Will Young – Brave Man

“Everything we’d expect a Will Young track to sound like.”

Tim: Will Young: reliably topping the album charts but entirely failing to bother the singles chart.

Tom: Or to use a less technical term, “appealing to the mums”.

Tim: Well, something like that. Less than a month after his last single, Joy, arrived, Will’s bringing his next track out.

Tim: So that there is a video which at first appears just as a fairly literal demonstration of the lyrics, but with the final reveal becomes incredibly creepy.

Tom: There was definitely more nudity in that video than I was expecting.

Tim: But never mind, because let’s do the music, which I’m enjoying.

Tom: He’s one of the pop singers with a recognisable, signature voice: that’s a strong brand to have, and I suspect that’s one of the reasons his albums are doing very well.

Tim: It is strong, it is powerful, it is, in fact, everything we’d expect a Will Young track to sound like.

Tom: Not quite sure about that clipped, distorted vocal, and I’m not sure about that middle eight either. Might be a bit too quiet, although I suppose the return of the strings afterwards makes up for it a bit. You’re right, though: it is definitely a Will Young track.

Tim: And that’s fine by me – it may be pop for grown ups, but it can still appeal to the rest of us. I like it a lot.

Will Young – Joy

“He’s still going! Well done him.”

Tom: He’s still going! Well done him.

Tim: Aw, round of applause for not dying there.

Tom: First off: that’s a really poor directing call on the video. The nuclear-test gag’s been done plenty of times before, and besides that: the combination of make-up and “mannequin” acting just makes it look like he’s having a really bad trip or a serious brain injury.

Tim: Hm, see I was fine with all the mannequin stuff, but that nuclear whatsit just seems a bit unnecessary and whuh?

Tom: Really? Man, you’re missing quite a reference there.

As for the song: it sounds a bit like a modern Take That single, only without quite as many harmonies.

Tim: It does – a very good chorus, although perhaps not as joyful as a song with these lyrics deserved. There should have been a moment there, just one transition, that should have made clear, in no uncertain terms, that we should be joy. And when I say transition, I basically mean key change. I know I say a lot of songs would be improved with a key change, but boy, this song would really have been improved with a key change.

Tom: It’s certainly competent, but I’m not sure it’ll elevate him much further than the Radio 2 C-playlist.

Will Young – Jealousy

This has a lovely Sound of Arrows feel to it.

Tim: Will Young? He makes music for my grandparents, doesn’t he? No, and this has a lovely Sound of Arrows feel to it – gentle music but with a fair beat behind it – and for that reason I like this considerably.

Tom: “And it feeeels… like Jersey.” I know that’s not what he’s singing, but it’s all I can hear.

Tim: Eh, a little bit, I guess. Anyway, some may think “Oh, this isn’t the lovely Evergreen Will Young we started off with, I like his granny-pleasing stuff;” this is true, but music changes and this is an example of good change.

Tom: Agreed, with that and with the Sound of Arrows comparison. I suspect this will eventually get a genre name, in the same way that electroswing existed for years before it coalesced into an actual genre.

Tim: Others may say that it’s still just boring old Will Young and we want something HEAVY.

Tom: To a certain extent, they’re right: he gets going a bit during the last chorus, but it never really reaches any kind of apex.

Tim: Well, I think you’re wrong, but if you want to RAVE to this, have a remix by The Alias.

Tom: And that fixed it in the first fifteen seconds.