Tim: Not the first time where I’ve had trouble working out which is the artist and which is the title; definitely the first time where my initial guess was completey wrong and I had to check several times.
Adam: Danny, Dakota & the Wishing Well would be a good name for a twee folk band!
Tim: Well quite, but here we are definitely the other way round. This is from 2012, and was sent in this week by reader Drake; he says it is European (well, Oxford), it is pop (though they describe themselves as indie), and it is very good (definitely).
Adam: This immediately makes me think of Snow Patrol. Which isn’t a good thing.
Tim: Really? I don’t get that at all. The band are currently a duo, though have had up to four members previously, and this was released as a trio and now I’m bored of admin. It’s hard to disagree with any of the three adjectives we’re offered.
Adam: Considering a lot of what gives this song it’s character is the accompanying strings I don’t think it really matters how many people are in the band.
Tim: The first minute offers something very different from what comes later, and much as I was looking forward to hearing the initial genre jump forth, what replaces it is not remotely disappointing.
Adam: I think quite the opposite. It starts out quite promising and loses it with all the bombast. I’ve got to remember that this came out 4 years ago. Musical trends change so maybe the intro would’ve made this track special in 2012 but the rest of the track just sounds a bit dated to me.
Tim: Oh, shame – I’m fine with it. In one respect, it reminds me of when The Killers went electro. Not a mixture you’d initially think would work, but actually ends up sounding very good indeed.
Adam: Oh wow I’ve never heard that Killers track before. It’s so much better than this. It has some soul to it.
Tim: Ah, but is it a soldier?