Tim Schou – Run Run Run Run Run

“Significantly less entertaining than the video that accompanies it.”

Tim: Top name, this lad, and here we have a song that’s significantly less entertaining than the video that accompanies it. But let’s have a gander anyway.

Tom: It was nice of Portugal. The Man to let him borrow their bassline, wasn’t it? Sadly that is pretty much the best part of the track. As for that video…

Tim: TIMMY TIME is without a doubt my single favourite moment of that video, but the cartoon Tim riding a flying rainbow horse is pretty good as well, I must say. An interesting tale is told, and while it’s not a situation I’ve ever found myself in I’m sure it can be fairly traumatic.

Tom: Mm. I’m not convinced: I’m always irritated by music videos that just tell the story of the song when there’s an opportunity to do more. The animation doesn’t help, nor does the blatant “Look, A Woman Disrobing But Not Too Far”.

Tim: As far as the song goes, it’s somewhat ear-wormy, and that underlying humming does get a bit much after a couple of listens, but it’s not unenjoyable.

Not a patch on that video, though.

Tim Schou – Goodbye

“It probably doesn’t need repeating but this man has an excellent name.”

Tim: It probably doesn’t need repeating but this man has an excellent name.

Tom: If by “excellent name” you mean “name that sounds like someone sneezing”.

Tim: Well yes I suppose there’s that as well. Can he better the fairly good Supernova, though?

Tim: Ehhh…kind of. He can certainly do a better ballad than he can do a dance, because there’s a reason singers don’t generally stand still and just move their arms – look what happened the last time we saw this. Points for the rest of the video, though, if only from a technical standpoint, with the screens and the single shot, though I was kind of hoping the choir would emerge when the back opened up.

Tom: Two things to ruin the video for you: the reflections on his necklace, and the careful “not really playing the piano” camera shot. But yes, technically impressive.

Tim: The song, though, which we should probably discuss at some point, is…well, somewhat average, which is probably why I left it until last to mention it.

Tom: Can we deal with the lyrics first? “This is so mad, this is so sad”. Is he… is he six years old?

Tim: No, no he isn’t, and he’s proves that by referencing his favourite grown-up TV show in the next line, which definitely won’t be an outdated reference twelve months from now.

Musically it’s a decent enough ballad, and the choir helps to prop it up a bit; problem is that it’s too slow and gentle a grower. Compare ten seconds in and three minutes later and there’s a vast improvement, but there’s no WOW moment where everything changes, and that’s what I want from a good ballad.

Tom: Right. For me, it’s those lyrics — not just that one bad line, but all of it — that ruin it for me. Like the video: technically, it’s all brilliant, it’s just the content isn’t quite there.

Tim: So far, so room for improvement.

Tim Schou – Supernova

“Burning like supernovas” isn’t really a good metaphor.

Tim: Here’s a quick one for you from a Danish guy with an excellent stage name, and who is formerly of A Friend in London, with whom he represented Denmark at Eurovision in 2011. They split six months ago, now he’s out with this song and a slightly less silly haircut.

Tom: I remember them! They had a good song, and he had a decent voice. And a silly haircut.

Tim: Well he does at least still have the decent voice.

Tom: “Burning like supernovas” isn’t really a good metaphor, first because it’s ‘supernovae’, and secondly because they burn bright and fast and then collapse into tiny, relatively cold balls of nothingness. Just saying. Anyway, the song.

Tim: Not a lot happens in it at all, really, but I think it works well to demonstrate a nice range and a decent vocal ability – there’s plenty of powerful notes in there, and a decent melody backing it up.

Tom: There is, but once you realise that the piano is mostly just hitting two notes back and forth like a six-year-old, it does start to get a bit grating.

Tim: Right, it’s about as basic a piano ballad as you can get without reverting to Mary Had A Little Lamb, but he’s worth keeping an eye on. Especially when he’s chosen that name to go by.