Miley Cyrus – Malibu (Alan Walker Remix)

“…that is not Alan Walker’s trademark style.”

Tom: We described the original as Mostly An Album Track. And despite hearing a lot more through airplay, I stand by that: it’s catchier than I thought it was, but the instrumentation’s dull. Can Alan Walker’s trademark style save it?

Tom: …that is not Alan Walker’s trademark style.

Tim: Hmmm, no.

Tom: I mean, it sounds a bit like him, sure, but the usual staccato synths are mostly gone, replaced by something a bit more generic. It sounds like something you’d find on a discount “fitness workout” compilation CD, rather than something from one of the most popular current DJs.

Tim: Actually, I was all set to agree with you until that post-chorus cropped up, but then I changed my mind. Yes, for the first minute I was ready to dismiss it as exactly you said – generic, and something that might pop up on an Almighty CD a few months from now – but that post-chorus brings something else with it. It’s still not your standard Alan Walker sound, but I’d not go so far as generic.

Tom: Even the ending, which does admittedly start to go Full Alan Walker, is a bit disappointing. I reckon he should have led with that, and then gone bigger from there. As it is, it’s just not enough.

Tim: And with that I do agree.

State of Sound – Love Me Like That

Tim: I saw the act name and got all excited, because they’re Swedish and I momentarily thought they were State of Drama, a band responsible for an excellent Melodifestivalen track. They’re not them, though, which I realised just after the first note here.

Tim: It might not have been the music I was hoping for, but it’s perfectly listenable. At least, I though it was until 41 seconds into that video, at which point the chorus came along and brought with it the first proper use of that whiny uhhh-uhhh-uhh-uhhh synth sound (can’t think of any decent way to write it, but you’ll know the one I mean). And god, is it overused here.

Tom: Fake sax, I think? At least the strident part is. And weirdly, it didn’t bother me at all until the ending — at which point, I noticed it, and it’s now ruined the entire track for me: it went from my default of “meh” to a flat-out “no”. All because of that one synth.

Tim: When it crops up in the first verse, it’s not so bad, with it being new, brief and in the background. After the chorus hits, though, and it jumps to the foreground, it feels like it never stops – it’s more noticeable in the next verse, and every time it comes back I want to switch the track off entirely. A shame, as the rest is okay. But that noise is just that – noise, and not good noise.

Future Duper feat. Emilie Adams – Didn’t Feel A Thing

“This time next week I could hear it again and have no memory of it whatsoever. “

Tim: So I reckon I know exactly how this review is going to go, but I’ll put it forth anyway.

Tom: Here’s what I said the last time we talked about Future Duper: “I think it’ll take a few listens — or, rather, a few tracks like this — before I can actually get the hang of this. Right now, it sounds like a rather more experimental genre than it should.”

Tom: So is this a more mainstream track, or have I got used to them?

Tim: Oh no, it’s a lot more mainstream, don’t worry about that. And you see I think it’s an entirely adequate dance-pop tune. The melody is fine, decent vocals, and while the lyrics are a little off (made more so, curiously, by the decision to include the repetition in the lyric video) I’m happy to forgive that because it’s got a decent enough donk on it that I will jump around to it with no real problem.

Tom: Hold up. A donk is a very specific sound. This does not have a donk on it.

Tim: Interesting you say that, because I’ve always though of a donk as just something that makes a song more exciting – most recently, I discussed the 2005 Doctor Who theme tune getting a donk added on for Christmas 2007 onwards. Let’s leave the precise terminology aside, then, and say: I am happy with it. You, meanwhile, will likely agree that it’s adequate, but also point out that it is largely forgettable, and that this time next week I could hear it again and have no memory of it whatsoever.

Tom: I’m starting to think this might not be the job for me, Tim.

Tim: Roughly right?

Tom: Yep. Same pieces, just in a slightly different order. Which is true of most pop music, to be fair; I just wonder if I’m burned out somehow? I’m sure there are wonderful things around somewhere — I’m just not hearing them.

Saturday Flashback: Jonas Lundqvist – Pengar på fickan

“I guess I’m unimpressed and ambivalent.”

Tim: This got sent in by our reader Gavi, who thinks that “the Tim will love it”, and I couldn’t possibly ignore that.

Tom: And the Tom, as always, will be generally unimpressed and ambivalent, as the Tom is with 99% of music.

Tim: The perfect man to write a music blog, then.

Tim: Hmm, although actually…well, I suppose it’s alright.

Tom: I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to see young Wallace Shaun smoking in the back of a car as part of a modern music video, so there’s that. But apart from that? I guess I’m unimpressed and ambivalent.

Tim: It’s about a guy who has all the belongings he needs but no-one to share it with, and now I know that I’m trying my hardest not to feel slightly offended, however close to home that may cut.

Tom: I don’t know, that sounds pretty good. I means you don’t have to share your stuff.

Tim: Fair point, I guess. And it’s a decent enough track – energy, production, vocals, can’t really fault them – but love it? Not quite that far.

Tom: Also, I’m fairly sure he’s singing “I’m a duffer” repeatedly.

ROOM8 feat. The Sound Of Arrows – Just You & I

“I am somewhat FUMING”

Tim: Okay first off I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly call out The Sound Of Arrows’s social media strategy as being an utter fiasco, because this came out four weeks ago yet it hasn’t been mentioned ONCE on any of their online channels and to be honest I am somewhat FUMING to have only discovered it now, but anyway here it is.

Tom: Background, in case our reader doesn’t remember: Tim loves The Sound of Arrows, I’m somewhat ambivalent.

Tim: ROOM8 are a blend of Sweden and America, and describe themselves, via the frequently reliable Popjustice, as a pair that “combines elements of modern pop and RnB” which to be honest would put me right off if that was actually what this song was, but let’s face it it’s basically just a plain old Sound Of Arrows track, and actually a fairly good one at that.

I know I’ve always had more of a thing for them than you have, but surely you can appreciate the quality we have here?

Tom: So I was all set to say ‘yep, sure, it’s okay I guess’, and then I realised I was tapping my foot. I’ll admit that’s a really good chorus melody. It’s not a ‘download it immediately’, but sure, it’s good.

Tim: It’s a lovely sound, gorgeous vocals, and I could listen to it many times over and over again. It’s great.

Swedum – Summer State Of Mind

“It’s the background music that appears in a TV show when they can’t license an actual track.”

Tim: Not sure why the name is as it is, but never mind – they’re a production duo off Stockholm, and have this as their debut. As the title suggests, it’s quite summery.

Tom: Take away those vaguely-tropical-house patches — which are only used a small amount — and what you’re left with are some very early-2000s synths. I don’t think that’s a compliment.

Tim: Tropical sounds, seasonal lyrics, sun and sand and beautiful sea in the video – I’d call it clichéd, but that implies laziness, whereas this is quite clearly deliberately aiming to go as deep in as possible. And does it work? Well, sort of – it may be deliberate, but the upshot is still that it sounds like as generic a summer track as can possibly exist.

Tom: Right! This is like stock music. It’s the background music that appears in a TV show when they can’t license an actual track. The video doesn’t help with that — it looks like it’s got the same kind of low-effort licensed stock footage in it.

Tim: You know I thought that as well – but it can’t just be stock footage, can it? Either way, it’s a good thing in terms of fitting in well on a playlist or in a DJ mix, perhaps, but as far as launching with an iconic track that no-one will ever forget, this is way off. I’ll listen to it on a playlist, but I’d say that as a debut single this is horribly misjudged. A shame, because there’s potential here. So here’s to track two, and maybe brushing this one under the rug.

Axwell Λ Ingrosso – More Than You Know

“You know what you’re going to hear.”

Tim: Their new one, and I’l be honest: you know what you’re going to hear.

Tim: A standard vocal on top of a sturdy dance beat, an almost a capella pre-chorus, quick vocal chorus and then we’re ALL IN for the dance heavy part.

Tom: And it is very standard. None of it stands out for me; it’s a middle-of-the-night track. I can’t see many people shouting “yes, this is my song”.

Although, to be fair, I haven’t heard the transition from lyrics to synth happening in the middle of a line before. That’s at least a bit interesting.

Tim: It seems that two verses and two choruses, give or take a bit, is just the way dance tunes seem to be coming these days, which is a damn shame, because I do love a good middle eight, but there you go, guess we’ll have to cope.

Tom: There is technically a pre-chorus in there that could sort-of be a middle eight, I guess, but you’re right: traditional pop song structure is being abandoned here in favour of ‘whatever sounds good’.

Tim: And I know I started this off by setting the expectations as standard, but that’s only because standard Axwell Λ Ingrosso is very good stuff. I’d like a bit more of it, but I’ll take it as it is.

Tom: Although why you’d take an early-1990s video camera to a 2017 dance concert, I’ve no idea. This “slap a 90s filter on everything” is getting old.

Bella & Filippa – I Think Of Yesterday

“Lovely”, although I’m not sure I’m using that as a compliment.

Tim: You may remember this pair from Melodifestivalen this year with their jaunty guitar strumming Crucified; here’s a follow up.

Tim: And similar to yesterday, it’s a slightly negative track but with almost nauseatingly chirpy music.

Tom: “Lovely”. That’s the word that came to mind. Although I’m not sure I’m using it as a compliment.

Tim: To be honest, I think if I wasn’t writing this while in bright sunlight, in a good mood after a pleasant weekend spent with a bouncy castle—

Tom: I don’t want to know what you get up to you in your private life.

Tim: IT WAS A PARTY—I might be throwing stuff at the screen while yelling “he’s dumped you, get over it”, and now I’m on my third time of hearing it I’m close to doing that even now.

Tom: Mm. There’s a really good two-part middle eight here, but not much of a verse or chorus — certainly nothing I can remember afterwards. There’s nothing objectively wrong with it, but yes, I can see why it’d annoy you after a while.

Tim: I’ll keep this short, then, before it goes round again, and just say: I like it, but only as long as I’m in the right mood for it. Otherwise it can properly do one.

Södra Station – 16

“Are orange parties a thing in Sweden?”

Tim: First one off a new EP from Sara, Niro & Fredrik, with a basic lyrical vibe of “we’re not 16 any more” (the members are 24), and from the look of it Sara’s not particularly enjoying that.

Tim: It’s tricky, that, because the video is vastly more interesting, and attention grabbing, than the song.

Tom: Huh. For me, this track has one of the most promising builds I’ve heard in a while — but that’s because I had it in a background tab. The video’s distracting, and I think the song’s so much better without it. Let’s be honest, I didn’t need to see orange-juice-vomit.

Tim: I’ll confess that, until he crawled into the washing machine, my biggest focus was on whether or not her head would at some point turn into an orange.

Tom: Are orange parties a thing in Sweden? Because that’s a weird party. Anyway.

Tim: It’s a nice track, though, and I like it, as despite the negative impressions and intention, it’s a chirpy number. I recognise the feeling, and the sense of “wait, I’m not really going to be having fun like that at all again, am I?”, but the song also brings a “yes, we’re growing up now, but we can make the best of life and still have other fun” sensation. And I’ll take that in a track. Light philosophy, with an optimistic outlook.

Saturday Flashback: The Wanted – Walks Like Rihanna (7th Heaven Remix)

“Can it be improved further?”

Tim: Now, you’ll remember on Monday I pointed out that there are very few songs that wouldn’t be improved by a 7th Heaven do-over. Well, Walks Like Rihanna is already a very very good song, so can it be improved further?

Tom: See, you’re wrong there, because Walks Like Rihanna is a terrible song.

Tim: What.

Tom: You’re right that the composition and production is great, but the lyrics are god-awful.

Tim: No, *some of* the lyrics are god-awful. I am happy to put those aside.

Tom: Fortunately, someone once sang the chorus to me as “she looks like a hammer”, so I’m just going to pretend those are the lyrics and agree: the production’s pretty good.

Tim: Okay, whatever works for you.

Tom: Like you said, can it be improved?

Tim: WELL OF COURSE IT CAN.

Tom: Yep, because I get to sing “looks like a hammer” even before those terrible first two lines.

Tim: Everything that’s good from the original, and oh then so much more – strip out the tedious ‘real’ and ‘authentic’ instruments, replace them with with outrageously poppers o’clock synth beats instead. Finally, for good measure, chuck in a BANGING post-chorus that everybody can utterly lose their nuts to.

Tom: Phrasing.

Tim: I didn’t know I wanted a dance remix of this, but boy, am I now glad that I’ve discovered it.