Martin Solveig and Dragonette feat. Idoling!!! – Big in Japan

Less tennis, less sanity.

Tom: Last time we heard from Martin Solveig, he’d hit the big time with “Hello” and had a video of himself playing tennis against Bob Sinclar.

Tom: This time, there’s less tennis, less sanity, and a much less catchy track.

Tim: Same amount of bassline in fact. Or, more concisely, same bassline.

Tom: It’s still clearly Martin Solveig – it sounds like he’s just tweaking his synth settings a bit to create what is now his trademark sound. But the melody on top of it just isn’t the same.

Tim: No. What is it, actually? I can’t remember.

Tom: It doesn’t have that same kind of shout-along, dance-along quality that Hello did. It’s not bad – but if he’s going to put out something this close to his last big hit, then he’s got to be careful that the first thought you get isn’t “the last one was better”.

Tim: Actually, I reckon the first thought most people would have is ‘what’s this weird mash-up of Hello?’

It could be argued, though, that this is actually a very different song – the first was, let’s be honest, just a chorus (can you remember anything else of it?), whereas this one has nothing particularly memorable at all, much as a track without any chorus would likely be.

It’s not bad – danceable and all that – but with that intro, people (i.e. excited clubbers who love the big hits) will be disappointed it’s not what they were expecting.

Adam Lambert – Better Than I Know Myself

The fangirls will be happy.

Tim: Stand aside for the weird-concept video, please, which today contains an excessive amount of oxygen and lapels. And, as it happens, Adam Lamberts.

Tom: Plural? The fangirls will be happy.

Tim: First off, children, can we please not use this video as a substitute for a physics lesson. Or at the very least, not that oxygen meter thingy, which is wrong on just so many levels I can’t possibly ignore it, desperate as I am to do so. But let’s move on.

Tom: Second up, that is a spectacular hairstyle. I mean, I have to respect anyone who takes their cues from Sonic the Hedgehog.

Tim: I don’t know if that’s meant to be an insult, but if it is, it’s a bit rich coming from the man who takes his cues from Professor Snape.

Tom: Now that’s harsh. “Lank and greasy and flopping onto the table?”

…wait, you’re just going to do a cock joke now, aren’t you?

Tim: Actually, I was thinking we really, desperately, need to move on to the song.

What we have here is him singing to (one would presume) an unspecified boy/girlfriend, something along the lines of ‘I know I’m acting weird, but please don’t dump me because even though I may give the impression I want to leave you I don’t’.

Tom: Musically, I’m not all that impressed: having listened to it twice now, I still can’t remember it at all. Is there anything catchy in there? I’m really not sure.

Tim: Not hugely catchy, no, but the video gives an extra bit, which warrants discussion.

Unleashed last Friday, it adds to the lyrics nicely, with an idea of ‘the main reason you think I want to leave you is that the evil half of my mind is currently trying to murder the good half of my brain, so be perfectly honest I’m a little bit too busy to bother with all this relationship faff’.

Tom: Ah, the classic. Boy meets girl, girl likes boy, boy turns out to have two disparate warring personalities.

Tim: Such a classic tale.

The big debate here, of course, is: is he being too self-centred? Some would argue he is, but personally, I can see where he’s coming from, especially when Evil Adam pulls out his own heart and squelches it a bit.

Tom: And Evil Adam has significantly better makeup.

Tim: And significantly bigger lapels. Yes, it’s the second time I’ve mentioned them, but THEY’RE BLOODY MASSIVE.

An alternative interpretation, though, is that this song is a message from one Adam to the other, and what we have here is a remarkably open and public major psychological breakdown. That could be quite fun to watch, actually.

Tom: I think it’d be more fun than this song.

Andy Grammer – Fine By Me

A textbook Happy Pop Song

Tom: I’ve been in America for the last couple of weeks, which means I’ve been hearing some tracks on US radio that never cracked the UK. This is one of them, and… well, I’m rather surprised that it didn’t make it to Britain.

Tim: Hmm. Somewhat reminiscent of Thinking Of Me, I reckon, but without all the crap bits (i.e. the words).

Tom: Huh. You’re right. Well, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s exceptionally good. It’s nice, in that chirpy Daniel Powter kind of way. The chorus is easy to sing along to. It has what I can only call a Proper Middle Eight. And it ends exactly when it needs to – just under three minutes – and in exactly the right way.

Tim: It does and all, doesn’t it? Going out on a high, rather than fading or anything stupid.

Tom: In short: it’s a textbook Happy Pop Song, and I like it.

Tim: Me too.

Saint Etienne – Tonight

‘All about the primal and atavistic pull that all good pop music exerts’

Tim: If their website (where this track is available all free and everything) is to be believed, we should adopt this as our theme song, because, much like their soon to be released first new album for seven years, it’s ‘all about the primal and atavistic pull that all good pop music exerts’. Interested?

Tom: It’s Saint Etienne. Of course I’m interested.

Tim: Well, I’m primally and atavistically pulled by it – are you?

Tom: I thought I might be, but then I belched slightly and the feeling passed.

Tim: Urgh.

Tom: Yeah, sorry, my jokes haven’t been classy lately. Should we talk about the song?

Tim: I think we should. At 4 minutes and 38 seconds, it’s pushing the limits of acceptability as far as my somewhat-closed mind is concerned, but actually I don’t care at all, because it’s 4 minutes and 38 seconds of brilliantly synth-heavy pop music, with lovely quiet bits exactly where they belong and even lovelier chirpy bits exactly where they belong.

Tom: “Chirpy” sums it up really rather well.

Tim: Chances of opening with a top five hit?

Tom: I wouldn’t really give good odds on them getting a Top 40, to be honest, which is a shame.

Tim: Yeah – they’ve sadly never had a massive amount of commercial success, but this is just as good as anything they’ve done in their previous 20-odd years as a band so here’s hoping.

Tom: Ooh, careful. I still have a place in my heart for He’s On The Phone (specifically, this remix of it), which I’d controversially put high up a list of Best Tracks of the 1990s.

Tim: Controversial indeed. I can see where you’re coming from, though. Nice choice.

The Darkness – Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us

I want everything they release to be played loudly in pubs and cheesy clubs

Tom: Yeah, that’s right. It’s a new Darkness single. Is it going to be “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”, or is going to be… well, anything else they’ve released?

Tom: …well, once you get over the dissonance of that introduction, I think it falls safely into the second category.

Tim: Hang on, hang on, hang on a sec – before we go any further, you seem to be implying that I Believe in etc. was the only good song they’ve done. Have you completely forgotten Friday Night? Or Growing On Me? Or Christmas Time?

Tom: Hmm. Okay, I’ll grant you they’re decent tracks – and a damn sight better than anything off the second album – but it’s going to take a lot to reach the heights that their glorious first single reached.

Tim: Fair enough, so let’s continue. Not a fan of this, then?

Tom: It’s a great shame, because I want to like the Darkness, I really do. They’re ridiculous British glam metal, and I want everything they release to be good enough to get played loudly in pubs and cheesy clubs up and down the country. But this isn’t. It’s an album track. A track off their first album, maybe, but still an album track. And with a suitably low-budget video.

Tim: Seemingly made in Microsoft Paint, which is quite an achievement. But I disagree with you about this song, somewhat – I don’t know, maybe I’m just overly nostalgic following a somewhat weird conversation I had quite recently, but this is a decent track.

Tom: And maybe my expectations are just too high.

Tim: I think so. But if you’re right, and it is just an album track, I’m looking forward to hearing the others.

Saturday Reject: Minnie-Oh – You and I

Got knocked out by three that were absolutely not as brilliant.

Tim: February’s here, and many countries are well on their way to choosing their entry to Eurovision; as ever, this means that several excellent tracks are being cruelly discarded (along with a whole load of utter tripe), either because they can’t match up to the brilliance of their peers, or because the viewing public are utter morons. Time, I reckon, to start our review of some of them, and this is a fantastic one to start with. It got knocked out of the second heat of Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix last week, by three that were absolutely not as brilliant.

Tom: I was in Norway last week, as it happens. It’s a nice country. Do you like mountains?

Tim: On the whole.

Tom: Do you like fjords?

Tim: Always.

Tom: Do you like being charged a ridiculous amount of money for absolutely everything?

Tim: Erm, not so much.

Tom: Ah, then Norway may not be the country for you.

Tim: Not even with this as music?

Tim: The music is fantastic. The vocal’s got a nice tune to it.

Tom: It is, but I can’t help feeling they’ve not picked the right singer for the job. She’s got a nice, understated voice that occasionally seems a little detuned – which would be good for a calm ballad. This is a Big, Bold, Synth-Heavy track, though: it either needs someone whose voice can soar, or it needs him out of Scooter.

Tim: Perhaps, and I did think something like that when I heard the live version. The studio version, on the other hand, and which I heard first, I think sounds perfect with her voice, and it’s a great shame that didn’t come across on the night.

Tom: It’s good, but I still think it needs a more powerful vocalist. She’s great, don’t get me wrong, I just don’t think she fits this track.

Tim: Well, whoever’s doing the vocals, they’re backed up by some great instrumentation – the chorus sounds like the C-music from Tetris (which was totally the best, by the way) – and it’s not remotely difficult to imagine this getting decent airplay over here. The dancing is pretty good – nothing amazing, but that glow in the dark bit when they’re all in a line with their arms is quite cool.

Tom: Of course, that’s frequently more important than the song itself as far as the voting public’s concerned.

Tim: Well, quite, and it’s not alone in that respect. Take the staging, for example, which here is somewhat incredible: the lights are roughly what you’d get if you poured half a ton of sugar into a Dulux factory and then blew it up, and as far as I’m concerned that’s as good as it gets for a song like this. And the costumes are a tad odd, even by Eurovision standards – we’ve got two giant Cornettos on each shoulder, inverse torso clothing for the dancers as well as black knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail on keyboards. Any explanation? None whatsoever, but who cares?

Tom: Because Eurovision. That’s why.

Tim: Really, the only reason I can think of not to put this through above one of the other ones would be the not-quite-Eurovision-grade steadicam shot at 1:40. So, Mr Norway, what’s Norwegian for ‘morons’?

Tom: You know, I didn’t get around to asking that when I was there. I can, however, swear in Finnish now. (No, not Norwegian. Long story.)

Amanda Mair – Sense

Serious music.

Tim: I think this’ll remind you slightly of a TV show theme tune. Because it did me.

Tim: And that’s a shame, because this is a vaguely alright song, and it’s just those five notes that remind me that NBC have shelved one of my favourite shows for the time being and haven’t said when they’ll bring it back.

Tom: Ah, Community. One of the best shows on television. Well, not on television any more, but still. Bit of a coincidence, by the way – our regular reader Roger just sent this same track to me after reading quite a bit about Amanda Mair. “With this single,” he says, “I understand the hype!”

Tim: Well, in that case we should probably discuss this music properly. Though actually let’s not, because to be honest, I think it’s a bit dull. Decent enough to listen to in the background, sure, and a good voice, but’s there’s nothing to really get excited about, for me anyway. It’s like it’s being serious music, as though pop music isn’t allowed to be fun any more.

Tom: Now, this is where I disagree really strongly with you. This is fun. It’s not a three-minute Eurovision spectacular, sure, and it’s got a bit more meaning behind it than the formulaic stuff – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. It’s jaunty. It’s entertaining. I’m not going to be singing along to it any time soon, but it’s rather nice.

Tim: You think? Well, actually, speaking of entertaining, the video is worth mentioning, if only because I don’t like it because it’s weird and, well, doesn’t make sense (that may well be the point given that that’s the main theme of the song, but if it is then they should make it obvious and make it properly not make sense). What’s with all the signs? No idea, but if anybody does I’ll be more than happy to hear it.

Hmm. Am I coming across as a bit negative here?

Tom: Well, yes, really. Quite unjustifiably.

Tim: Rubbish. This song seems to have put me in a bad mood, and I have no idea why.

Tom: I wonder if it has that effect on anyone else?

Laleh – Some Die Young

Well, isn’t that a chirpy little number.

Tom: Our regular reader Roger sends this in. And I warn you in advance: it’s a bit cinematic.

Tim: Well, isn’t that a chirpy little number.

Tom: This sounds like the music you get over the closing credits of a Disney movie.

Tim: …because you’ve watched the alternative cut of Aladdin where the magic carpet catches fire and they die in a massive carpet crash?

Tom: I would watch that, actually. Besides, Disney-sound isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but for some reason it also disqualifies it in my head as a “proper” pop song. It’s like Elton John’s “Written in the Stars” – a beautiful track, but originally made for his musical version of Aida, and therefore it gets filed under ‘musicals’ rather than ‘pop’. Perhaps I’m getting caught up in semantics.

Tim: A little bit. And somewhat missing the fact that it’s ALL ABOUT DEATH. Admittedly, only so as to convey the idea that we should be living as much as we can, but it’s still ALL ABOUT DEATH.

Tom: It’s all very pleasant, though, despite the lyrics being a bit morbid when you actually start to listen to them.

Tim: Oh, you think?

Anna Abreu – Be With You

Almost New Wave-y synths.

Tim: Now if I remember rightly you recently didn’t like it when the track title got repeated a lot. Well, good luck with this, the fourth and final release from last year’s album Rush.

Tom: Ooh, it starts well, doesn’t it? Almost New Wave-y synths on there, which is a good thing with modern pop production.

Tim: I like this, sort of. Really, actually, and right from the first few notes, because everything that’s there is great. It’s just what’s not there that’s the problem – there’s a continuing sense of build, right up to the first half of each chorus, and then it suddenly drops down, to pretty much nothing. Now that’s not really a problem – we hear anti-climaxes all the time, and I can generally cope.

Tom: That said, the first half of each chorus is lovely – almost a climax in themselves.

Tim: True, I suppose, but here that’s just not good enough. You see, here we have those three underlying notes, repeating. To me, they sound like the ticking of a bomb hidden somewhere in a car. You can’t see the timer, so you don’t know when it’ll happen, but you know it’ll explode. Even when (perhaps especially when) there’s just the very calm ‘just want to be with you’ over them, those notes could go off at any time. And you know they will go off. The song will go from ‘good’ to ‘immense’, because of that inevitable explosion. There’s just no way it can’t. Except, it doesn’t. And I think that’s a bit rubbish.

Tom: I think we need a new category on this blog: “Musical Blueballs”.

Tim: Hmm. Can’t quite see that getting picked up by mainstream music journalists, but it’ll do for us.

Tone Damli – Look Back

A very good, country-influenced pop song.

Tim: I don’t really have any introduction for this.

Tom: Fortunately, neither does she.

Tim: This is standard, really. And there’s not a whole lot to say about it. But I like it, so we’re featuring it.

Tom: It’s a very good, country-influenced pop song. (There’s a cry break or two in there.) We’ve said on several occasions that there’s nothing wrong with being formulaic, provided both the formula and the execution are decent – and in this case, they really are.

Tim: True. Some artistic people might spout some crap about how it’s all rubbish if you don’t express your true creativity, to which I say: bollocks. We’ve got a decent enough tune, a good voice (came second in Norwegian Idol 2005), some nice instruments and a triumphant energetic closing bit. All good, really.