scheme sounds almost infantile, and I find myself wanting either the rhythm and rhyme to be mixed up a bit, or else just to have an instrumental version.

Tim: Oh. There’s still very much the good melody that really comes into its own–

Tom: Although that “we were young” does remind me of a much less appropriate song.

Tim: Hmmmmmmm…then there’s that repeated chord progression throughout what would be the middle eight if there was a final chorus–

Tom: Mind you, that final drum beat pattern is just the opening of New Order’s Blue Monday.

Tim: –and man, I really love that picture.

Tom: Yep, despite my many minor qualms there, I had no problem just putting the track on repeat. It reminds me a little of one of my favourite bands, VNV Nation. Rainmode aren’t quite on their level yet, but then they haven’t been going nearly as well.

Tim: ALL BRILLIANT.

Medina – Giv Slip

“Put simply, it’s really just a great pop song.”

Tim: Can I interest you in a good chorus earworm, Tom?

Tom: Always.

Tom: Hmm. Well, it’s not got stuck in there, sadly.

Tim: Oh. Well, it means Let Go, and it’s all about finally getting a release from someone who’s just not been right for her.

Tom: Heh. “Getting a release”. Care to rephrase that?

Tim: Erm, oh, no, it’s fine. And however it’s phrased, the idea’s conveyed very nicely in the tone of the music – slightly nervous-sounding vocals in the verse, but very much a joyful sound to close off the chorus. Put simply, it’s really just a great pop song, everything one should be.

Tom: I see where you’re coming from — all the component parts are solid — but I just can’t agree: rather than getting stuck as an earworm, it… well, it goes in one ear and out the other.

Tim: I disagree, and wish to close with: absolutely top marks.

JA – Caroline

“Upbeat country pop.”

Tim: Here’s a fun track, and topical as well because The X Factor’s back this weekend (tragic, isn’t it?) and allegedly this Swedish duo were invited to perform following various YouTube covers and the like.

Tom: That doesn’t always go so well.

Tim: ​Hmm. Well, let’s hope that only happens to one act a year, and in the meantime have a preview, so we can all say we liked them first.

Tim: And it’s upbeat country pop, and it’s very good at doing it, or at least that’s my view.

Tom: Yep. I found my foot tapping along.

Tim: It’s fun, it’s got the typically good for a boost oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-etc following the chorus, and it’s sung about one girl in particular, which provides an opportunity for plenty of “oh, just imagine if I was Caroline” feels.

Tom: You actually just used the word ‘feels’, didn’t you? Did you even notice? ‘Cos I can imagine you slating yourself for that a couple of years ago.

Tim: And BOOM, he takes the bait, which is good as I’d have seemed an utter bellend otherwise.

Tom: Fairly sure that “live like young hearts do” basically means “have sex”, though.

Tim: ​Mate, they’re two blokes in their mid-teens. Everything basically means “have sex”. So as a debut original track, I think this is a pretty good shot.

Laura White – To Be Loved

“Sounds much longer than it is.”

Tom: A reader called Lukas sends this in, and says “It’s due to be on the playlist of Radio 1Xtra in October. It’s slowly making waves.”

Tim: Huh. Last time I checked, 1Xtra didn’t plan out their playlists two weeks in advance, let alone two months, but okay.

Tom: To which I say: really? I mean, I’m hardly 1Xtra’s target audience, but I thought “calm soul music” was more Radio 2’s domain. Is there a soul show I don’t know about?

Tim: Putting it out there now: I will donate £50 to the charity of Charlie Sloth’s choice if this makes it onto the 1Xtra playlist.

Tom: First of all: that’s a great voice. And musically there’s not much wrong with the track; there’s a good hook, and about as much interesting stuff as you can ever fit in when all you’ve got’s a slow piano-and-vocals song.

Tim: Can’t disagree with the great voice bit, though I should add I’m not sure about the good hook – not saying it’s bad, it might be great, but I actually got a little bit bored, and a couple of minutes in I started reading up on the 1Xtra playlist process.

Tom: But my word, it sounds much longer than it is. I thought I was about five minutes in when I switched back to the video tab and found we weren’t even three minutes in first. Now, partly that’s my lack of attention span when it comes to music, and partly the fact we don’t normally deal with slow, soulful records, but despite all that… damn, this could do with being cut down just a little.

Tim: I couldn’t agree more. I’d consider listening to it again to see if there was more than the standard two verses, two chorus, middle eight and more choruses, but I fear I’d be claiming my pension before I found out.

R.A.B.B.I.I. – Why Can’t I Be You?

“Almost like when Charlie from Busted went off to do Fightstar.”

Tim: R.A.B.B.I.I., short for Revolutions Are Best Before Initial Inception, are, according to one of the most over the top press releases we’ve seen in quite a while, a new Swedish pair that “defies current convoluted indie-pop norms with an unabashed, direct approach.” Hmm.

Tom: I really hope their manager wrote that, because that’s one of the most pretentious musical sentences I’ve heard in a while.

Tim: What the press release doesn’t mention, for no readily apparent reason, is that they are Felix and Jo who used to be in Le Kid.

Tom: “Used to be”? Ah well.

Tim: I suppose it might be because while it’s still electropop, it’s nowhere near what you’d expect from Le Kid. It’s calm, it’s understated, it’s quiet – it is, in fact, barely recognisable from the incredibly camp stuff that we liked from Le Kid. It’s also, dare I say it, a tad boring?

Tom: That’s pretty much what I came up with. I’m fairly sure the lyrics “eat your face” were in there, which woke me up a bit, but other than that. Hm.

Tim: Yes, it’s pleasingly and soothingly gentle, the vocals are pleasant enough to hear, but it’s nothing we’ve not heard several times previously, and it’s really nothing that gets me excited, which is a real shame. Almost like when Charlie from Busted went off to do Fightstar.

Tom: Good analogy. To be fair, there’s some value in producing music that your audience will find familiar — hearing something previously isn’t necessarily a killing blow.

Tim: I suppose not, but it’s not brilliant. Anyway, to stop this being too negative, I’ll finish up by handing back to the press release: “Revolution is liberty. Revolution is strife. Revolution is bliss. Revolution is blood. Caught in a web of these opposing forces lies R.A.B.B.I.I.” So there you go.

Tom: Pity the revolution doesn’t provide a decent middle-eight, really.

Saturday Flashback: Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

“Still love this”

Tim: Recently at work someone said something that came out in a slightly more offensive manner than he’d planned; anyway, it made me think of this glorious one-hit wonder from 2008.

Tom: That’s a heck of a sentence there, Tim.

Tim: There’s a proper video that’s got nobility and cheerleaders and a plot with a ghost and stuff in it, but it’s not available outside America, so well done for that everyone. It’s a marvellous song, though, wherever you happen to be, with it’s lovely mesh of synthpop and indie rock that appeared with them and Metro Station but disappointingly didn’t hang around for long.

Tom: And it’s actually one that I downloaded, although for the life of me I don’t know why: years later, it just seems to grate on me.

Tim: WHAAAAAT? We have a tune that kicks off hard right from the start, a message we can all get behind with an oddly-appropriate somewhat whiny vocal, and a hook that’s as memorable and catchy as all the best are. Six years on, I still love this song.

Tom: That “one, two, three” into the chorus is pretty good, I suppose? It’s moderately catchy? It all just seems a bit vaguely embarrassing, though, like a part of my student life that I don’t want to remember.

Tim: I say one-hit wonder; a new track Origami got plonked on YouTube at the beginning of the month, and it’s not bad. It’s not a patch on this, though.

Emmelie de Forest – Drunk Tonight

“A smooth transition from Rainmaker and its ilk”

Tim: As I remember, Tom, you’re not such a fan of Emmelie’s style.

Tom: True, although Rainmaker grew on me a lot after hearing it at Eurovision.

Tim: Oh, good. Well give this a go as well, the first from her new album, as I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

Tim: So, she’s ditched a lot of what made Emmelie Emmelie, and is now here with big beat ballads. A shame? Possibly, because there aren’t a lot of people doing what she was, and there are quite a lot of people doing this.

Tom: True, although this seems more like a smooth transition from Rainmaker and its ilk rather than a big change in direction.

Tim: On the other hand, there aren’t many people doing this as well as Emmelie seemingly does it, so if this sort of calibre song is going to keep coming forth I’ve not got much in the way of complaints. The instrumentation is powerful, and the vocals match that very well, still as strong as ever. The one moan I do have is the ending – I want it to blow out on high like yesterday’s track, not just drop off out of nowhere.

Tom: At least repeat-until-fade is a thing of the past now. Expect a resurgence around 2020.

Tim: Hmm. I fear that may be wishful thinking, but regardless: ending aside, love this.

Florrie – Little White Lies

“That’s a lovely track.”

Tom: CB sends this in, and praises Florrie highly.

Tim: Ooh, and rightly so – that’s a lovely track.

Tom: First of all: I did not expect live drums — or, at least, the appearance of live drums — in the video. I just assumed it was a drum-and-bassish sampler.

Tim: I was all about to disagree and cynically point out that we never actually saw her hit them, but then the band appeared, and then we did see her hit them, so feel free to ignore this sentence.

Tim: I didn’t expect much from this song in the first verse, but I realised when it ended that my attention had been with it throughout. That’s rare: I’ve got a short enough attention span that normally I drift off at least once during a song. This kept me listening: it’s both a good track, and an interesting track.

I’m not quite sure about the rise-into-chaos outro, but it certainly beats a fade to black. I like this a lot.

Tom: I have no problem with it – like you said, it’s an interesting track and partly because it has unusual elements like that, which are unusual in a good way. I’ve nothing but praise for this.

Softengine – Yellow House

“It all just sort of washes over me.”

Tim: These lot here did Finland’s track for Eurovision this year, and now they’re out with this follow up.

Tom: Hmm. Now, I found that to be one of the forgettable tracks of Eurovision this year — harsh, I know — but I’m basing that on the fact that I can’t remember it at all.

Tim: Have a listen, why don’t you, and also please see if you have any idea what it’s about.

Tim: Because I really don’t.

Tom: Nope. Not a clue. I suspect it might have been put together by a Markov chain.

Tim: Oof, Europop mixed with advanced mathematical systems. YOU’RE WELCOME, readers. Musically, I like the song a lot – the intro and post-chorus melody is great, the backing under the second verse is good, decent vocals, though I’d happily tone down that middle eight a bit.

Tom: Aye, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it all just sort of washes over me. Can I remember the hook after it’s finished? Not in the slightest, other than knowing it sounded, y’know, not bad.

Tim: Annoyingly, I can’t much disagree with that. I LIKE IT, though. Except for the lyrics, because…yeah, no idea.

Ariana Grande feat. Zedd – Break Free

“What a final chorus: that’s everything a pop song should be”

Tom: I reckon the credits on this should be the other way round.

Tim: I agree.

Tom: Not to talk down Ariana Grande, of course, although I still think she should have changed her name to Ariana Venti when she turned 20.

Tim: A missed trick if ever there was one.

Tom: She has a heck of a voice. Not many people can pull off casually dropping a whistle register into their singing. But this could be any vocalist: the power of this track comes overwhelmingly from Zedd’s backing.

Tim: It really does (and that’s a lot of power in there), but I guess it’s just a question of who composed the tune really, and who they felt took priority. I’m with you, though.

Tom: And what a final chorus: that’s everything a pop song should be, with some pleasingly 90s and 00s tones in there.

I find the bit after that final chorus very odd, though. There should never be anything after a final chorus. And yet, it just turns into Generic Beats — and given the video, that’s in at least two senses of the word — for a few seconds. Bizarre.

Tim: Hmm. I assumed that was just the bit that’s stuck on the end to mix out with, which yes, I suppose is weird in the video. Nice video, though, even it wasn’t quite enough to make me soil myself.

Tom: I skipped over that text intro, which means this really confused me until I worked it out. I thought you regularly soiled yourself at music videos.

Tim: No. No, no.