Paulina Starborn – Can You Feel My Heartbeat

Straight off a 2003-era Ministry of Sound compilation CD

Tim: It’s above average generic dance music time!

Tim: This is, pretty much, straight off a 2003-era Ministry of Sound compilation CD – the Annual ones they do which back then were brilliant but now are full of crap like Chris Brown and Wiley. Moan over, this is very good.

Tom: Agreed – it sounds almost retro by now, like a track that got held over for ten years.

Tim: Summer-style Eurotrance, kind of heard it all before – is the backing a fairly clear rip-off of Inna’s two-and-a-half year old track Amazing? Why yes, yes I do believe it is, but so what.

Tom: I don’t hear a close match there myself, but then there’s an argument that pretty much everyone in the ‘generic dance music’ industry’s been ripping everyone else off for years.

Tim: Very true, and I suppose a lack of innovation is, in theory, bad for the music industry as a whole BLAH BLAH BLAH but it does in this case provide a very listenable and danceable track.

Tom: The music video seems somewhat awkward – why is it in a bowling alley? Why does it seem deserted? And why is everyone dancing just a little bit awkwardly? Still – can’t complain about the music.

Tim: Indeed – the music’s good, I’m happy, we’re sorted.

For BDK – New Ways Of Digging Deeper

“Keep with it.”

Tim: This is a lengthy one, and much as I’d normally say NO to a six-minute track, keep with it.

Tom: Crikey – when the main synth lines drop at about :48, that’s really quite something.

Tim: Certainly is, and let’s get the bad bit out of the way first: the verses aren’t great. There’s no real stuff behind them, especially the early ones, and if I’m honest I do find her voice on its own slightly grating. HOWEVER, that’s a very minor quibble, as that instrumental bit that pretty much forms the chorus really is quite lovely indeed, and not only makes the verses worthwhile, but also makes the tune worth every one of its six minutes.

Tom: It says something when you approve of an instrumental chorus. I’m not sure that the verses are worth that chorus – but it’s a hell of a chorus.

Tim: Lovely lovely, and if I was feeling in a florid mood I’d probably describe it as gorgeous.

Tom: I can see Avicii taking that chorus and setitng something else to it, and making the track a hell of a lot better.

Tim: You’re right, he probably could do a lot with it, but even as it is, the last two minutes, with the main singing, the backing vocals and the production beneath it just all combine to form something wonderful. You won’t hear me say this often, but this six minute track is enjoyable throughout.

Dragonette – Run Run Run

“It’s all over the place.”

Previously, on Europlop:

Tom: Jenn D performed at the Popjustice party last Christmas. You know, the one we went to. And I don’t remember her at all.

Tim: You know what? Me neither. Although, that reminds me…

And now, the conclusion.

Tim: I do remember Dragonette being there. You won’t, because you left early (silly boy).

Tom: Hey, I saw about half their set before exhaustion overtook me.

Tim: Yeah, yeah, yeah, OLD MAN. Anyway, aside from putting on a pretty good performance, they filmed part of the video for the new track there.

Tom: Ooh, body-mount camera. That’s all very nicely done. But which bit was at the gig?

Tim: Specifically, the bit at about 2:32.

Tom: Ten frames? Fair enough. Full marks for learning the song backwards for some of those lip-sync shots, though.

Tim: Clever, isn’t it? It’s all over the place, fitting in nicely with the ‘run, run, run’ idea, and to be honest there’s not a lot I have to say about both it and the music beside gushing compliments (mmm, gushing).

Tom: Lowering the tone as ever. I agree it’s a good track – but, while I know the vocals in a Dragonette song are always beautifully sung but low-key, I can’t help feeling it could use a bit more enthusiasm here and there.

Tim: Really? I think it’s fairly bang on. The backing synths and drums are good, the voice is lovely as usual, melody’s great and the main line in the chorus is as good an example of a ‘get up and dance or be active in some other way’ line that I’ve heard for a while.

Tom: I’m not quite dancing in my seat – to be true, I can’t remember much of it, but I do have a vaguely warm and fuzzy feeling. Is that enough?

Tim: Yes, I suppose so. OLD MAN.

Jenn D – You Keep Giving Me Love

“It’s generic dance music time!”

Tom: It’s generic dance music time!

Tim: Yay…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psHNk1S6WnE

Tom: It sounds like… well, it sounds like a lot of other tracks. And there’s a reason for that: the YouTube account that uploaded this video is “SteveAATW”: All Around The World records, known in the UK for Cascada, Scooter, and the Clubland series.

Tim: Yep – actually the YouTube account I often go to if I ever fancy listening to fairly generic and occasionally good dance music.

Tom: There’s nothing actually wrong with this track: the vocals are great, the production is top-notch, and other than the somewhat odd “come and play in my jungle” line, this sits inoffensively in the background. It’s a middle-of-the-road, middle-of-the-Clubland-compilation track.

Tim: I don’t know – I’m not so keen, and would place it considerably ​down the lower end of the scale. The problem for me is that there’s no real melody to get involved with – it’s just her vocals over an uninspiring beat rather that anything memorable. Although you are right about the jungle line.

Tom: How do I know that it’s middle-of-the-road? Well, apparently Jenn D performed at the Popjustice party last Christmas. You know, the one we went to. And I don’t remember her at all.

Tim: You know what? Me neither. Although, that reminds me…

Saturday Reject: Finn Martin – Change

“At times actually quite sinister.”

Tim: The first act up on Germany’s Unser Song Für Malmö, and the one that made me immediately realise I’d made the right choice by shirking off Valentine’s Day to watch it.

Tim: When I first heard the song, and started writing this, I though it was a lovely track. Charming, happy, backed up by lots of colours and hippies beating on barrels. Then I listened to the lyrics, and realised it’s one of the most topical and politically charged Eurovision songs since We Don’t Wanna Put In, and at times actually quite sinister.

Tom: Now, that’s a big claim – it’s a lot less charged than ‘Put In’ was, being more of the generic 60s-free-love let’s-all-be-happy type rather than calling for active political movement. But yes, it’s not really the charming, meaningless pop it’s made to look like.

Tim: Free-love, let’s-all-be-happy? Check out the look in his eyes with that first close up. At first I took to be happiness, but then the lyrics make it all a bit dodgier: he’s singing “I read the signs, 99%, in the blink of an eye the money’s all spent.” His mouth is smiling, but his eyes are saying “look at this sparkly glint, you rich bastard, you think I’m happy singing but I’m actually enjoying imagining the moment when I march into your office and rip your bollocks right off”.

Then, a few seconds later, there’s that exact same look when he’s singing “waiting, waiting…a new day is dawning, we are the change”, and I’ve realised that that sentence I just wrote as a joke is pretty much exactly what’s on his mind.

Tom: Oh good, I’m glad it’s not just me that read his expression as being somewhat sinister.

Tim: In a way, it’s a shame he sung this in English; if it were in German I could imagine it getting traction over the two weeks it was played on the radio and end up higher placed, maybe even actually winning. As it is, it only came 9th out of 12; at least, THAT’S WHAT WE’RE TOLD. We’re meant TO BELIEVE THAT. We’re told by THE ESTABLISHMENT, who clearly DON’T WANT THE TRUTH HEARD. VIVA LA REVOLUCION! (or whatever the German for that is.)

Tom: Well, that’s us on the Illuminati’s watch list.

CHVRCHES – Recover

“Basically, it’s lovely.”

Tim: I pre-ordered this debut single about a month ago, probably after hearing it on the radio, and promptly forgot all about it; on Monday I woke up and found it had downloaded, and I listened to it again and remembered why I’d ordered it.

Tim: Basically, it’s lovely. They’re a Glasgow-based band, and (despite not being remotely guitar-based) placed at number 5 on the BBC Sound of 2013 poll. I do hope that this time it’s accurate, I really do, because this really should do well, in a just world.

I don’t really know what’s going on in the video.

Tom: Nope, neither do I – it’s always a brave move not to include the actual band in a video when they’re not well-established.

Tim: True, although I think that might be them in the TV screens at the end. Still obscure, though. But anyway, I don’t watch the video when I’m walking around with headphones on – I listen to the music. And that’s just brilliant.

Tom: I felt almost breathless during some of those verses: there’s an intensity in the pacing of those lyrics, an odd pattern of pauses that don’t fit into traditional “lines” of lyrics.

Tim: Yes, and I reckon that disjointed vocal is a stroke of genius, as it works on two levels – firstly on its own to convey the relationship issues that are being sung about, but also with that synth backing, as it gives it the extra prominence it really deserves.

Tom: I’m not sure I have the same reaction to the music as you: I get restless listening to it, and I’m not sure it’s altogether an enjoyable experience. It is a good track, though.

Tim: This is a fantastically put-together song, and I can only hope for more like it.

The United – Stay Young

Shall we have a multinational boy band?

Tim: Shall we have a multinational boy band?

Tim: You’ve complained in the past that I don’t do my research; I’ve just sat through a mind-numbingly dull introductory video to bring you this, so I hope you appreciate it. We have here Mike (UK, 22, with blond highlights), Step (Italy, 21, with the weird sideways fringe), Gabriel (Sweden, 21, the blond one with the earstud,) Manuel (Germany, 22, with the chest tattoo) and Teus (Netherlands, 19, with the Jedward hair).

Tom: Blimey, they are properly international. Hence “The United”, I assume. How’d they get assembled?

Tim: They’re mostly alumni of various Popstars/Idol shows, and “met” (i.e. were put together) in Oslo in October 2011 and have become great friends. What a heartwarming tale of the ages. They have, naturally, gathered an army of young female fans despite doing nothing other than a few YouTube covers, but now they’re hoping to hit the big time.

In a world were the Banna-band can get into the top 40, that’s probably not all that hard. Number 32, to be more precise. I can just picture Duncan struggling out of 40 different HMVs with every single copy they stocked.

Tom: Remember, it’s not a bad track; number 32 sounds about right for it.

Tim: ANYWAY, tedious mini-biographies aside, the music. I like it, partly because it’s a decent enough tune, but also because for some reason no other boybands right now are doing dance pop like this – it’s all guitars and drums, in the eternal and pathetic quest to be ‘authentic’. The management behind this lot have decided that there’s a hole in the market, and they’re quite right.

Tom: I’m not sure this is quite the right thing to fill it, though: it’s… well, it’s a bit generic, isn’t it? I’m not sure I could hum that chorus even after listening to it a dozen times.

Tim: You might be right, but we can at least say that these guys have potential. They don’t have much competition in the genre, so they might be able to get away with a duff debut, and you’re right, there are issues – for starters, it’s nothing that a male soloist couldn’t perform on his own, as outside the last twenty seconds they don’t even have any decent harmonies going on.

However a male soloist couldn’t attract a legion of fan Twitter accounts (I’ll never understand those). Let’s appreciate what we’ve got – a decent enough boyband who are doing something different, fairly competently. I’m happy.

Chlöe Howl – I Wish I Could Tell You

“A bit like Hurts if Lily Allen was their vocalist”

Tom: You know how many movie pitches are meant to be one-line combinations of existing movies? “Die Hard on an airplane with the President”, for example. Well, how does “a bit like Hurts if Lily Allen was their vocalist” sound to you?

Tim: Interesting, and intriguing.

Tom: Now, you’re probably going to complain that this is a bit overlong – and perhaps it is – but I think if that percussion had kicked in earlier it wouldn’t have had quite the effect it did.

Tim: I won’t complain that it’s too long; I will say that if it’s that long it does need to get going at some point. I disagree about kicking in earlier – as far as I’m concerned, 2:45 is way, way too for a drop to hit, even if the track had been slowly building up to it since the start. And if we’re keeping it that late, it really should be worth it, and it wasn’t.

Tom: For whatever reason, I was able to stick with the simple, slow version of the track for long enough that the steady build surprised me: and while it’s not going to be a dance track any time soon, it’s a pretty good piece of melancholy pop along the same lines as Hurts.

Tim: There, I think you’re doing them a great disservice. I don’t want to say this is boring, because it isn’t, but it just, and I’m aware I’m repeating myself, takes too long to do anything. A bit louder, speed up the first ninety seconds, maybe even two minutes, and you might be approaching that level, but as it is, it just strikes me as a bit tedious.

Tom: She has more uptempo tracks on the EP too, and they’re not bad too – particularly the percussion-heavy chorus – but this is the one that’s stuck in my head.

Tim: Ah, now that track, I like a lot. This one, though, no way.

John De Sohn feat. Kristin Amparo – Dance Our Tears Away

“a properly heavy pop-dance track”

Tim: This has been out a while, but it’s just been re-released, for unimportant reasons, and it’s got a video. And, boy, do I love this video (though you can skip to 44 seconds).

Tom: I’ve always wondered why you’d have a chicken character selling fried chicken. “Here, come and eat me!”

Tim: Here is what I love most about the video: there’s the occasional shot in there that shows that whoever’s in the chicken suit is a fairly talented dancer, particularly in the chicken/dog dance-off (THERE’S A CHICKEN/DOG DANCE-OFF), and yet this particular performer has chosen to sod doing any serious stuff, that he might get some sort of credit for, and has instead decided to jump around like a total bellend making people happy. Giving lap-dances, stealing a longboard, having a dance-off. As you do.

Tom: As, indeed, you do. Quite literally, if I remember.

Tim: Pretty much, yes. Never stole a longboard, mind, but I did go some way towards slightly vandalising Vancouver Airport. It’s brilliant. So well done to him, and well done to whoever came up with the idea. I LOVE IT.

Tom: We’re actually here to talk about the music, of course.

Tim: We are, and that’s quite good as well.

Tom: It really is: a properly heavy pop-dance track that’s make me head straight for the floor if I was in a club. There isn’t much more to add to that, other than: more like this, please, both music and video.

Paloma – The Essence

“Bouncy.”

Tom: ‘Paloma’ there, not ‘Paloma Faith’.

Tim: An important thing to note.

Tom: There are plenty of Palomas, of course; it’s odd how one admittedly-rare first name’s been associated with just one artist. Anyway, how’s the song?

Tim: In a word: bouncy.

Tim: Sound about right? It’s all up and downy, beat to beat.

Tom: The cutting edge of music journalism right here, folks. Not that you’re wrong, it’s just that I don’t think you’d see NME using “up and downy”.

Tim: Oh, please. The day we take our lead from the NME will be a sad one indeed, although I did like that they did the interview that brought this story.

Anyway, weird comparison: you know on Disney sing-along videos, you get Mickey Mouse’s head bouncing along above the lyrics? That’s what the chorus here reminds me of. Her voice is up and down and up and down, and the main beat is just there and there and there and there with not much in between.

Tom: I think I see where you’re going. But do you like it? ‘Cos I’m not sure what I think.

Tim: Well, I also find it difficult to sing along to without moving my shoulders from side to side, which puts me in a fairly chirpy mood, so yes, I like this considerably. Excellent stuff.