Dua Lipa – IDGAF

“Radio 1 managed to put together a really good girlband.”

Tim: Dua Lipa, from the same group of musicians as Ariana Grande as ‘people who sound like typefaces’. This has been doing the rounds for a few weeks now but is still great, and you can probably guess but there’s a rude word in the chorus.

Tom: And it’s the seventh single from the album! Seventh! Do singles even mean anything more?

Tim: That’s the proper version, at least. But here’s the thing: I think the radio edit sounds better.

Tom: Interesting. Why’s that?

Tim: Well, have a listen. It’s not online as standard, but you can see what happened when Radio 1 managed to put together a really good girlband, made up of Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Zara Larsson, MØ and Alma (who I’d never heard of but is apparently off Finnish Idol and does actually have some pretty good tracks).

Tim: Now obviously there are some slight differences in the styling with the female backing vocals, but I do prefer that chorus. Not just because it sounds less gratuitously unpleasant, and more playable in a public space, but more because of the implications: she gives so little of a that she can’t even be bothered to finish the sentence.

Tom: I disagree there — it just seems unresolved to me. I accept there’s no other easy way to do a radio edit of the song, but there’s just too much of a gap there.

Tim: I don’t mind that it doesn’t resolve, because I don’t think it harms the song at all. And the rest of the song? Shouty, brash and enjoyable. I like it.

George FitzGerald & Lil Silva – Roll Back

“The underlying line basically is the Stranger Things theme.”

Tim: George from London, Lil Silva from Bedford, and this is the second track to be released from his upcoming second album.

Tom: Wow, I thought Luton was the least cool town in Britain. I forgot about Bedford.

Tim: I heard it on the radio yesterday morning, and for some reason it struck me that it could be quite a good TV theme, say, a Netflix one where the opening title sequence is about as long as the rest of the show, and all dark and dreamy.

Tim: A few minutes later, I realised exactly the reason for me thinking that: the underlying line basically is the Stranger Things theme. It’s not quite note for note but similar enough that it wouldn’t remotely surprise me if he’d thought “hey, something like that’d make a good backing for a song”. That’s not a bad thing, I suppose – inspiration has to come from somewhere, after all – but that doesn’t stop it sounding just a bit weird when there’s nothing else happening.

Tom: Mind you, the Stranger Things theme is itself inspired by a huge number of works from the actual 1980s — so perhaps it’s safe to say that it’s repeating the same homage. You’re right, though, this is certainly an attempt at dark and cinematic: perhaps a bit too much. Slowly fading to a second of silence in a track is a brave move, and this more or less pulls it off.

Tim: Having said that, when there is other stuff, it’s quite beautiful. Dark, certainly, and rather haunting. The voice fits the tone of the music perfectly, and the video is…well, along the same lines really. It’s an absolutely lovely track, and despite the darkness I could happily listen to it a good number of times.

Tom: It’d also make a good advert for ASDA.

Hanne Leland – Carry On

“Huh. I think bikinis flying off would have been better.“

Tim: “Carry On is about finding strength to move on in the midst of chaos,” says the email, and how with a world that’s running down we can find a way to keep living, by finding strength and unity with each other. Ain’t that nice?

Tom: I thought it was about bikinis flying off.

Tim: Well, that as well.

Tom: Huh. I think bikinis flying off would have been better.

Tim: That chorus is…weird. Not necessarily bad weird, mind, because there’s a lot there, it’s loud and vibrant would describe it nicely. Just, weird because I can’t quite work out what’s going on. Her voice is rising, and it dips – and then does it come back, or is it just synths, or copy and paste, or what?

Tom: You mean that irritating klaxon-esque sound in the background? It knackered the song for me, but it’s is also a sample from her voice. At this point, the line’s so blurred that I’m not sure it matters any more: synths, copy and paste, or both.

Tim: Perhaps true. I’m guessing it’s the last, because that same section is repeated several times without the buildup, but hearing it all at once makes it sound a bit like she’s harmonising with herself, which doesn’t quite sit right with me.

Tom: I’m more startled that this is under four minutes long. I felt the song had overstayed its welcome even before that last chorus.

Tim: I don’t know, the rest’s nice, powerful and stuff. I think. I don’t know, I was a bit distracted.

Saturday Reject: Ida Redig – Allting Som Vi Sa

“It might win ten or twenty years ago. Obviously, for that reason, I like it.”

Tim: Pleasingly, this year Melodifestivalen has been largely devoid of turkeys, and any that did make it in have been binned off in the early rounds.

Tom: But in turn, that’ll mean some good songs have been kicked out too?

Tim: Sadly, yes – this one, for example, only managed fifth in heat 2, despite being a really rather good number.

Tim: With the quick beat underneath and the bright and shiny CDs in the background (Why? Well, why not?) it reminded me quite a bit of the (still outstanding) You & I, from Norway’s selection process in 2012. Doesn’t quite match up to that in terms of general outrageousness of the staging, but it terms of the music it holds a decent candle to it.

Tom: It’s almost schlager, but not quite — it’s a bit more modern than that. Give it a dance beat and a key change and it’d fit in quite nicely ten or twenty years ago. Heck, it might win ten or twenty years ago. Obviously, for that reason, I like it.

Tim: Strong vocal, heck of a beat, good melody, a band that are good at pretending to play instruments, and overall not a lot to complain about. Often with this reject theme, we ask what the song did wrong. Here, I’m not sure we can, because I don’t think it did anything wrong – it just wasn’t quite as good as the really good ones.

INA feat. Dark Pink Stars – Gimme Gimme

“Who does a harmonica solo?”

Tim: So, remember when it was announced that we were sending the potato waffle jingle to Eurovision, and everyone was all “what the hell is this, is a great big mess of nonsense?”

Tom: I still think there was a decent idea in there somewhere, it just got knackered by committee. I’d love to hear what the demo track sounded like. You’re not wrong, though, it was a mess on the night.

Tim: Well I kind of think this might have had a similar reaction.

Tom: I fly like paper, get high like planes. Sorry, got distracted there.

Tim: Ha, God, no idea how I missed that, but it really is, isn’t it.

Tom: This isn’t actually headed to Eurovision, though?

Tim: No – admittedly it’s only the three minute length that got me even thinking Eurovision, but it’s still a bit of a weird one.

Tom: Not least because there’s another song from last year also called Gimme Gimme, also by Inna — just with one more N. You’d think someone would have noticed.

Tim: Fair point. The thing with song is that there’s no real genre you can place it in, with that chorus that leaps in at the start like someone being rude at a bus stop being a little bit shouty and then the verse that comes along having a lovely melody, but then we’re back to the shouty chorus, except now it’s got a slight tune to it, and then the verse is back and lovely, and now the song has matured enough that the chorus can be forgiven for immediately giving way to a harmonica section because it follows that up with an outstanding dance beat part and by the end it’s all sounding brilliant and this sentence should end soon like round about now.

Tom: That is a terrible sentence, not least because you skipped over the incredibly brave harmonica solo.

Tim: Well I did mention it, actually, but I can forgive your attention drifting.

Tom: Who does a harmonica solo? I’ve got to respect the chutzpah, if not the actual sound of it.

Tim: I like the song.

Tom: Yeah, weirdly, so do I. I still want to sing Paper Planes over the verses though.

ILY – You Give Me

“Crack open the pineapple juice and bring on the timpani.”

Tim: Still the middle of February and bloody miserable outside, but that doesn’t mean we can’t crack open the pineapple juice and bring on the timpani.

Tom: I mean, apart from the fact it’s 2018 and we should have left this behind a couple of years ago, but yeah, okay, let’s GET TROPICAL.

Tim: Here is one artist who’s done just that, with a song that’s enjoyable but intensely irritating. Let me know when you realise it.

Tim: Right then, ILY, the song is called You Give Me Life. You know that, you sing it, the words are there. So WHY, dear GOD WHY, is there so, so much of “you g’mm me”? In general, I have no issue with twisted vocal samples – they’re in fashion, and when they’re done well they sound good.

Tom: It is entirely possible to do a chopped-up vocal chorus that sounds great — Rita Ora’s Anywhere, for example, even if it leaves her a bit lost during live performances.

Tim: Except, well, Kygo was recently described on here as letting a toddler loose on the volume control, and not only does that sound like what’s happened here, but you’ve actually thought “thanks toddler, that’ll do” and then thrown it liberally around the song without realising that it sounds awful.

Tom: And it’s a strange choice to make, because it’s not as if there are multiple words being combined here. Is it someone stretching “gimme” out too much? Combining two takes? I’ve no idea.

Tim: AARGH it’s so infuriating, because the rest of it is good!

Tom: Well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. It’s okay.

Tim: It’s just that one bit, used so so often, completely kills it. For me, anyway. Grrr.

Allertz – Brave

“Tom, I think this video might annoy you.”

Tim: Now, Tom, I think this video might annoy you – it’s basically a three minute compilation of a ‘Kids Are Great’ inspirational tumblr blog (though there’s also a great one of a kid completely stacking it off his bike and ending up in a bush, not sure how that made it in but I burst out laughing).

Tom: And it’s time to put this in a BACKGROUND TAB.

Tim: Anyway, have a listen.

Tom: I’ll be honest, the line “daddy told me to be perfect” put me off from the very first line, and it went downhill from there.

Tim: Now, I’m not sure if I like that just because of the video, because however much of a dick who laughs at videos of kids falling off bikes I may come across as, I do actually have a soft and fluffy heart inside, and so I actually like the video, and was rather engrossed in it throughout my first listen.

Tom: Whereas my heart remains as rock-solid as ever, and it just seems a bit… ugh, the word that comes to mind is “facile”, and I know damn well how pretentious that sounds. It’s not bubblegum or candyfloss pop, because that at least knows what it’s trying to achieve — this is just… slightly sweetened air. Like someone’s sprayed too much air freshener around to cover up something.

Wow, that sounded harsh.

Tim: Yes, yes it really did. And even without the video, I like the message, the sound, the tune and of course the fantastic way it ends with a lion’s roar (yep, that’s in the studio version). A nice track.

Tom: “Nice.” Yeah, I guess that sums it up.

October – 1000 Eyes

“While I’d agree that it’s good, I’m not sure it’s two-reallys-good.”

Tim: This here from New Zealand, and unlike yesterday I know exactly what it is I like about it.

Tim: Because heavens above, that’s a great chorus.

Tom: It is, but I’m not so sure about the song as a whole. There’s some great synth work in there, and even that long outro doesn’t seem to go on for too long, but…

Tim: Yeah, the verses: not so great. They’re dark, a bit heavy, and not really in a good way, because there’s not a huge amount going on with them. That chorus, though, is still dark and heavy but it sounds really, really good.

Tom: That’s two “reallys” there, and, while I’d agree that it’s good, I’m not sure it’s two-reallys-good. What do you like?

Tim: First, there’s obviously that massive synth line underlying it, but also a very slight higher line behind that, which with her intense vocal (particularly that “there’s. so. much. more. I. want. to. sho-. -oow.” part) combine really nicely to make a great sounding part of a song. Just part of a song, mind, so I can’t give this an unequivocal thumbs up, but still. That chorus.

Nova Miller – Turn Up The Fire

“It just strikes me as a Good Pop Song.”

Tim: So here’s a song I’ve had open in a background tab for a good few days now, which I really like but haven’t got round to sending because I don’t really know what to write about it; have a listen anyway.

Tom: That’s not the greatest sales pitch you’ve ever sent me, but sure, let’s try it.

Tim: Thing is, I’m not sure exactly why I like it, other than that it just strikes me as a Good Pop Song.

Tom: It has all the hallmarks of that, yes, but I’m not convinced that there’s any part of it that stands out especially. It sounds… maybe a bit like stock music? Really good stock music, don’t get me wrong, but stock music.

Tim: It’s loud and hefty, a sound that very much fits in with a lot of stuff on the radio right now, but there’s no real part of it where I can say “YES, this is what I like about it”.

Tom: Then I think the problem’s with the composition: there’s just not enough in there to make it memorable.

Tim: Well that’s true enough – even after several listens, I’m not sure I could really sing along to much of it. I think, in the end, it’s just modern pop that sounds like it’s made really, really well. And I guess that’s all I need to like a track.

Saturday Reject: RAYA – Crazy

“There’s a debate to be had over what makes a good song to send to Eurovision.”

Tim: Yep, it’s that time of year – three months to Eurovision, time to look at the songs that have been binned off in the selection processes. We’ll start close to home, I think, with my favourite of our six.

Tom: A new high for number of syllables put into the word “ha-a-a-a-a-zy” there, beating Britney Spears’ previous record of four. But this is… mediocre at best. Why do you like it?

Tim: See, there’s a debate to be had over what makes a good song to send to Eurovision. Should it be a song that sounds typical of your country’s output? Arguably, yes – that’s kind of the point of it, to display and experience the best your country has to offer. But, well, we tried that with Joe & Jake, and then Lucie Jones, and neither of those ended particularly well.

Tom: Let’s not forget Electro Velvet. Well, actually, maybe we should.

Tim: Excuse me, you’re forgetting that that electro swing is really big right now. Alternatively, though, should it be something that sounds closer to other countries’ output, to pick up some votes from there? And that, you see, is where this comes in.

Tom: The trouble with that is: you’re never going to pick up points from everyone. To win Eurovision these days, you need to send an absolutely world-beating pop song (“Heroes”, “Love Shine A Light”, “Euphoria”), or you need to send a person or song who stands out from the crowd well enough to charm everyone (Conchita Wurst, last year’s Portuguese bloke whose name I’ve already forgotten).

Tim: We all have, I think.

Tom: Just ripping off another country’s style isn’t going to be enough.

Tim: No, but then it’s a good track on its own, and it also sounds, to me, remarkably like something that’d arrive via Turkey, Azerbaijan, or various other eastern European countries; while they may be all tiny and fiddly and far away to our eyes, there are a lot of them and they do all have 24 points to give away.

Tom: And a load of other, potentially better, people in the same style.

Tim: Ooh. Oh, yes, that is a good point. And also, it’s slightly dodgy tactics – but if dodgy tactics is was it would have taken to get us to host a European love-in in May next year, I’d be all for it.

Tom: No, I can’t get behind this. The vocals are okay, but the song’s dull: it’s not a standout pop song, and it’s not a standout performance. But judging by the winner, none of them were — and that’s down to the BBC.