Avicii – Levels

“To be honest I feel somewhat short-changed.”

Tim: You’ll probably have heard this – it’s been around for ages (clubs all summer, used by Flo Rida in a track back in August), but we’ve not discussed it until now, because it’s only recently been properly released.

Tom: That’s weird. I know it incredibly well, but if you’d have asked me before I hit ‘play’ I’d have denied it.

Tim: The vocals apparently come from some song off the 1960’s, which as far as I’m concerned is too far back to worry about, but good hunting none the less. As a tune it’s energetic and all that, but I can’t get away from the fact that, sampled vocal aside, it’s just two bars looped for two and a half minutes, and to be honest I feel somewhat short-changed.

Tom: Agreed – which is strange, because the same’s been true of other tracks that we’ve loved.

Tim: Indeed – in the past, great success has been achieved with half as much, but there, at least there was a lot of variation in the backing – this, not so much.

Tom: Ah! Well then, I can help you. May I present Mashup-Germany’s “Believe In Your Best Levels“, which fills in those gaps with a half-dozen other tracks that merge perfectly.

Tim: Ooh, fun. Anyway, to sum this up on its own – it’s good, but it’s ten seconds of good, not three and a half minutes.

The Approval – Up To No Good

Bloody hell that’s good.

Tom: “New band, new release”, writes Roland from – oh! Roland from The Approval. The current Mr England, no less, and one half of the people behind this track. “Wondered what you think of us?”

Well, with a friendly intro like that, it’d be wrong to turn him down. So. Big enough for proper production, yet small enough to be doing their own publicity and emailing penny-ante music blogs like ours. What’s this like?

Tom: Bloody hell that’s good.

Tim: Ooh, it is and all, isn’t it?

Tom: It’s strange: the vocals are almost too honest and unprocessed to count as a proper modern pop voice.

Tim: Yeah, but once the first chorus has kicked in, it’s become properly top-notch pop music.

Tom: It’s a little bit all-over-the-place – the double-handclaps, ‘mm-hm’ bits, and switching synths and instruments do distract a bit from the actual track. (If you’re not making a novelty record, ideally the listener should never get distracted from the whole song by one individual bit of it.)

Tim: Yes, teacher.

Tom: But those are minor complaints: that chorus is great, and more than enough to make up for anything else.

Tim: Absolutely. I won’t deny a tiny part (alright, 40 per cent) of me was hoping for a key change, but it works fine without one. Great stuff.

Tom: Three minutes is pretty much the perfect length for this, and – well, the whole EP is free for download. Yes. What more can I say? I like it, Roland. This is proper pop.

Snow Patrol – This Isn’t Everything You Are

It keeps building.

Tom: The first single off the new album, already in fairly heavy rotation on the radio. And, well, I can hear why.

Tom: It’s like distilled Snow Patrol – all the powerful emotional slams from the last album distilled into one blinding track. Slow to start, yes, but for crying out loud it then even has a choir coming in for the first chorus. And then it keeps building.

Tim: It does indeed, and I really like this. You might think, with the choir and that moment the heavy drums kick in, that’s it’s going to peak too soon, but it really doesn’t. Unusual structure to it as well – just verse, chorus, verse, chorus, end.

Tom: Perhaps it’s not quite as anthemic or singalong as ‘Run’ was – I’ll grant that. But it’s from the Difficult Second Album; the fans will like it, and everyone else will hear it enough times to like it anyway.

Tim: Good start? Second album? What are you on about, dear?

Tom: Well, Difficult Sixth Album then.

Tim: This is the second track from Fallen Empires (the first got to number 11 two months back), which is, as you corrected yourself to say, their sixth album. Two before they got big, then 2003’s Final Straw (got to number 3), 2006’s Eyes Open (number 1), and 2008’s A Hundred Million Suns (number 2). And as for singles, if all you can think of is Run, then, well, I don’t think you should be allowed to write about music.

Saturday Flashback: Nikki Yanofsky – I Believe

The lyrics are exactly as they should be.

Tim: On Thursday we waffled on about an Olympic song, which wasn’t that great. This, on the other hand, is.

Tim: It wasn’t the official song of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, but it was CTV’s theme song for all the promos and TV broadcasts, and I reckon it’s just lovely.

Tom: Ah, you were over there for the Winter Olympics, weren’t you? This’ll have got itself ingrained in your head, then.

Tim: The lyrics are exactly as they should be for a song about a world sporting event – “I believe in the power that comes from a world brought together as one” – and unlike another song aren’t about making friends with your stuffed toys. The music is full of happiness, though admittedly not without a gimmick or two – the rising ‘I believe’s in the middle for one, there to build up the listener’s emotion (although don’t deny it didn’t).

Tom: I won’t deny it. It’s a textbook power ballad, isn’t it?

Tim: The children’s choir at the end will likely split opinion, as depending on how cynical you’re feeling it’ll either make the song complete or just push it up to a level of tweeness never previously experienced; I myself am in the former camp.

Tom: I’m in the latter. But we’ve established in the past that I don’t like children’s choirs; this one’s no exception.

Tim: Overall, it’s great. Also, the video makes me feel all nostalgic and happy, which probably helps.

Matt Cardle – Starlight

Well, I didn’t expect something that good.

Tom: Number 1 last Christmas, of course – but only (only!) number 6 for “Run For Your Life”. How’s the next effort sounding?

Tom: Blimey. Well, I didn’t expect something that good. That’s a proper grown-up pop track, that is, reminiscent of Coldplay and their ilk. That’s not an X Factor winner’s song – that’s a lovely bit of music.

Tim: I’ll say this: whoever chose Run For Your Life to be his first proper release was an utter numpty. Because this is good, and it does a lot more than just exist. It would also have stopped him being part of the New Boring, which would have been nice.

Tom: It’s been getting decent amounts of airplay for a few weeks now, and the pre-orders that have built up over time will guarantee it a decent chart position – but I reckon it deserves more than it’ll probably get.

Tim: Right – because it’s by ‘Matt Cardle – you know, did that fairly rubbish track a few months back?’ and not ‘Matt Cardle – you know, won X Factor’. Numpties, I tell you.

Carrie Fletcher, Tom Fletcher and the West Leigh Junior School Choir – On A Rainbow

WORRYING.

Tom: WORRYING: a single released by the blob-like London 2012 Olympic mascots.

REASSURING: written by Tom McFly and his sister.

WORRYING: It doesn’t have an official video yet, so we have this rather creepy fan-appreciation clip instead.

Tim: Hey, kids! Got no mates? Feeling bullied at school? Don’t worry – these two toys will be your friends, and then all your troubles will be over. Yes – that’s how society works.

Tom: So here’s what I think: the lyrics are terrible. The children’s choir are terrible. But the music? It’s fantastic.

Tim: Yeah, I can get with that.

Tom: Give this some different words, get McFly to perform it, and you’ve got a Christmas hit on your hands. As it is, though? It’s going to go nowhere apart from the background of some rather cheesy Olympics promotional videos.

Tim: Probably for the best.

Tom: I do keep thinking it’s going to break into Footloose, though.

Galaxies feat. Haffi Haff – Sex Freak

Ooh, hot and pumping!

Tom: “I think it’s hot and pumping,” says innuendo-laden Europlop reader Lisa. “A bit long for radio but great on the dancefloor.”

Tim: Ooh, hot and pumping! Yes please.

Tom: I’m always suspicious when we get a fairly unknown track like this submitted – one that has, for instance, only had 43 plays this week. Is “Lisa” really a front for the song’s publicist?

Tim: Now, now, Tom, be nice.

Tom: Lisa is right, of course; it is long for radio, and a bit… well, generic for a club. I can see it getting mixed into the middle of a club set somewhere, but I doubt it’s going to get anyone’s hands in the air.

Tim: Sounds about right. I like that bloke saying ‘Good evening’ randomly in the middle, though – all polite.

Tom: And didn’t mixing in sex-noise samples go out with E-Rotic?

Tim: Oh, God, I’d completely forgotten about them. You know, you’re weird – I’ve told you that, right?

Charlene Soraia – Wherever You Will Go

Promises to be predictable in a lovely way.

Tim: We all know the original; let’s have a cover that promises, from the outset, to be predictable in a lovely way.

Tom: Bloody hell, Tim, what is it with you and songs from adverts? Admittedly this one isn’t written about the product itself, but I do worry about you sometimes. Anyway. Yes. Predictable?

Tim: Wait – did I say predictable? Damn. Because what I was going for was, well, we have the well-known and loud original and a very calm start, so this is going to be a builder, right?

Tom: I was really hoping it would.

Tim: A bit like when Leona Lewis did Snow Patrol (yes, all of them at once HAHAHAHAHAHA!).

Tom: Classy.

Tim: Thank you very much. We’re going to start sweet and tinkly, let’s have a guitar backing for the first chorus, and then some gentle drums as well for the rest of it. Hell, for the middle eight we could even introduce a string ensemble!

Tom: This would have been lovely. Euphoric finale, lighters in the air. Instead…

Tim: No. It’s just dull. Despite her great soaring voice, which does deserve a mention as it is fantastic, it’s just dull. Dull, dull, dull; reminiscent of tea, in fact, which is, appropriately enough, where this song first appeared.

Tom: Absolutely – I’m not complaining about the singer, just about the production.

Christina Perri – Arms

To quote Louis Walsh on many many occasions, “I’m going to say yes.”

Tom: Now, “Jar of Hearts” is still being played in heavy rotation on some radio stations. It’s a cracking song. Can she possibly follow it up with anything even half as good?

Tim: To quote Louis Walsh on many many occasions, “I’m going to say yes.”

Tom: First half of first verse: worried. Second half of first verse: optimistic.

Tim: Yes, and yes. And then, end of the first chorus: there it is.

Tom: And then it keeps building, like her last song, slowly and inexorably, gaining energy and instrumentation – and because it was so slow and calm at the start, that actually makes a difference.

Although I would like to say, video director; if your female start is lying down, and you film her from the neck up rolling around and making an ‘oh’ sound, it’s not going to look like she’s singing in her sleep.

Tim: You had to go there, didn’t you? Since you’ve pointed it out, though, it’s the three short seconds at 2:42 that really do it for me.

Saturday Flashback: I Fight Dragons – The Power of Love

Hmm. Intriguing.

Tom: Got introduced to this band by Charles, one of the team I’m working with at the moment. I Fight Dragons are a rock band that use regular instruments for the main parts and old Nintendo consoles for backing instrumentation. While while that might seem a bit, well, niche… have a listen to this cover. And give it thirty seconds or so to kick in.

Tim: Hmm. Intriguing.

Tom: They do original songs first and foremost, but a cover will always be a more accessible way to introduce a new band to someone. Particularly a cover that’s as ridiculously overblown as this is.

Tim: Yeah, and overblown as it might be, it’s enjoyable enough.

Tom: And yes, the 8-bit noises in the background can be a bit annoying until you get used to them; but they also distinguish it quite well from all the other Huey Lewis covers out there. They might well be a novelty act – but they’re a novelty act with a lot of actual talent backing them up.

Tim: That they are.