Tom: This’d be a good song if it actually had a chorus.
Tim: Ah, another Dark Horse, is it?
Tim: Oh, sorry, can we take a sec – just want to order myself a new Samsung Galaxy S6. Back in a sec.
Tom: Let’s get one thing out of the way first: that’s a video that makes me feel a bit creepy watching it. It’s not just your standard ‘pop star dancing’: it’s like the director — who’s a woman, by the way — said “right, let’s make this look as sexualised as possible”.
Tim: Yeah…you’re making it sound like this is a new thing, though.
Tom: Oh, it’s not new at all, it just seems really noticable here, far beyond what you’d normally expect. I realise that fits the theme of the song really well, it’s just… it’s a bit much, is what I’m saying. Full marks for actually giving her stars in her eyes by changing the shape of the ring light, though.
Anyway. The music.
Tim: Or, indeed, the lack of it, because that’s the problem.
Tom: It’s rare that the build to a chorus promises so much, only to get shot down by what then appears. Maybe it didn’t sound so strange on a second listen — but when you’ve got a voice like that, why switch entirely to samples for the chorus?
Tim: I don’t know, it’s plainly awful. To be honest, I’m not sure I agree with your opening sentence, on two counts: first, it does have a chorus, except it’s a bloody awful chorus and I suspect part of you knows that but wants to dismiss it as a post-chorus.
Tom: Ugh, you’re right. It is, technically, a chorus.
Tim: Second: it wouldn’t be good. Well, obviously good is entirely subjective, but nope. Not here, mate.
Tom: I mean, it’ll do well, it’ll get enormous amounts of airplay in the US so people will buy it. But it just doesn’t seem like all that much of a song.