Author: tom

SHY Martin feat. Boy In Space – Still The Same

“They’re switching places, with an appropriately different sound.”

Tim: Previously, him featuring her, which we both gave a fair old thumbs up to. Now they’re switching places, with an appropriately different sound.

Tom: That was a really interesting video from a produciton perspective, and — while it’s not relevant to the music — I want to talk about it for a moment. The aesthetic is very 90s, because it looks like a cheap disposable camera. 4:3, wide but limited focus, a harsh flash next to the camera and a very short shutter speed. Except there are thousands of shots in there, all taken very quickly, which would’ve been very difficult with actual film: so this is clearly a modern digital camera, presumably with the light constantly on.

It’s a very very interesting style to go for: the past, but not quite.

Anyway, the music! It’s nice enough, isn’t it?

Tim: So, this is tricky, because I like both of these folks as artists, and I liked their last collaboration, and there’s a lot in here that I do like – the melody, the voices, and the sound when it gets going is absolutely lovely.

Tom: Yes. I sense an “except” approaching at speed, though.

Tim: Except, well, there isn’t much time when it really is going. The first chorus has something to it, the second verse a little bit, second chorus a bit more, but it’s not until the closing chorus until it becomes really good and enjoyable – and that happens less than forty seconds from the end. Dammit, I really want to like this, and I do! Just…not very much of it.

Victor Crone – Troubled Waters

“Up on stage asking his native Sweden if they’d let him have a go for them. They said no.”

Tim: Ten months after representing Estonia at Eurovision and not doing too badly, he was up on stage asking his native Sweden if they’d let him have a go for them. They said no.

Tim: I say they said no, that’s not entirely fair – the voters didn’t dislike this too much, apparently not holding much of a grudge; the juries ranked it right at the bottom, though, which is disappointing, not least because we haven’t had staging that confusing at Eurovision since Sergey Lazarev four years ago.

Tom: It took me a good few seconds to realise he was lying down at the start. Still, at least he seems to be having a good time on stage, if nothing else, that enthusiasm is genuinely impressive.

Tim: Mind you, it is largely about the song, and…well, as I say so often, I don’t get why this was ranked so low – I know it got to the final which is credit enough, but dammit jurors, let’s in future get them giving reasons for their scores as well can we?

I’ll grant you, it wasn’t the top song of the night, but both he and the song (that note out of the middle eight!) have got a huge amount going for them. DAMN YOU ALL.

Tom: You’re right, that note is impressive — but the overall piece sounded a bit like Avicii’s style ten years ago, and even at three minutes it felt a bit long to me. It’s good! There’s nothing wrong with it! It probably belonged in the final! But I can see why the music industry types would think it’s a bit passé.

Tim: Actually, lastly, back to that staging, and watching Sergey, it’s got me wondering: how long do we think it’ll be before Eurovision gets motion capture on stage?

Anna Bergendahl – Kingdom Come

Tim: Sweden chose its Eurovision entry last Saturday; as tradition dictates, let’s spend the week seeing what they could have had instead, starting with this TRIUMPH (although sadly not an actual triumph).

Tom: It’s time for the Week of Rejects!

Tim: WHAT A SONG, and to be honest I’m almost surprised it came as high as it did, because it’s the sort of song that I love, Swedish folk are okay with and juries slate (pretty much like her song last year, in fact).

Tom: It’s solid, isn’t it? It feels almost like a Eurovision song from a few years back.

Tim: But nope, in the end it came fourth with both and third overall, maths is great isn’t it?

Tom: That makes sense, if there were songs above it that divided public and juries a lot more. Melodifestivalen selections have to at least satisfy both.

Tim: And that, I think, is pretty much exactly where it should have come – the lyrics are powerful, the music is BANGING but it is alas probably not a Eurovision song right now, and we really really don’t want a repeat of ten years ago when she became the only Swede in history not to qualify.

Tom: You’re right: these days something like this stands a fair chance of dropping out in the semis.

Tim: As for the staging, it was kept to a minimum all round this year – I think there was some reason given, but was almost certainly nonsense – but Anna made good use of what was available, with flashing lights and magically appearing dancers, and who’d say no to that?

K-391, Alan Walker & Ahrix – End of Time

“Well, that’s lovely, isn’t it?”

Tim: Today, in ‘things that in hindsight are obvious but Tim never thought to realise’: producers who started out making tracks in their bedrooms at about the same time have a proper community rather than just having agents that contact each other for the occasional collaboration.

Tom: Huh. That’s pretty much how YouTube works, but I never thought to apply that to the music industry. All right. What’ve they put together?

Tim: This here’s a reworking of the track Nova that Ahrix made in 2013, slowed down a bit, given some vocals and brought a bit up to date, and the description below the video description is really quite lovely. Starts with a bit about how the three of them started, came together (apparently Nova was the track that brought them together), and ends up saying that with this, “we want to pay respect to all the music and producers that came before us, while also giving an opportunity for the next wave of bedroom producers out there who have yet to get a chance.”

Tom: Well, that’s lovely, isn’t it?

Tim: Isn’t it just? As for the song: entirely as we’d expect it to be, really, and in my view that isn’t remotely a criticism. The melody’s nice, lyrics pretty much get that message across.

Tom: And Alan Walker is using his signature “Hasn’t He Got Bored Of That Yet? Well We Wouldn’t Recognise Him Without It” synth for the chorus. I assume he’s had some other input too, though.

Tim: Well, there’s the video, which is as peculiar as is now to be expected from this crowd – though that is responsible for my one criticism: although there’s a deeper story there, there’s also a whole ‘we’re the three lone survivors at the end of world’ imagery, which might have been a little better timed given the whole ‘deadly virus sweeping the world’ thing that’s currently going on.

Tom: I didn’t make that connection, so hopefully they can get away with it.

Tim: Ah, probably. For now: great.

Cecilia Kallin – Heaven

“And isn’t that just entirely fine?”

Tim: We’ve not featured Cecilia before, or at least not as a solo artist – she’s formerly of Timoteij, whose output we’ve enjoyed on multiple occasions.

Tom: And whose shampoo we miss. (Sorry.)

Tim: It would appear they broke up a while back, though, because here’s this.

Tim: And isn’t that just entirely fine?

Tom: Yeah, “fine” about sums it up. Which is damning with faint praise, really: I think I was expecting something DJ Sammy, and instead I got the title theme to an early-2000s romantic comedy.

Tim: Yeah, maybe I should have warned you, sorry.

Tom: It’s nice! There’s nothing wrong with it! I doubt it’ll be a chart smash.

Tim: It’s chirpy and happy, and all about what you might be feeling if you’ve got a new person you’re wanting to get off with, or maybe something a bit more romantic if they’re really special.

Tom: I mean, that’s specific, but–

Tim: Maybe they’re a new colleague, or a regular commuter; a barista, or the person who’s just moved in next door. Whatever the exact relationship, you just can’t seem to stop thinking about them. You’ve trouble focussing at work, you’re becoming absent-minded elsewhere, you’re spilling your drink every time you see them. All you want, all you’re thinking about, all day and every day, is speaking to them, asking them out, taking them back to your place, sitting them down, standing in front of them, and singing a weirdly damp song you’ve written about them. And then it’ll all be perfect. Right?

Tom: …are you okay, Tim?

Tim: Me? Yeah, of course. Totally okay. Entirely.

Martin Garrix feat. Clinton Kane – Drown

“Today for you, a chorus line that I’m almost entirely certain isn’t meant to be taken literally.”

Tim: Today for you, a chorus line that I’m almost entirely certain isn’t meant to be taken literally.

Tom: Yep, unlike our Eurovision entry, this is the sort of lyric that it’s obnoxious to be pedantic about.

Tim: Despite it being really weird, though, I actually really like this – the song, that is, not the metaphor. The production’s much as you’d expect from someone reliable like Martin, and he’s got a featured vocalist who can get all the notes in the right place. The melody, pleasingly, is one I can remember after hearing just once, although that may be more to do with the icky ‘ocean of you’ thing than any definite indication of a good melody. But who cares? It’s in my head, wanting to be heard again.

Tom: I thought it was, but then I realised I actually had Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies” in my head, thanks to that ‘tell me lies’ bit. Still, at only three minutes, at least this one doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Tim: As for Clinton, he’s been around a while uploading covers and original songs to YouTube, mostly guitar-based stuff, and he’s from all over the place – Filipino-Norwegian heritage, has lived in Australia and the UK. And in case you’re wondering, the two of them have definitely met, but it only happened after the song had been put together and finished – volcanic eruptions prevented it happening sooner. Isn’t it always the way?

Lady Gaga – Stupid Love

“Gaga’s gone back to the early ’10s!”

Tim: Gaga’s gone back to the early ’10s!

Tom: Well, that’s the most promising intro you’ve written in a while.

Tim: Yep, she’s moved on from the dull stuff, and has finally gone back to producing the disco sound that made everyone fall in love with her in the first place.

Tom: The pendulum tends to swing back and forth: artist experiments for a bit, artist tries to please the long-term fans, and so on, and so on. Admittedly there are a few things that you wouldn’t have heard on early Gaga ten years ago here, like all those chopped-up vocal samples in the chorus, but — and I’m surprised to say this — I think it works.

Tim: The sound we now have again is FUN, it is LOUD, and it is EXCITING as far as whichever album might be coming out in the next few months or so.

Just a shame the song itself isn’t all that notable, really.

Tom: I mean, it’s still better than “meh”. By my standards, that’s practically a ringing endorsement.

Isak Danielson – I Don’t Need Your Love

“Compared to last time’s mellow melancholy this is quite the change”

Tim: I’m aware you’re not that great at remembering our past features, Tom, but I’d hope you remember Isak from when we featured him less than a month back.

Tom: Yes, absolutely, I 100% remember him, I definitely did not just click that link and find I had zero recollection of anything in it.

Tim: On the other hand, the style here is entirely different so it hardly matters either way.

Tim: Compared to last time’s mellow melancholy this is quite the change – defiant, powerful and upbeat, getting going with a fair amount of oomph right off bat, and it’s not long before the chorus comes along and carries it up more.

Tom: It is a bit ‘Strong Enough’, though, isn’t it? I suppose if you’re using ‘I am whatever enough’ in a chorus, there are only so many ways you can arrange it.

You’re not wrong, though, it is a cracking chorus.

Tim: There’s a lot of good stuff in here, really – the various backing vocals all work nicely, the drop out of the instrumentation on the way back in from the middle eight is an old trick but a good one.

Tom: I was going to point that out: some of the clichés still work.

Tim: And those are some great long notes he’s hitting at the end there. All in all, not a bad piece of work.

Tom: Maybe I’ll remember it this time. Or maybe I’ll just remember Cher.

The 1975 – Me & You Together Song

“Right now, we’ve pretty much a complete and total lack of boybands.”

Tim: So I know this song’s been out a few weeks now, but, well, I want to chat. Press play.

Tim: See, right now, we’ve pretty much a complete and total lack of boybands. That’s not definitively a bad thing, but none of the various hiatuses seem to be coming to an end, Westlife are touring this summer but giving no indication of any new music happening, the new 5SOS track is rubbish and, well, I like a good boyband track, you know? And The 1975, until now, have entirely not fitted the mould.

Tom: I kept seeing this in my recommendations on YouTube, and yet I don’t watch it, because it’s the 1975. I know what they sound like. And this… is not what I expected.

Tim: You look them up on Wikipedia, they’re ‘pop rock’ or ‘alternative rock’; they’re front and centre on Radio 1’s playlist; they do their own instruments and everything. This, though – well, I woke up the other morning and I thought “why are Radio 1 playing a new Busted track?” Because let’s face it, that’s what this is.

Tom: Hmm. There’s certainly a bit of that, but it’s not all the way there. The vocal mix here is so muddy: I have to assume that’s deliberate, because no competent pop producer would ever put out something like this, where it sounds a bit like he’s singing into a cardboard box. It’s like if Busted took some downers and weren’t quite as catchy.

Tim: I don’t know if they’d be happy or not with the comparison, but melodically, vocally, stylistically, this has Busted written all over it. And given that actual Busted haven’t given us anything since last year’s reunion album Half Way There, I’ll absolutely take this.

Eirik Lyng & Stina Talling – En Gang Til

“It has no business whatsoever being quite as upbeat and happy as it is, really.”

Tim: He’s Norwegian, as is she and the song; lyrics are basically “the relationship was shit, but now it’s over I’m just bored, shall we get back together?”

Tom: A lovely upbeat message, then.

Tim: And with that message, it has no business whatsoever being quite as upbeat and happy as it is, really.

Tom: Mmf. It’s okay, I guess, but I can’t remember a single bit of it once it’s finished. It just sort of flowed in the background, never really raising any problems, but never standing out either.

Tim: I’m not complaining, mind, as I’ll typically take a happy sounding song over a mopey one, and in any case I’m saving my complaints for that ridiculous gap in the video and the even more ridiculous choice of hairstyle he’s gone with.

Tom: That is a ridiculous gap in the video. I feel it’d be hypocritical for me to talk about his hair.

Tim: Since neither of those are actually present in the song itself, though, I’m fairly happy with it. Nice one.