Julie Bergan – U Got Me

“CYNICAL MODE: ENGAGED”

Tim: At the risk of turning you overly cynical here, I’ll quote from Julie: “Recently I fell in love for the very first time, and I realised how that actually feels… I’ve always been a person that’s been in control of my feelings, but in this song I let go of that. It’s amazing and terrifying all at the same time. Just like being in love.”

Tom: CYNICAL MODE: ENGAGED

Tim: And I’ll be honest, I was all ready to dislike this from the drippy nature of the intro, but I really really like it.

Tom: Why on earth? It’s not just the intro that’s drippy, it’s the entire first v… hmm. There is something about that chorus, isn’t there?

Tim: Yes, but also the whole instrumentation, and how unusual it is. I can’t, off the top of my head, think of another strings and piano ballad that also includes distorted vocal samples and those synth patches, and yet now I hear it, they seem to work really well together.

And it’s nice, because the song would probably work perfectly fine without them – it wouldn’t be anything special, but it could have been released and as a love ballad would have been entirely adequate. Adding those in, though, and you’ve got a ballad style that’s been updated for the late ’10s, and it sounds great.

Tom: I’m not on board with it to that extent. If I say it’s all a bit too Fisher-Price, does that make sense? A lot of the composition feels like a kid just going plink-plink-plink on a piano. I recognise there’s actually a really talented pianist playing that — it’s not a slight on the talent, just on the melody itself.

But yes, I’ll grant you there’s something about the instrumentation. It’s got a string section, so yes, sure, I’ll agree that it sounds good.

Tim: However sickening you might find the message.

Imagine Dragons – Zero

“It’s infuriating.”

Tom: The first Wreck-It Ralph movie provided us with When Can I See You Again, an Owl City track so good that it got turned into parade music for Disney’s theme parks. Sequels are never as good as the original – and besides, Imagine Dragons’ sound surely isn’t right for a kids’ movie like this?

Tim: You’d think not, no. And yet…

Tom: I listened to it once, thought it was unremarkable but pleasant, and then, five minutes later, realised I was still humming the chorus to myself. It’s infuriating. It’s an earworm of a track.

Tim: Infuriating, yes, for reasons I’ll get to, and yes, an earworm, but it’s a decent track – and close enough to their regular sound yet also fitting in with that film.

Tom: The chorus line that just repeats syllables and jumps between only two notes in each line. And the song never resolves; like the song in The Demolished Man, you’re left wanting to hum the chorus one more time. But of course, because it’s good pop music: I like this.

Tim: I DON’T like this, but not for any of the reasons you’ve said (although admittedly, the first time I heard that chorus and it finished with that explosion I was distinctly unimpressed, but later choruses and the studio version fix that).

Tom: Try the lyric video, it is very very cleverly done. Anyway, why don’t you like this?

Tim: Ooh, that is cleverly done. I dislike the song because immediately after “Like I’m good enough for anything” I want that “real, real” to take a different tune, where it rises up high and goes “re-eee-e-ey-al”. Because that is coming from another song, and I cannot for the life of me think what it is (female pop soloist, I think), and it is now all I can think of.

Tom: Oh, no. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. And I can’t remember what that other song is because every time I try to hear it, I can only remember this new track. Is it a Millennial Whoop? Because if so it could be a lot of songs.

Tim: No, it’s not that, it’s just – actually, you know what? I’m now at your stage. I can’t hear anything but this song.

Tom: Anyway, I both like this and want to erase it from my head. I’m sorry if you now feel the same way.

Tim: Well, that question will probably be in my head for at least 36 hours now, so yes, I do feel the same way.

Cherrie – Samma Flagga

“The video description describes this as a ‘ny banger hit’ and I really hope that’s a loanword.”

Tim: Cherrie’s off Sweden, currently in the run up to releasing her third album, and here’s the first track in that run.

Tom: The video description describes this as a “ny banger hit” and I really hope that’s a loanword.

Tom: Pity it’s not an accurate loanword, though. This certainly has some good ingredients, but somehow they just don’t seem to add up to much. It’s a bad sign when I check the progress bar on the video, less than two minutes in, and I’m disappointed that it’s not even half way through yet.

Tim: I managed to last a bit longer before checking, but yeah, aside from that I’m not entirely sold on it. It’s not bad, per se, as you’re right that it has some good ingredients, but it doesn’t really do much with them.

Tom: The chorus is just two notes, back-and-forth. It even repeats the same syllables. The rest of the song just isn’t exciting enough to pull that off.

Tim: BORED.

Tom: Yep.

Eric Saade – Så Jävla Fel

“It’s ambiguous from the lyrics whether they’ve actually broken up or if she’s just popped out to get some milk.”

Tim: Eric’s back after what feels like years, with a song titled ‘So Damn Wrong’. Make your own jokes…

Tim: The titular Så Jävla Fel is how it feels when he’s not around his woman, though it’s ambiguous from the lyrics whether they’ve actually broken up or if she’s just popped out to get some milk; either way, standard message for what is, let’s face it, a somewhat standard song.

Tom: I was going to say: there’s not much here to spark interest. There’s just too many long, dirge-like synths in the background, and the song just seems to plod along.

Tim: Having said that, I do like the chorus here, mainly because it comes as quite a surprise – the verse and intro and stuff is so different from what I like to associate with him that it’s almost a relief to hear it, as it’s a bit closer.

Tom: The only part that stands out for me is the introduction to that chorus. It’s good, but it’s surrounded by so much dull that I just can’t get into it. But yeah, to damn with faint praise: at least that chorus is a relief.

Tim: As well as being not bad in its own right, mind. Just, a bit of a shame about the rest of the song.

Saturday Flashback: Jenny Silver – Something in Your Eyes

“Wait, what just happened?”

Tim: Tom, I mentioned last Saturday that I recently went to see Ace Wilder sing; I won’t repeat myself too much, save to say that her set was awful but the rest of the night was brilliant. For example, this got played, and I’m fairly sure this performance will give you the strongest feeling of “wait, what just happened?” in a long while.

Tom: I’ll be honest, I was on board from the introduction. That is a Big Melodifestivalen Number, isn’t it?

Tim: Oh, it very much is, signalled right from the moment moment that mic stand appeared. But that camera cut: I had to skip and rewatch the entrance of those dancers a few times, and even though I can now see how they did it, it still impresses me the amount of practice and rehearsals that must have gone into that to be entirely confident that none of them would get picked up by any camera, and nor would whoever it was that sprinted on to remove the mic stand, across half the stage and back again, in the six seconds given before the next cut.

Tom: Let’s not forget the choreographer and stage manager who thought that surprising and confusing the audience would actually be worth it. I think it was, but that’s a risky move to make.

Tim: Isn’t it just? I’d almost, in fact, say that that was the most impressive part of this whole shebang. Almost, that is, because I’m not such a silly billy that I can’t recognise a flipping brilliant track when I hear it, with the tune and the beat and the key change, and you know what actually I still find that stage work bloody good. What a performance.

Sarah Dawn Finer – Om du ropar mitt namn

“There’s a voice that’s desperate to go into overdrive, and yet it’s never really given the chance.”

Tim: No music from Sarah for four years, but now she’s been got in to appear on the soundtrack for a new Swedish film which is out a week today. You might think I’d have better things to do that hunt down the plot and find out exactly what the context of this song is, and you’d be entirely right. I can give you a translation of the title, though: If You Call My Name.

Tom: BORED.

Tim: And for once, that’s not just you, because I kind of agree. Thing is, it’s a song that is exactly right for her voice, but simultaneously doesn’t remotely do it justice. Let’s remember that this is the woman who brought us Moving On, a fairly similar track but which takes her lovely voice, starts out with it pleasantly and then dials it up to a million and a half. Here, it’s a nice song, and I’m guessing it’ll sound fine over the closing credits, probably the second song that comes after the big song that plays over all the big names, once things have calmed down a bit.

Tom: It’s so by-the-numbers, isn’t it? There’s barely a surprise even in here. The middle eight is a relief because it does something different, but the rest is… competent? I think the word is competent.

Tim: Yeah, sounds right. Doesn’t do anything wrong, but it also give Sarah any scope for great passion – a minute forty in, there’s a voice that’s desperate to go into overdrive, and yet it’s never really given the chance. Shame, really. Missed opportunity.

SANNI – Kautis Koti

“If in 2022 we’re all nostalgic for screechcore, I won’t be surprised.”

Tim: Title translates as ‘Beautiful Home’, but first a quick clarification, because I had to check: this is not Sannie (Danish, previously known as Whigfield), but is instead SANNI (Finnish, not previously known as Whigfield). You’d probably have got that from the sound, anyway, but still.

Tim: Nice sound, isn’t it, and not one that we’ve heard much before – starts out like so many ballads do, but then you get unusual sounding instruments and synths, and voice that may or may not have had some sort of effect applied to it and it all makes it so much more interesting.

Tom: Mm. My thoughts weren’t “nice sound”: that distorted screeching just doesn’t sound good to me. I’m hoping this isn’t the start of a new trend: I’m not sure I want my brain to get used to that. Still, if in 2022 we’re all nostalgic for screechcore, I won’t be surprised.

Tim: Top that off with the gradual build that comes in throughout the song, and from the halfway point I am all in, because just sounds so great.

Tom: I’m with you there. Even the screeching in the middle eight can’t distract from just how good the composition is.

Tim: As for the lyrics, well, Google Translate’s never been all that when it comes to Finnish, but as best I can tell we’ve something like “we’ve a beautiful, but our love’s not exactly what it once was”. A fairly sad message, sure but the first line of the chorus talks about going to Ikea, so that redeems it for me. All in: I really like this.

Astrid S – Emotion

“I’m sure that it’s good noise.”

Tim: NOISE.

Tim: Is it good noise? I’m not sure. I think it is.

Tom: I’m sure that it’s good noise. What I like is that these are chord progressions and melodies that you could hear in schlager, and drums that you could have heard in a Phil Collins track decades ago, but they’re applied to a really Intense Big Dark Modern Production.

Tim: It almost, in fact, reminds me of the dark days of dubstep five or six years ago, where we’d get a nice melodic verse and chorus before suddenly a HRRRRRRNNKK VWOMP VWOMP VWORP NEEEEEEEOOOOOWWW would come along and ruin everything. It’s not nearly as bad as that here, of course, not least because the only time it really happens so suddenly is after the first chorus – after that, I’m slightly prepared for it, and it has vocals layered on top which calms it down somewhat.

Tom: My only complaint — and let’s take a moment to appreciate how rare those words are here — is that because everything’s compressed so hard, the mroe subtle instrumentation gets swamped under the BIG NOISE. But overall, yeah, I really like this. It’s not BIG VWORP DUBSTEP, it’s something much better.

Tim: It’s also, obviously, nowhere near as harsh a sound, so, yeah, overall I think it’s good noise. Positive, at least.

Tom: I hit replay immediately after listening, and I sang along with the chorus. That’s everything I want in a pop song. This is great.

Anna Bergendahl – Raise The Vibe

“You just know the singer will clap their hands above their head in every single live performance.”

Tim: Hello Tom and welcome back!

Tom: Thanks! I’m just about coping! Let’s talk about music!

Tim: You may (or may not, I’d completely forgotten) that Anna came back earlier this year with a slightly country-esque number with occasional synths; it didn’t chart anywhere but why let that spoil anything?

Tim: And THAT THERE is one of those songs where you just know the singer will clap their hands above their head in every single live performance to get the crowd going along as well.

Tom: I’m not sure, but I think all the drummer has to do, through all the verses, is stomp on the kick drum pedal every beat. Frankly, the crowd clapping along would perk it up a bit.

Tim: In fairness, though, it’s a perfectly decent song to clap along to, and one that does indeed raise the vibe of what might otherwise have been a dull gig. And for that, I’ll take it. Particularly that nice background vocal and drumbeat back from the middle eight. That’s very nice, that bit.

Tom: It is. But I’m not sure the middle eight being very nice is enough to make a barnstorming pop hit.

Cazzi Opeia – Rich

“A video that looks like a school project demonstrating all the effects a kid can possibly hunt down.”

Tim: Cazzi’s recently been doing a bit of song writing for a couple of K-Pop groups (TWICE and Red Velvet, in case you fancy looking them up), but has now released tis herself, almost a year after her last. Which was pretty decent, as it happens.

Tim: And while we’ve a video that looks like a school project demonstrating all the effects a kid can possibly hunt down (which is pretty impressive if that was the goal), I like the song very much. Bouncy, fun, enjoyable, and a good (and, now I think about it, almost surprisingly unusual) way of dealing with the naughty words in the chorus). That ‘riiiiiiiiich’ is striking and attention grabbing; possibly a little divisive, and I wasn’t sure what to make when I first heard it. A few listens in, though: I’m all on board with it. Nice.