tom – Page 3 – Europlop!

Magnus Carlsson – My Freedom

“Fancy hearing the official 2020 Stockholm Pride song?”

Tim: Fancy hearing the official 2020 Stockholm Pride song?

Tom: The way this format works, I don’t think I have a choice.

Tim: Oh, and isn’t that just great?

Tom: Yes, although that’s mostly because a load of compositional clichés on top of each other. There’s even a double-clap every sixteen beats in some parts! I don’t think that’s a bad thing here, mind — for this, you want a big shouty singalong song without surprises. They even put fake crowd-noise claps in when they’re coming back from the middle eight.

Tim: The fire alarm went off in my building at three o’clock this morning and I was stuck outside for an hour so I was all grumpy until I heard this, but BLIMEY am I now feeling good, because I’m fairly sure this has the potential to be a proper anthem in years to come. Thumping Eurodance beat, YES. Lyrics about knowing who he is, loving who he wants, YES. Callbacks to multiple song of his in the second verse, WHY NOT. Pleasing key change, ABSOLUTELY.

Tom: It arrives, it does the job well, and it leaves. Couldn’t reasonably ask for more.

Tim: And to be honest, I think that’s all I want from a song like this. Oh, except for an even bigger beat on it, which WHAT DO YOU KNOW is available via a SoundFactory remix on your local streaming service. Marvellous.

Saturday Flashback: Blazin’ Squad – Teenage Life

“I said ‘huh’ at least three times during that. That’s… huh.”

Tim: So, this week I finally completed that game everyone’s talking about, Netflix, and decided I’d actually watch that Daz Sampson documentary that got put on YouTube a couple of months back. There’s quite a bit of interesting stuff in there – not least the revelation that actually, he didn’t originally intend to perform this song himself.

Tom: I said “huh” at least three times during that. That’s… huh.

Tim: Isn’t it just? The lyrics are pretty different, presumably redone to make them more Eurovision friendly, but otherwise it’s almost identical.

Tom: You say “almost identical” and, okay, from a production perspective it’s close. But context is so, so important. There are two really important changes that transform this from “cringeworthy Eurovision performance” to “semi-competent Blazin’ Squad track”.

Tim: You think? What changes it for you?

Tom: First: the children’s-choir vocals don’t have to be performed live. It’s very clearly a sample: the style and production really emphasise that. Hip-hop can absolutely use cheesy children’s-choir samples, and use them really well given the right production. It’s a catchy sample, too. But at Eurovision, that sample had to be recreated live by just five adults, which means the listener interprets the context of it very, very differently.

And then second: yes, the lyrics are very different. And they’re being performed by teenagers — only just, Kenzie would have been 19, but they’re close enough to school-age that there’s at least some credibility there. Daz Sampson was in his early thirties then, and looked and sounded like he was in his early thirties. You can’t just drop him in and expect the song to work the same.

Tim: All fair, BUT, if I were to position a pro-Sampson argument (though I’ve really no idea why I’d want to): the issue with that reasoning is you’re judging it purely as a music track, and no, of course Daz can’t get away with this out as a standard single. But Eurovision’s different, and on occasion almost more like theatre – Latvia sent actual pirates two years later.

Tom: They weren’t, like, actual pirates, but I get what you mean.

Tim: Sure, the age could have been a problem – you’re right that Daz was definitely too old, but the ones pretending to be schoolgirls at the very least looked like they could have been the right age. Now, I’ll be first to admit that treating it like theatre isn’t a winning formula by any means – the pirates couldn’t even cannonball their way out of the semis – but it doesn’t mean it can’t work.

Tom: I’m not saying this would have been a hit for Blazin’ Squad, I’m not saying it would have been taken remotely seriously. I don’t think it’s all that good a track. But crucially, at no point did I even cringe slightly.

Tim: Okay, I guess that’s all fair enough – and I agree with you that it would have worked better for them as a song, but they would have been a terrible choice for Eurovision, just on a practical note if nothing else. They had so many members that barely half of them would have been allowed on stage, and that’s only if some of them were up for dressing as schoolgirls. The BBC, apparently, were also keen to have him rather than them, and as he put it, by that point Blazin’ Squad were “on the slide”. Only one option, then.

Tom: And that decision’s what killed the song even as a single. That’s not a slight on Daz Sampson (although the BBC press release describing him at the “UK’s most unique MC” feels like a bit of a dig) — it’s just that this track cannot be carried by anyone over 20.

Tim: The documentary’s quite revealing about that period – not enough for any normal person to spend forty minutes watching it, mind, but there are some interesting titbits in there. One example: the reason Daz came bounding out from behind the blackboard so excitedly. Not because of the choreography but because he’d only that second remembered the lyrics that he’d forgotten due to nerves, and that his contingency plan was to do his bit from Kung Fu Fighting instead. (I’ve checked, it really wouldn’t have fitted.)

Tom: I’ll say this much: that would have been memorable. Actually, fair play, it’s been fourteen years since this and we still remember it, and we’re talking about it. There is something to be said for making an impression.

Tim: Another one: following the performance, which had gone better than any rehearsal, they thought it might have done quite well – not a winner, clearly: “I knew we weren’t gonna win Eurovision 2006, I knew from the moment we got there” – but maybe top half. There then follows slightly heartbreaking footage of him and the girls watching country after country fail to give them points for over an hour, gradually confirming that nope, really not.

Tom: It was an incredibly high standard at that Eurovision. The novelty votes went to Lordi (who won), the schlager-loving votes went to Carola (fifth), and the plucky-but-charming underdog votes went to LT United (sixth).

Tim: Ah, well, maybe another time, if only he’d got anot–OH HANG ON but actually then he didn’t even get past the jury into the televised final so never mind. SORRY DAZ.

Bob Sinclar feat. OMI – I’m On My Way

“I know exactly what this is going to sound like”

Tom: I saw that pair of artists, and thought “I know exactly what this is going to sound like”.

Tom: And, yes, the style’s roughly what I expected: Sinclar’s tropical style and OMI’s vocals. I’d file this under ‘generic forgettable summer track’ if it wasn’t for one thing: what on earth were they thinking with those brass stabs in the instrumental part of chorus?

Tim: Really? I have no problem whatsoever with those as at all. It’s an instrument, it fits in – generally helps it along the lines of a “hey Disney, if you’re thinking about doing a new version of Simba’s Pride, want to consider us?”

Tom: I’m not enough of a music producer to say with authority what’s happening there, but it sounds like a sample of a muted trumpet, just with a very slow attack? Whatever it is, my ears find it genuinely unpleasant to listen to.

Tim: Huh, fair enough. Maybe they’re not ready for a Disney soundtrack after all.

Frida Sundemo – Backbone

“And that is really a very textbook Frida song.”

Tim: New Frida! New EP, to be precise, with a few tracks that we’ve already heard and some new ones. This, for example, which is about “that feeling when it suddenly hits you that you hurt someone you love”. Enjoy.

Tim: And that is really a very textbook Frida song.

Tom: But what a well-written textbook it is.

Tim: What indeed. I’m never really sure whether it’s a good thing or not when artists consistently play it safe – although this absolutely works for me, and I really like it, part of me is thinking “you’ve got nine years of this, do you want to try something a bit different?” On the other hand, though, I’m thinking “well actually I’ve got other acts to listen to if I want something a bit different and sometimes bands changing their sounds is a really really bad idea HI BUSTED”.

Tom: This could easily slip into being a generic piano-ballad, but there’s something that elevates it above. I’m not sure why, but I can pick out a few possible reasons: the soaring vocals, some clever tricks in the composition, the string section. And, of course, a cracking middle eight and return-to-final-chorus.

Tim: Well, course, and so possibly changing direction would be a bad thing – hell, maybe she has tried different stuff but just not put it out into the wild because it just doesn’t sound good, in which case good for her.

To be honest I’ve no idea where this is going beyond a rambling sprawl of thoughts, but to sum up, and go back to the beginning: this is standard (and therefore very good) Frida music, and I very much enjoy both it and the rest of the EP. And the rest of her output.

Foxes – Love Not Loving You

“There are some very interesting instrumental choices in this”

Tim: I’m not going to lie to you, Tom – there are some very interesting instrumental choices in this upcoming song.

Tom: You’re not wrong there, but oddly I think it might… work?

Tim: You think? Because, is that just the sound of girders being whacked together? Or maybe something smaller – “Hey mate, synthesiser’s gone wrong, I was gonna call a plumber to get get some copper pipes, any other suggestions?” It’s utterly bizarre.

Tom: The actual melody instruments seem to have some odd cameos in there too: there’s what sounds like a brief appearance from an upright bar room piano at about 1:33, which is back and distorted in the middle eight. Against the odds, I find it charming, but there is so much going on that it feels overloaded — coming out of the middle eight into that cleaner pre-chorus felt like a breath of fresh air.

Tim: Yeah, you’re not wrong – there’s so much in there that it does become almost distracting after a while, and I really just want to hear her sing.

Tom: It’s a surprising choice given the stripped-down, bare production that’s in fashion right now. But when I normally turn away at overproduced wall-of-sound stuff… for some reason, I liked this.

Tim: The rest of the song’s okay – no Body Talk, as YouTube keeps reminding me with its tedious autoplay function, but perfectly good as far as Foxes goes – except now I’m hearing that particular noise it’s just such a distraction. Why? WHY? WHYYYYYYY?????

Tom: Maybe it’s a Bob Blackman reference.

Tim: Ermm, yeah. Maybe.

Jan&Jascha – Europa

“I haven’t clicked on it yet, and the title and thumbnail already irritate me.”

Tim: A “cross-border friendship anthem” now from a new German duo here, and I genuinely don’t know if you’ll find this annoying, or enjoyable – I’m in the latter camp, though I’m fairly sure having the video up gives it a very firm shove that way.

Tom: I’ll tell you this much, I haven’t clicked on it yet, and the title and thumbnail already irritate me.

Tim: Ah, fabulous.

Tom: I think you have to be in the right mood for this song, Tim. I… am not. Fairly sure that there’s a brand-name drop of WhatsApp in there; if I heard that right, then the quiet “ugh” I muttered under my breath was worth it.

Tim: I’m sorry to tell you that in that case yes, it was worth it.

Tom: Have you tried this without the video?

Tim: I have, yes, and sadly it’s nowhere near as enjoyable. I just found it a tad dull, really (chorus aside which perks it up a bit), and while I appreciate a London Eye shoutout as much as the next guy, it really is just standard folk pop. With the video, though – aww. Just a bit of fun, isn’t it?

Tom: It’s a novelty song, simple as that. And those have to be really good for me to like them.

Tim: Yeah, but there’s nice enthusiasm about being part of somewhere that “means much more than just different nationalities and languages”, as they say, and how “despite all cultural differences and idiosyncrasies, we share a strong community spirit, especially in times of greatest challenges.” Isn’t that just a wonderful sentiment? Naïve, perhaps, but still wonderful.

Basshunter – Angels Ain’t Listening

“And he’s finally updated his sound!”

Tim: New Basshunter!

Tim: And he’s finally updated his sound! He’s been putting out one track a year for the past couple of years, and previously they’ve both been standard typical Basshunter, not really any different from a decade ago. This, though, quite a bit darker, and yet it works. There’s no big dance breakdown, no upbeat BRING OUT THE LASERS moments, and instead we’ve got 80s-esque synths and melancholy vocals.

Tom: It turns out that we are several years late to this party, but this genre — 80s synths, boots-and-cats percussion, and modern production — is apparently “retrowave”. That’s a term that I’ll use confidently in future, as if I’ve always known about it.

Tim: Oh my GOD, you’ve only just heard that? I totally found out about it in, like, 2016 or something, and I’ve just never mentioned it here because I didn’t want to make you feel inadequate. Mind you, even though this isn’t remotely what I expected to hear from this today, I quite like it.

Tom: Yep. One of the reasons his music was successful, even back when he was writing in Swedish about chatbots, is that he could write really good hooks. This has both a great melody in the chorus and a good countermelody.

Tim: Certainly does. With the sound, though, I’m not entirely sure whether I’d like it if it wasn’t from an artist I’d never heard of before and wasn’t therefore predisposed to like it (though I’ll happily say I’m not a fan of the new Galantis track), but from Basshunter, I’ll absolutely take it.

Miriam Bryant – Passa Dig

“that’s been put together by someone who knows how to produce a chorus.”

Tim: Starts out as a quiet and potentially dreary piano ballad; come the chorus, well…

Tom: Well, that’s been put together by someone who knows how to produce a chorus.

Tim: So that’s a decent song: I was plenty impressed when the chorus happened, the instrumental underneath all sounds great, and although that ending doesn’t really scream 2020, the sound of it is great. There’s one big flaw in it for me, though, which is that it feels way, way too long.

It isn’t, really, but I looked at the clock when the instrumental began and was very surprised I wasn’t yet three minutes in.

Tom: Yep. I was all geared up for that to be headed to the final chorus, only to find that the track’s only half way through.

Tim: Two reasons, as far as I can tell: one is that it’s got almost a full minute of instrumental fade-out; wouldn’t normally be a problem, particularly when it sounds as good as it genuinely does.

Tom: Yep: even if that pair of yelping synth notes start to grate after a while. Repeat to fade is a brave choice in 2020, but honestly, I think it does work here.

Tim: But then there’s the second problem. The main notes are all two beats long, and it just feels dragged out, almost literally at the end, as if someone had fed it into Logic and just stretched it out to half speed. It’s annoying, particularly because I could probably easily live with either one of those two: finish it after that last chorus, fine. Stick in an extra drum beat on the second and fourth notes, fine. But together? Agh, just can’t quite get it.

Christopher – Leap of Faith

“Agh, this is so frustrating.”

Tim: I’ll be honest with you, Tom – not long after I pressed play on this I got bored and picked up my phone, and didn’t realise until the end of it that I’d missed a pretty good track. Don’t do that.

Tom: I tried. I genuinely tried. And then halfway through the final chorus, I absent-mindedly opened a new tab and looked up something that had crossed my mind.

Tim: Agh, this is so frustrating. See, I’m sure this is a good track, with individual parts that all work fine: the chorus has a lovely melody to it, verses flow along well enough, it doesn’t really do anything wrong, and every moment I’m listening I’m thinking “yeah, I like this”.

Tom: There’s some really good vocal work, too, like that falsetto in the last line of the chorus. (How much of that is live performance, and how much is digital trickery? These days, I guess it doesn’t matter.)

Tim: Sure, maybe it could do with something bigger when it comes back after the middle eight, because the lyrics really deserve it, but overall it’s fine. Except, I seem fundamentally unable to pay attention to it. I press play, I listen for a bit, and then I go back to Twitter. I stop myself, go back to the music, think “yes, this is definitely good”, and thirty seconds later I’ve opened up a new tab and am browsing some other website.

Tom: It’s not just you. For once, we’re in complete agreement: it’s a good song. It just doesn’t hold the attention, which to me is inexplicable.

Tim: And that really, really annoys me – because I like this! I really do! But I just can’t get myself to actually pay attention to it.

Ruben – Burn Down This Room

“I’m fairly sure that’s one of the best ballads I’ve heard in a long time.”

Tim: We first met Ruben a few weeks back as the vocalist on Alan Walker’s last one; now he’s out on his own with this. The video is fairly graphic with bits of self-harm, so you may want to just listen to the song without it, here:

Tim: And I’m fairly sure that’s one of the best ballads I’ve heard in a long time.

Tom: As I listened to the first part of this, I couldn’t figure out why you’d written that. It’s not a patch on Fai Rumore, of course, but yes: it does some good things by the end.

Tim: Starts out fairly quiet with just a bit of piano, but then builds up quickly with drums and strings and all sorts of orchestral majesty, blowing us away by the time the final chorus arrives.

Tom: I reckon it’s one of those tracks where the middle eight might be the strongest point, but yes, that final chorus does hold up.

Tim: On top of all that, he’s got a very strong voice, more than doing justice to the drama in the lyrics, all going together to sound fantastic. Does it need to come with that sort of video? Hmm, probably not, we could maybe do with something lighter right now, but never mind that – it’s the song that’s important, and it’s great.