Tom: “Tennis Court”? Really?
Tim: That is indeed what it’s called, yes. The friend who introduced me to this song told me Lorde was French; she’s not, she’s from New Zealand, but let’s have it anyway because it’s nice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe4BSUjqLxs
Tim: Well, fairly nice.
Tom: She sounds like… well, a lot of this decade’s female singers. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just that a lot of people are going to think she’s someone else. It’s a bit slow and dark for me, but I can see the appeal.
Tim: It doesn’t really go anywhere, but it doesn’t really need to, I don’t think, because that chorus is really rather good.
Tom: Pity about that “yeah” sample; it stands out like a sore thumb to me, even through all the synths.
Tim: Really? I dont have a problem with it.
The verses don’t have much to them – the rhythm of the vocal in their second halves is good, though, moving along quickly contrasting with the slowness and near non-existence of what’s underneath – but that really just serves to say “pay attention to the chorus”. And that’s good – the lyrical momentum is kept up nicely, the instrumentation builds up a big and we’re given a chorus that just kind of works, even if there is a sudden disjoint between the end of the loud chorus and the beginning of the teeny tiny verse. I like it.
Tom: And I don’t mind it. Between us, that’s practically an endorsement.