Måns Zelmerlöw – Beautiful Life

“Another day, another Beautiful Life.”

Tim: Another day, another Beautiful Life.

Tom: And none of them will ever beat Ace of Base, of course. Anyway, it was Union J last time: what’ve we got now?

Tim: We’re replacing a British boyband with a Swedish singer and an initially gentle guitar backing with an initially gentle piano backing.

Tim: But isn’t that just wonderful? Such a fantastic soaring vocal, such a brilliant crash of instrumentation in the chorus, and such uplifting vocals. Gosh, I’m feeling enthusiastic for this song – I keep trying to find better things to say about it, and there aren’t so many songs that’ll make me do that. Make a list, sure, but keep trying to extend that list, not so much.

Tom: Oh, man, have I just been in a funk for this last week or something?

Tim: I don’t know, have you?

Tom: You keep getting all enthusiastic about tracks, and I keep going “well, that’s quite nice, but it’s not really going to bring the house down”. Everything seems to be stuck in a vague sense of ‘that’s generic’.

Perhaps I just want something startling, something that doesn’t seem like it’s by-the-numbers pop: C2C, the Pet Shop Boys’ new album, anything that doesn’t just fade into the background. I mean, this is nice, it’s soaring, but it’s… it’s just a bit generic.

Tim: Hmm. I’ll have a rummage, see what I can find that might excite you. But back to this song, there’s a lot of emotion in here, and it’s all very positive. Very positive indeed.

Tom: It is. I just wish some of it would rub off on me.

Union J – Beautiful Life

“I wonder if, had they been a year earlier, Union J would have been One Direction?”

Tim: They’re not going to be as big as One Direction. Let’s face it: no-one is. But, at least they’re giving it a decent shot by, well, doing exactly the same things they did.

Tom: I wonder if, had they been a year earlier, Union J would have been One Direction? Is it just a matter of timing, that the market was ready for a new boy band there, and they were good enough and at the right time? Or is there something special about 1D that UJ have – apart from a much better acronym?

Tim: Good question; I don’t know, really. They weren’t really marketed any differently on the show, so it may just be timing. Or Harry’s hair.

But as for what’s the same: fairly loud first track? Yes. Didn’t do quite as well, let’s not dwell on that. Second track: something a bit less low-key. And so we have this. Which, actually, isn’t particularly low-key once the chorus hits so I suppose that’s something.

Tom: It isn’t, but there’s not much I can say for it. It’s a generic ballad that fits into the background. That said, I don’t think I can remember any of their other tracks, so perhaps that fits a pattern.

Tim: In all, I actually prefer this to Carry You – there’s just more to it. The harmonies are more involved, the instrumentation’s more confident in its variation. And I’m quite a fan of grinding metal noises, so that helps as well.

Tom: I wonder how many people, having ripped the audio from the YouTube video, will eventually feel that the song seems “wrong” without the grinding metal?

Tim: Gosh, what a lot of hypothetical questioning we have today. I reckon: a few.

This, really, might have worked better as a lead single – it doesn’t have the soaring chorus, but it does have everything else a good pop song should have.

Tom: Apart from keeping my attention.

The Killers – Shot At The Night

The Killers have gone and done electropop.

Tim: The obligatory new single from the upcoming Direct Hits singles collection, this is produced by M83.

Tom: Ooh, now that’s exciting. That’s a combination I hadn’t thought of.

Tim: Now I’ve told you that, you’ll hit play and about thirteen seconds later think “oh, yeah”.

Tim: So, The Killers have gone and done electropop, and they’ve made quite a decent job of it.

Tom: M83’s influence is obvious, although it’s not quite the full-on explosion of electropop that they’re known for before. It’s a much calmer track than I expected.

Tim: Yes – outside the chorus, it has to be said there’s not a lot going on, aside from a gradually increasing level of anticipation for what’s coming inside the chorus. Because that chorus is fantastic. It makes the song, though that does come with with a sense of disappointment: if the verses matched up to, this could have been one of the songs of the year.

Tom: I still reckon there could be more, even there – M83 are known for producing such massive tracks that even the chorus was a touch disappointing to me.

Tim: You think? Either way, this could be better, and “America’s biggest rock band changes direction and absolutely smashes it” has a nice ring to it; “…and does a manageable job” doesn’t so much. But still, for me, what a chorus.

Saturday Flashback: Boys Like Girls – The Great Escape

Tim: I’ve no idea why, but this 2007 track has been getting a bit of airplay on Radio 1 recently; I can’t find any reference to a re-release or new marketing, but anyway, let’s have a listen because it’s good.

Tim: Yep. Good. As mentioned on Monday, I’m a bit of sucker for a rock track with a big drawn-out chorus hook, and this fits that nicely.

Tom: Ha. Now, you say that, but I don’t like this nearly as much as Monday’s track — which you didn’t think much of. I reckon the hook, and the verses, and both a bit dull. It’s generic pop-rock, and while there’s nothing wrong with it, there’s nothing really right with it either.

Tim: You think? Well, please yourself. We’ve mentioned this band before, back when they had a new track out last year, and if this is the start of a new push I do hope it succeeds. I doubt it is, if for no other reason than that the line-up’s changed since then, but anyway. Still worth a listen.

Britney Spears – Work Bitch

Ah. Generic EDM. Super.

Tim: First new track since the really rather good Femme Fatale album; back then we were playing with dubstep, what’s up this time?

Tim: Ah. Generic EDM. Super.

Tom: Whoa, before we get to the music: what’s with that album cover? Something seems really… well, badly Photoshopped.

Tim: Well, it’s certainly a very narrow waist she’s got going on.

Tom: I know that’s to be expected, but her head doesn’t seem to fit quite onto her body, and the angle of her arm just seems… wrong. Either that’s a really awkward position, or there’s been some rather interesting editing done in post.

Tim: Looking at the mirror reflection, I’d tend towards the former, actually – like she’s leaning as far towards the camera as she possibly can whilst keeping her head tilted back and her arms on the side. You’re right, it is a bit odd.

Tom: Anyway, yes. This really is generic, isn’t it?

Tim: Yes, and very disappointing, for any number of reasons. Lyrics for one (Maserati/Bugatti is as lazy as they come, and you’re using it twice?), dullness of the backing for another, but the biggest one is simply two words: where’s Britney? This could be any singer at all – if it wasn’t Britney, this’d be a track by will.i.am (who is the producer BTW) feat. Vocalist.

Tom: Agreed. She’s talking for a good fraction of it, and what’s left is so distorted by vocoders and production that there’s not really any of her left.

Tim: She’s been one of the biggest pop sensations for all of the past fifteen years – why on earth is her personality almost entirely absent from an album’s lead single? Well, I say almost entirely – the middle eight is good. The middle eight is what the track should be. The middle eight, in fact, turns my reaction from a “what the hell is this?” to a “why the hell is this?”. This should be so, so much better. But it isn’t.

Daft Punk – Lose Yourself To Dance

Is it any better than Get Lucky?

Tim: We didn’t originally review Get Lucky because we both found it a bit dull and uninspirational. Let’s see if the same applies to this next one.

Tim: Yes. Yes it does. It is just as monotonous, just as repetitive, just as mathematically calculated to get stuck in your head, and just as, essentially, dull.

Tom: Which is a great shame, because – for once – it was the intro and first verse that I found the best bit of the song. After that, yes, it just keeps going. Still, at least there’s an actual video this time… even it does go on a bit.

Tim: Does it really only last four minutes eleven?

Tom: I don’t know, I sort of lost track after three.

Tone Damli – Perfect World

This a is track with a BIG CHORUS.

Tim: This a is track with a BIG CHORUS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CantenToGpk

Tim: You see? This is actually the kind of track I’d hoped Katy Perry would be doing when she said she was done with the bubblegum-flavoured pop, rather than actually just doing more bubblegum-flavoured pop. Loud, brash and wonderful.

Tom: Agreed. I know you liked ‘Roar’ better than I did, but even so – I’m glad you agree this would have been a better direction. Mind you, just comparing her to Perry isn’t fair — she’s clearly not, she’s clearly going her own way, and it’s a damn good way to go.

Tim: To be honest, it almost seems like there’s too much in there – not that they should lose anything, but perhaps just turn down one or two bits? I don’t know, I’m probably just being picky, but it’s a bit odd that she’s shouting her head off and it’s still a bit difficult to make her out.

Tom: That’s probably down to YouTube compression – the song’s been mastered for high-bitrate MP3s and proper speakers, and it’s not doing well being crushed down. Either that, or they’ve just turned everything up too loud.

Tim: In terms of pure pop noise, though, it’s great.

Satin Circus – If You Love Me

It’s difficult for a boyband to pitch a chorus like that without comparison.

Tim: Satin Circus (known to their parents as Krippe, Axel, Paul and Olli), you’ll recall, are a Finnish “we’re really not a boyband” boy band, who gave us quite the One Direction-esque debut single Emma. That was about five months ago; probably time for a follow-up.

Tim: So, good news for them: it’s not quite as One Direction as previously. It’s remarkably close to The Wanted, but at least it’s not One Direction.

Tom: You say that, but it’s difficult for a boyband to pitch a chorus like that these days without comparison to 1D. The rest of the song doesn’t match, but man, that chorus.

Tim: Actually, this isn’t quite fair. Well, it is fair, because it is like that, but it’d be rude to judge them just based on their similarities to varying boybands. (You’ll note that I did not say “other boybands”, because that would imply that Satin Circus are a ‘boyband’. They are not. Boyband members would not be manly enough to chop wood or handle fireworks.)

Tom: I propose a new term, Tim: MANBAND.

Tim: Debatable. For the moment, let’s judge them on the music.

Tom: Probably for the best.

Tim: Full marks to them for not putting out a crappy acoustic guitar-led ballad to encompass all bases, because this as it is is very good. I like it a lot, and fine, I will grudgingly admit that I appreciate that they combine the talents of singing, writing and playing.

Tom: Yep. The verses go on a bit for me, but the middle eight and final chorus make up for it so much that I don’t really mind.

Tim: Well done everyone.

Thirty Seconds to Mars – Do Or Die

“Is this chorus big and bold enough?”

Tim: I have a thing with rock bands. Basically, I can cope with their music being a bit of a racket, as long the chorus is epic enough, or at least has a decent, generally quite drawn-out, hook to it.

Tom: Crikey. There’s a reason we don’t normally review rock music, folks, and that’s it.

Tim: Kings and Queens, for example – utterly fantastic track. And now there’s this (a fan-made lyric video, by the way – the official seven minute one is full of all sorts of guff).

Tom: I want to go to Iceland now. Disappointingly, though, it won’t have a soundtrack like that.

Tim: So, my question is this: is this chorus big and bold enough that it outweighs the fair racket that is the rest of the song?

Tom: I disagree with your basic premise there. That’s not a racket – the song’s great! And that chorus, in particular. But does that big, bold chorus enough for you?

Tim: I think it just about is, though inevitably if I wake up to it on the radio I’ll think ‘oh, God, can’t we have something a bit calmer’. It’s quite a short chorus, and I wouldn’t mind a bit more, and I can’t quite see it ever rising to Kings and Queens levels, but I think it’s alright. Just about.

Tom: Speak for yourself. I think it’s marvellous.

Saturday Flashback: Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams – Get Lucky

“A confession.”

Tom: Our reader, Isabella, writes in and notes that we never actually covered this, the song of the summer.

Tim: True.

Tom: She likes it, as – evidently – do most of the record-downloading public: “the only criticism I can find for it,” she writes, “is that it’s more of a Pharrell track produced by Daft Punk than a Daft Punk track featuring Pharrell and Nile Rodgers.”

Tom: So, a confession: I disliked it on first listen; it seemed monotonous and not particularly inspired. And then, as it became the soundtrack to everything this summer, it grew on me.

Tim: See, I never even got to the growing on me part of it. I just don’t get it – I find it, well, dull. Their last album, the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, was fantastic (and the remix album even more so), but this is just boring.

Tom: And I find myself agreeing. Because now the glow has faded; the mists of autumn aren’t far away; and I find that it’s started to irritate me again. It doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t do anything. It could be two minutes long or ten minutes long, it’s all the bloody same. It’s impeccably produced, incredibly catchy, but I’m just bloody sick of it.

Tim: You’re right – it doesn’t go anywhere at all. The underlying beat – that eight second, four bar loop – just doesn’t change. Throughout the entirety of the song, it’s there. I don’t want to call it cynical, but it’s perfectly mastered to get stuck in your head and never ever leave, and to keep you listening in the subconscious hope that it’ll break out of its minor-key loop and do something interesting.

Tom: Is it possible to review something properly when it’s been burned into your brain?

Tim: There’s an argument that that’s the only time when you should review something – you’ve had time to digest it, tracked your enjoyment of it, can provide a thorough description of your thoughts, as we’ve done. Unfortunately, they’re not positive thoughts.

Tom: PS: Ed Balls.

Tim: Of course.