Tag: Arvingarna

Arvingarna – Säg Att Du Är Min

“I have one complaint about this, and yes, just one.”

Tim: Schlager with different instruments, you say? Why, it must be dansband time.

Tom: I was about to say “well, that’s very 90s Eurovision”, and then I looked up the band and it turns out they represented Sweden in 1993. (It sounds a bit like a Christmas song, and landed solidly in the middle of the table.)

Tim: I have one complaint about this, and yes, just one: it should be properly illegal – not just frowned on, but actually illegal – to end a middle eight on part of the chorus sung, then repeated at a higher pitch, and not for that to be followed by a key change.

Tom: Ha! You’re not wrong.

Tim: Aside from that, though, I’ve got nothing – this is absolutely textbook dansband, hands in the air and all sorts.

Tom: I almost feel like this should be graded on a completely different scale to Proper Pop Music, because they’re aiming for something so different. But yes, this is Good Dansband.

Tim: Title translates to Say You’ll Be Mine, and if I was the target of the song I would not deliberate for a second. I’m theirs.

Tom: Crikey.

Arvingarna – Låt Oss Skänka Hopp

“CHRISTMAS DANSBAND!”

Tim: Time for another Christmas number, which will score precisely 0 on your ‘likely to join the British Christmas music collection’, but I doubt you’ll have a problem with that, as it’s CHRISTMAS DANSBAND!

Tim: Nice amount of fun, that, isn’t it?

Tom: That’s certainly the most Christmassy introduction that I’ve heard in a while.

Tim: For once, I’m very glad it’s in foreign, because the title translates to ‘Let’s Give Hope’ and it’s in the ‘yes Christmas is great but let’s not forget about the people who aren’t so happy’, and yes I know we need to think about them and I know they deserve charity but sometimes I just want to listen to happy fun Christmas music without being reminded of that, and the music for this doesn’t even slightly fit with that message.

Tom: …are you sure? This sounds very Charity Single to me. I can see imagine a montage of Swedish celebrities belting this out one line at a time. I mean, I can’t imagine it, I don’t think I know any Swedish celebrities, but you know what I mean.

Tim: It is jaunty, it is upbeat, and I love it.

Arvingarna – I morgon

“DANSBAND.”

Tom: Yesterday, you promised loud, exciting, carefree stuff. GO ON THEN.

Tim: DANSBAND.

Tom: YES.

Tim: And it’s time for us as English speakers to giggle childishly at the pronunciation of the Swedish for ‘tomorrow’.

Tom: I mean, I did smile.

Tim: Yep, figures. I can’t find the lyrics for this online, which is a shame as I’m fairly sure they mention Netflix in there quite a bit and I’d love to know the context. If I had to guess it from words I do recognise, I’m thinking it’s along the lines of “sod this, can’t be bothered right now, I’ll do it tomorrow”. And oh, boy, can we all identify with that.

Tom: What I like about dansband is how it somehow balances a line between cheesy schlager music and the sort of Status-Quo dad-rock that’s still respectable and getting radio play on radio from time to time. Listen to that ridiculous outro!

Tim: And when we combine that with the standard fun and enjoyment that typically comes with the best of the genre, what’s not to like?