Peg Parnevik – Regret It

“That’s great, no?”

Tim: I’m fairly sure we all do things we know we might regret later – I recently worked out how much I spent on LEGO during the lockdown, and I’d really like to forget, but apparently that’s not something my mind can do on demand. Anyway, Peg’s decided to write a song on the theme.

Tom: Only, I presume, without the LEGO.

Tim: And that’s great, no?

Tom: Much as I’d like to reply with a chirpy “no!”… I’ve got to agree. And I’m all for less-conventional messages like this in music.

Tim: Strong unambiguous lyrics, chorus sounds great, with the singing/chanting/vaguely shouting blend that can so often work really well, as it does here, and there’s great production work going on in the background.

Tom: It feels very much in the style of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, only with the exact opposite message. And just like that Taylor Swift song, it has an unnecessary talking bit.

Tim: Sure, I could do without the tag line at the end, and the fact that that single negative point does come right at the end and is therefore the one thing we immediately remember is very very unfortunate, but other than that, I think this is great.

Peg Parnevik – 27 Sorries

“A great big Screw You to every dickhead who’s ever cheated on you but now wants forgiveness.”

Tim: “27 Sorries is one of my favorite songs I have ever written. I put it on and feel angry, strong, passionate,” says Peg, and continues, “it has been a song that I can scream and cry to and I hope others feel the same.” Sound good?

Tim: Yep, it’s a great big Screw You to every dickhead who’s ever cheated on you but now wants forgiveness, stated about as bluntly as possible, and I think it’s wonderful. Strong, ruthless, powerful, some proper Fight Song and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together vibes.

Tom: The start of the chorus is so good that it does rather cast a shadow over the rest of the song, but heck: the whole thing’s only two and a half minutes, that’s fine by me.

Tim: It’s musical as well as thematic, though, because there are a lot of bits here that sound familiar.

Tom: Yes: I can’t actually place any of those parts that seem familiar, though, which means that the composers and producers have done their job well.

Tim: Indeed – it’s not a criticism at all, because a lot of female power-pop takes this sound, and it reliably saves up the goods. Very, very good goods, in this case.

Peg Parnevik – Loafers

“This is not a healthy relationship.”

Tim: So there’s a guy on Love Island this year called Adam, who’s a complete slag, leaving one girl as soon as another hot one comes in; he’s three girls in after just two weeks, but the girls keep going with it because he’s fit af.

Tom: That is a very ‘you’ sentence, Tim.

Tim: Thank you – I like to keep things on brand round here. But anyway, Peg’s basically written a song about being one of those girls.

Tim: I mean, where to start? “Never cleans a single dish, at least the guy is well-equipped” kind of sums it up, and, you know, I can sympathise with that, both the reasoning and the overall picture. After all, if you’re happy where you are, it’s hard to move on, however unsustainable you know it will end up being in the long run.

Tom: “He’s not cool, but it’s easy.” This is not a healthy relationship, but I suspect it’s relatable to a lot of people.

Tim: And when that’s all wrapped up in such fantastic music – the chorus is just wonderful, with that melody underneath it, and you’ve got the voice bringing a lovely Dua Lipa vibe to it and the instrumentation bringing a…well, also quite a Dua Lipa vibe.

Tom: Yeah, I was going to say.

Tim: In fact this is basically a Dua Lipa track, and a really really good one at that. Love it. Almost as much as I love Adam.

Tom: Mate.

Sondr feat. Peg Parnevik – Live Love Learn

“In case you’ve been missing Avicii…”

Tim: In case you’ve been missing Avicii, Britain’s Sondr have teamed up with Sweden’s Peg to bring us something approximating that.

Tom: Sondr and Peg sound like a Nordic comedy duo.

Tom: Blimey, never mind, Sondr and Peg sound like Avicii. Or at least, everyone else that did Avicii-esque tracks a couple of years ago.

Tim: Verses with a gentle instrumental, yes. Chorus vocals over a building backing, yes. A post-chorus that then proceeds to GO OFF, oh, very much so. Deviation from the formula slightly in the first chorus, but otherwise it’s all there, and all behaving very, very nicely.

Tom: And there’s even the beautifully-directed road-trip video, too.

Tim: Ooh, I hadn’t even thought of that, but yes. And not only all those tropes, but we’ve also got the lyric “roll with the punches and twist with the turns, you live, you love, you learn”, which could be my favourite line yet this year. I will very much take this, that you very much, and stick it right on my GOING OUT playlist.

Tom: Just don’t jump into a freezing-cold lake. I don’t recommend it clothed, I can only imagine that naked would be worse.

Tim: Ah, but how will you learn if you’ve never lived?