Backstreet Boys – In A World Like This

“Backstreet’s… something.” Here? Returned? Around?

Tim: Tom – help me. There’s a fairly well-known phrase, but I can’t quite think what it is, and you might know it. Two words, “Backstreet’s… something.” Here? Returned? Around?

Tom: “Almost certainly not as good as everyone remembers?”

Tim: Blimey – fighting talk from the man in the red corner, who’s clearly forgotten works of art like The One, Larger Than Life, Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) and this album cover.

Anyway, they’re all back together for the first time since 2006, they’ve got an album on the way that’s “a personal record” about what’s going on in their lives right now. With that in mind, let’s hear the lead single.

Tim: So there’s personal, and then there’s bringing in one of the most prolific and bestest songwriters around (Swedish, which always helps), and getting him to pull out the big guns, and my word has he done a good job here.

Tom: Bloody hell, I’d encourage our reader to check that Wikipedia link. That’s an astonishing list of songs.

Tim: It is indeed, and with this one they’re basically singing what could be a certain other band’s next big hit. Roughly half the age of these guys, just made in big in America – really, really big – you know the one I mean.

Tom: I wasn’t sure about that — it sounded a bit too generic and, well, “meh” — but then that glorious final chorus hit.

Tim: It’s a great track, and to be honest it’s hard to imagine this not being a hit – not only have they got the bang up to date sound spot on, but they’ve still got the massive fanbase from back in the day. This will be a big track, albeit not a remotely personal one, and it will deserve it.

Tom: Agreed. Backstreet is, indeed, back.

Tim: Also, I repaired a MacBook Pro belonging to Nick Carter a while back. Probably wasn’t this Nick Carter, but it was still quite exciting.

Miss Li – Transformer

“Isn’t that all kinds of lovely?”

Tim: According to Linda Carlsson’s YouTube biography (apparently that’s a thing now), she experimented with just about every style of music going as a youngster; seven years back, aged 24, she chose Serious Authentic Music and took on the name Miss Li. Last year, though, was a slight switch to good rowdy pop, as evidenced by My Heart Goes Boom, which UK advert-watchers may recognise from a furniture superstore advert. New up: this.

Tim: And isn’t that all kinds of lovely?

Tom: Oh, it is. I like everything about it about from the word “Transformer”. It’d be lovely if the line of toys and movies didn’t exist; it’d just be a fairly whimsical choice of words. But it stands out like a sore thumb here.

Tim: ​You think? Because I have absolutely no problems with it whatsoever – doesn’t stick out at all.

Tom: That said, on a second listen it didn’t seem so obvious, so perhaps it’s one of those things that you just get used to over time.

Tim: The voice wavers between being fairly lacklustre and downbeat in the verses and all happy and bouncy in the chorus – so much, in fact, that we bounce up a key entirely and have an even happier closing section.

Tom: Which is strange, given that the lyrics could be interpreted in quite a dark way.

Tim: ​Yeah – I thought it was quite nice at first, until I noticed that single chorus line that turns it from “let’s have fun doing whatever you want” to basically a desperate plea not to dump her. It’s still sung with enough brightness, though, that you can’t really help but be uplifted by it. And, let’s face it, when you get right down to it, making you feel good is what pop music is meant to do, so well done here.

Saturday Flashback: Michael Bublé – It’s A Beautiful Day

“The best cheery breakup song since Cee-Lo.”

Tom: I know what you’re thinking. Bublé? Have I gone mad? Well, not really – because this isn’t him crooning some old track. It’s a very good bit of pop music with a big-band sound to it. And better than that: it’s the best cheery breakup song since Cee-Lo.

Tom: Isn’t that wonderful?

Tim: Haha, oh, it certainly is that.

Tom: A brass section that seems to be hopped up on caffeine, a traditional bassline — by which I mean, something played on a bass guitar — thumping along below it, and a major-key happy melody line about a breakup.

Tim: It’s great! It’s almost impossible not to smile when watching that. He’s just so jaunty, it’s almost infectious.

Tom: Plus, a lyric video that includes video footage! And it’s really well animated!

Tim: A nice change from what we’re used to, though I’d expect nothing less.

Tom: But the best version of this? It’s the version with Ant and Dec, Lewis Hamilton, a golf cart, a pub, a walk through a scenery dock, and so many little attention-to-detail in-jokes.

Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop

WHAT THE HELL.

Tom: WHAT THE HELL.

Tim: Blimey – that’s one person who wants us to know that she’s grown up very, very quickly.​

Tom: Let’s get the music out of the way first: this is a cracking downtempo pop track, apparently (and unsurprisingly) written for Rihanna.

Tim: What?

Tom: It’s catchy, it’s singalong, and – aside from the inevitable remixes – it’s pretty much perfect for the end of the night at any club anywhere.

Tim: Are we listening to the same song? This is awful – it’s pretty much just horrific noise throughout. It may have been written for Rihanna, but it was presumably immediately rejected – in terms of quality it sounds like a 2010 B-side, and not a very good one.

Tom: Blimey. Okay, I’ll admit the “dancing with Miley” line grates, although there’s some suggestion it’s a drug reference —

Tim: Along with pretty much all the rest of it,​ although the second chorus with the piano underneath is vaguely alright.

Tom: –but given that she’s got a history of referencing herself in songs it’s not too bad. But “See You Again” was off the Disney-branded ‘Hannah Montana 2’ album. This? This is definitely not a Disney track. It’s safe to say that family-friendly, conservative-parents-approved message has gone.

Tim: Yeah, just a bit. ​This is something we can agree on.

Tom: If you’re cynical, you could say that this is blatantly targeted at rebellious teenagers who grew up watching Hannah Montana but are now looking for something less syrupy: you’ll notice there’s a lot of sex and drug references in there but no actual swearing.

And if you’re not cynical? Then it’s someone who’s been under the thumb of Disney’s corporate branding finally breaking out and singing the songs she wants to.

Tim: Upsettingly, you’re right. ​

Tom: Personally, I don’t care which it is: this is a damn good pop song.

Tim: Utter balls. Its terrible, and easily outstays its welcome by approximately three minutes and thirty two seconds.

Hurts – Somebody To Die For

“When Hurts are good, they’re very, very good.”

Tim: Hurts haven’t yet been having much success with the singles off this album; with this track, though, they’re certainly going the right way about trying.

Tim: It may be well over a minute before anything happens, aside from the typical Hurts vocal that I find particularly enjoyable and take for granted, but when it all kicks off at 1:25 there’s no way you can deny it was worth it.

Tom: Ooh, now it’s rare for me to say that I like a long intro, but I really do here. The build was very, very much worth the wait.

Tim: The production under that chorus is really quite incredible.

Tom: No! No, it’s not! It’s awful. Really, really bad. But only on the YouTube version.

Tim: What? Oh, yes, you’re right. Sorry, I was listening in iTunes, God, that’s awful.

Tom: Seriously, if you’re reading this, listen to the Spotify version instead. All those odd volume dips and cutouts are missing, and — yes, you’re absolutely right, the production is incredible. What a shame that odd over-compression’s ruined it.

Tim: The middle eight with the strings is brilliant, and when the electric guitar kicks in with a minute to go it really is just fantastic. I don’t have many issues saying it’s one of their best yet, because instrumentally alone it’s – you know, I think I’ve run out of adjectives to describe it. I just can’t understand why they chose to lead the album with Miracle, which in comparison to this, and others on there, is just dire. This, though, this is just stunning. Ah, there we go.

Tom: I think you’ve summed up my thoughts rather well there. When Hurts are good, they’re very, very good.

Tim: Also, there was a video online for about a day but then it got taken down; not sure why, but apparently it had a load of religious imagery and stuff in it, which sounds about right, really.

Avicii feat. Aloe Blacc – Wake Me Up

“Country music?”

Tim: Last time we reviewed an Avicii track you said his style was starting to sound a bit stale. I don’t think you’ll say that this time.

Tom: “Save tonight, and fight the break of dawn” … just me?

Tim: Couldn’t find a ridiculous cover version for that one, I presume?

Tom: No, but I did find a useless cover version.

Tim: Blimey, Danny Saucedo’s come a long way since then. But I think we’ve got a bit distracted. What was I going to say? Ah, yes. You’ll need a fairly substantial remix before this’ll get played out in any big clubs, I’d imagine, because for the most part this is, well, country music?

Tom: The presence of an acoustic guitar doesn’t make it country music.

Tim: True, but merge that with the vocal stylings and you’re not far off.

Tom: And admittedly I did expect a much bigger bass drop after that build* — this isn’t a club floorfiller, but it is something I very much want to add to my playlist. This is music for radio play, for listening to, for putting on the inevitable ‘chilled dance’ compilation at the end of the year — and there’ll be a big banging remix for the clubs.

* Have you ever seen how those are made? 5m36 into this video explains it all.

Tim: The chorus is fine, and the vocal could work well on top of a dance beat, but let be honest you’d have a difficult time dancing feet off the ground, hands in the air to that guitar business.

Tom: Speak for yourself: this gets filed under ‘euphoric’ for me, and it’ll work very nicely indeed with a remix.

Tim: Oh, a remix, absolutely. Guitar on its own, as it is – not so much.

Tom: I very, very much like this.

Tim: Oh, it’s certainly not a bad track – it just doesn’t really blend at all so I’m not sure what to make of it. Could be a huge hit, but then it could also flop disastrously. Hope it’s not the latter.

Agnetha Fältzkog – Dance Your Pain Away

Away from the ballads and on to the disco floor!

Tom: Agnetha! You’ve gotta see her! Go insane and out of your mind! …just me?

Tim: That version? Yes, yes it really is just you.

Tom: Hey, it’s a good version. (At least you actually followed the link, though.) Anyway! Agnetha. What’s she got?

Tim: Second single off her solo album (which is really very good indeed, by the way), and it’s away from the ballads and on to the disco floor!

Tom: A quick note for our reader: this advice is not backed up by medical facts.

https://soundcloud.com/agnethafaltskog/dance-your-pain-away

Tom: Blimey! Everything from the synths to the strings in the background: it’s like it’s taken from the Disco Textbook.

Tim: It’s quite fun, isn’t it? If there’s pain, just dance it all away. Certainly seems to work for Agnetha, as there’s really very little pain here at all – just lots of happy synths rolling up and down, vocals that really do sound like they’re coming for a smiling mouth, and plenty of assurance that ‘he got nothing on you’.

Tom: It’s a good disco track: not a floor-filler by any means, but there’s nothing wrong with it.

Tim: It’s a reassuring message, and, sure, it’s working. I think all my pain has gone.

Tom: Either that or ibuprofen. That say, I wouldn’t be surprised if that middle eight has mild analgesic properties.

Tim: Yes, we can’t overstate this enough – this is only for emotional pain. Dancing to this really isn’t the best way to soothe a headache, or a dislocated shoulder. For that, I’d advise seeing a pharmacist. Or just stick to Riverdance.

Lorde – Tennis Court

“Well, fairly nice.”

Tom: “Tennis Court”? Really?

Tim: That is indeed what it’s called, yes. The friend who introduced me to this song told me Lorde was French; she’s not, she’s from New Zealand, but let’s have it anyway because it’s nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe4BSUjqLxs

Tim: Well, fairly nice.

Tom: She sounds like… well, a lot of this decade’s female singers. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just that a lot of people are going to think she’s someone else. It’s a bit slow and dark for me, but I can see the appeal.

Tim: It doesn’t really go anywhere, but it doesn’t really need to, I don’t think, because that chorus is really rather good.

Tom: Pity about that “yeah” sample; it stands out like a sore thumb to me, even through all the synths.

Tim: Really? I dont have a problem with it.

The verses don’t have much to them – the rhythm of the vocal in their second halves is good, though, moving along quickly contrasting with the slowness and near non-existence of what’s underneath – but that really just serves to say “pay attention to the chorus”. And that’s good – the lyrical momentum is kept up nicely, the instrumentation builds up a big and we’re given a chorus that just kind of works, even if there is a sudden disjoint between the end of the loud chorus and the beginning of the teeny tiny verse. I like it.

Tom: And I don’t mind it. Between us, that’s practically an endorsement.

Saturday Flashback: The Blam – Various Disgraces

Dammit, it’s just a good party track.

Tim: I’ve recently been gradually watching my way through all nine years of The Office —

Tom: Crikey. That’s a lot of cringe-humour: I can’t take more than an episode of it, generally.

Tim: — and in one episode there was a sort of party room set up where the employees to go to dance when they got stressed. This was one of the tracks that was played, and it’s really quite good.

Tim: It’s not a very nice track, lyrically – “you wear me out, there’s nothing I can do” – but play this loud and dammit, it’s just a good party track.

Tom: It is, and I’m surprised I haven’t heard it before. I thought it sounded about a decade old, and was rather glad a bit of research discovered that I was more or less exactly right.

Tim: You were indeed. The sound just works, like so many pop/indie/rock/punk tracks did back in the mid-00s. Stick this on a playlist with Blink 182, New Found Glory, Bowling For Soup, Boys Like Girls and all the others, whack the speakers up, splurge a load of spirits into a bowl with a token litre of pineapple juice and you’ve got yourself the recipe for a great house party.

Tom: Or a terrible one.

Tim: Ah, the wonderful Mongrels. A song for every occasion.

Magnus Carlsson – Glorious

We get whacked sharply on the head by that almighty chorus.

Tim: One of the most notable names in Swedish pop over the past couple of decades, Magnus is back with a new track. And, well, no prizes for guessing the word I’m considering using to describe it.

Tom: That’s a heck of a lead-in. This had better be… well, you know.

Tom: And it is! Well, that’s a nice surprise, although given his history I suppose I’d have been more startled if it was anything but.

Tim: It is brilliant, isn’t it? What a joyous track it is. The way there’s no real verse to speak of – just a couple of can’t-really-be-bothered lines before we head into the nice build-up of the pre-chorus, and get whacked sharply on the head by that almighty chorus.

Tom: And that almighty — pun intended — key change.

Tim: If you can’t quite work out where you’ve heard the ‘GLORIOUS’ melody before, it’s in Never Ending Story – he claims this is a mix of that and his previous Live Forever, “in a steamy affair with Carola’s Evighet and with Pet Shop Boys choirs and an overtone of my own Kom Hem.”

Tom: Well, at least he acknowledges it, although I do still want to do the descending “la la la” bit from Never Ending Story over the end.

Tim: We all do, Tom, and it seems even Magnus can’t help himself a couple of times. It’s quite an ambitious mixture he describes, but what a mixture it turns out to be. It’s wonderful, and it’s properly perked up my Friday. I love it.

Tom: I can only agree. Top work, Magnus.