Tim: I’ll warn you, the first 15 seconds are not a good start to the song from this 14½ year old, but fortunately nor are they much of an indicator of what’s to come so be sure to stick with it.
Tom: Literally half my age. For crying out loud. He’s basically a foetus.
Tim: Yep. But, while he’s not yet learned to shave, he does have some fairly generic things to say about a possible break-up.
Tom: And those are a terrible fifteen seconds, enough for me to strongly dislike that first verse as well. I was about to dismiss it entirely, and then…
Tim: And then, once those rubbishy r&b autotuney bits get out of the way, this is a thumpingly good pop track, led by that wonderful descending line in the chorus and backed up by the good beats behind it, the rest of chorus surrounding it, the earnest middle eight and even, dare I say it, the vwomping bits in the background which link the song all together.
Tom: “Vwomping bits” is a good name for the mock-dubstep production we’re seeing lately. And I completely agree: after that chorus, even the verses were suddenly much more interesting. It’s a really good pop track. I found myself nodding my head along in the office, which is unusual for me.
Tim: Normally I’d want to write a bit more, and to be honest this probably deserves a good few more words, but really, I’ve said all that needs to be said: it’s just brilliant.
Tom: One more note: interesting use of what appears to be a 1980s cassette dictaphone and non-smartphones in that video, too. He probably wasn’t born when they came out.