Tim: When I first looked this up I got quite excited because I thought this would be our first ever track by someone from Kazakhstan. Sadly I got my positive/negative longitude mixed up, and he’s actually from Toronto (though sidenote: apparently Toronto and Kazakhstan have the same latitude, which really surprised me). Anyway, have a listen.
Tom: Let me get some big objections out of the way first: “California” is four syllables, not five. Every chorus of this grates for me, just like if someone was singing “Lon-do-on” with three syllables. Which is a shame, because the rest of it is… okay, I guess?
Tim: See, I don’t have that syllable pedantry – the second ‘i’ is there for a reason, songwriters should feel free to use it. I’ll be honest, though: I’m not entirely certain why I like this. I know it’s the massive post-chorus sounds that really gets me, but I don’t know if it’s nostalgia from a previous time, which it kind of feels like but at the same time I can’t place it, or if it’s just because it’s different from all the other tracks around at the moment.
Tom: All are good reasons: it’s got an old-school euphoric build to it and a decent instrumental hook too. I don’t think it’s the greatest track I’ve heard, but it’s not bad.
Tim: Having said that about the post-chorus, there’s also the chorus and verse which I really like, and they’re from all sorts of post-2000 periods. There’s one thing I don’t like, which is that it’s structured like many current dance tracks are beginning to be: no middle eight, no third chorus to close. And that’s a real shame, because I love a good inventive middle eight. Can we abandon this path before we get too far, please?
Tom: Agreed.