Category: Dance

TooManyLeftHands – Cold Heart

“You’re OK with that?”

Tim: Again, not entirely sure if there’s any justification for the name, but anyway: Monday we had a return to piano dance, yesterday we had current squeals and stuff, so today, shall we have a blend and see if this Danish pair can pull it off?

Tim: Yes, yes it seems they can. So much so, in fact, that I think this might be my favourite track of the three – the two bits all work well together, without any jarring switching from the one in the verse to the second for the chorus.

Tom: You are kidding me, right?

Tim: Ermmm, no?

Tom: That’s one of the worst transitions-into-chorus I’ve ever heard. I realise that, yes, it stays in 4/4 time all through, but I had to double-check that by counting along. After a pink-noise-build like that, they’re going to eschew the idea of a drop entirely and just… flow into it? And you’re OK with that?

Tim: Yes, but (and I’m fully prepared for a ‘how can you possibly compare the two” response to this) there’s no real difference between this and Hey Brother. Genre switch up, from one to another both working very well. Sure, the chorus could have a extra level of drumbeat or something, but I’ve no problem with the genre shift.

I also like it most because it’s the most exciting of the bunch – it starts off with a gentle line, but gets to levels that are at least acceptable for a first verse, though it should perhaps have been kicked up a notch for verse two. We’ve a decent chorus, then in due course a brief middle eight and a decent repeat to close.

Tom: And I agree with all of that: it’s just ruined for me by that bizarre transition. Pernickety, I know, and perhaps it’s just because it’s new, but that’s the way it is.

Tim: Hm, shame. But I do still have one last question: how is it still a thing to mess up the music so people don’t rip YouTube videos?

Tom: Because people still rip YouTube videos.

Milkywhale – Rhubarb Girl

“A lot more could be happening during the verses.”

Tim: Remember how a months or so ago I reminisced about piano dance music? Well, this Icelandic duo (comprised of Melkorka Sigríður Magnúsdóttir and Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, and yes I did copy and paste that) seem to have similar thoughts.

Tom: Well, those are some bizarre lyrics. Red trousers and a robot forest. And “into the darkness”, a lot of times. And yes, at least something resembling piano pop underneath it.

Tim: It’s been brought up to date as necessary, (though it wouldn’t sound out of place in 2012), but there’s more to it than just the style, of course. Vocals are all good, and it’s a lively enough number, or at least it is when the chorus comes in.

Tom: Takes its time getting there, though, doesn’t it? Admittedly that makes the chorus a bit of a relief, but I’m not sure “bit of a relief” is in any way praise.

Tim: I agree – I can’t help feeling that a lot more could, and indeed should, be happening during the verses. Keep his vocal for the chorus, but I’m not sure the song would remotely suffer if the drums and piano were brought out to the verses as well, to spruce things up a bit. When it’s going, though, it goes well. I’d just like it to go a bit more often.

Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson – Just Hold On

“There’s certainly some good parts in there”

Tim: Following the breakup hiatus, Niall was first out of the gates with an awful dirge; can Louis do any better with this collaboration?

Tim: Yes, yes he really can.

Tom: Takes its time, though, doesn’t it?

Tim: It does, yes, with a slightly disappointing start — in particular, the vocal part of the first chorus sounds distinctly underwhelming — but the rest of it is absolutely fine. They were probably going for more than ‘absolutely fine’ though, now I think about it, but actually it does go further – that vocal at the opening of the middle eight is a particular highlight.

Tom: There’s certainly some good parts in there, but I’m not convinced by it as a whole: I don’t think the hook’s good enough to justify all the faffing around it takes to get there. In fact, I can’t remember a bit of the hook. And if your highlights are particular vocal lines…

Tim: Well anyway, of course this is better than This Town.

Tom: Damning with faint praise, there?

Tim: Not at all – better than a lot of tracks, really.

Tom: Anyway, I’ll just leave this here.

Tim: HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

Oliver Heldens feat. Ida Corr – Good Life

“That’s a surprisingly retro track.”

Tim: Oliver’s a Dutch DJ who’s been going a few years; Ida’s off Denmark and has been going 14 years but has had a quiet patch recently; we’ve now got this.

Tom: And it’s a tie-in with a video game. We don’t see that all too often, but there’s (surprisingly) some good recent history, there.

Tom: Well, that’s a surprisingly retro track; a lot of those synths and rhythms could fit into the late 90s.

Tim: Yeah, a whole lot of it’s good, but it’s got one massive flaw: that line that first appears 34 seconds in. That exact same vocal sound and possibly the same notes as well, has been used in a very prolific song from a while back – it took me a long time to place it, and no small amount of “aaaargh, WHAT IS THAT?”, but it’s The Time Is Now.

It didn’t stop me appreciating everything else about this track – using strings for the main line was a fantastic choice, bringing to it a sense of urgency that I can’t imagine much else doing. Just a shame about that one line – different vocal style, or a different rhythm, or some melody variation, and this’d be great. As it is, though, I just can’t enjoy it as much as I want to.

Galantis – Pillow Fight

“Managing the fans’ expectations is never an easy thing.”

Tim: Our reader James points us in the direction of this, Galantis’s new track which he reckons doesn’t sound particularly Galantissy.

Tim: And he’s partly right, I think – it certainly doesn’t come with the high-pitched vocal that’s often present, but on the other hand the steel drums and other instrumentation that we might associate with Galantis are all there.

Tom: Having “a style” is a blessing and a curse: when the audience gets bored with it, how do you move on? Managing the fans’ expectations is never an easy thing. Here, sadly, Galantis’ unique style seems not to have changed, but have just… fulled.

Tim: It certainly doesn’t stop me liking it just as much as I’ve liked previous output – well, not quite as much as Peanut Butter Jelly or Love On You, obviously, but certainly on a par with the rest.

Tom: That’s true: they do have the One Big Song. This really feels like an album track.

Tim: Perhaps, but for me it’ll do for now.

Otto Knows – Not Alone

“We’ve got another ah-ah-ah-ah-ah going on.”

Tim: You remember Otto, or at least you’ll remember his work – Million Voices, that eh-eh-eh-eh-eh ah-ah-ah-ah-ah that was around for most of 2012. Earlier this year he had a hand in Dying For You, successful in Sweden. And here’s another!

Tim: Well, we’ve got another ah-ah-ah-ah-ah going on, but I don’t know if I want to criticise it for that because (a) it’s entirely different and (b) the rest is very good – the vocal chorus in particular is great, with the “it’s a long long way” section having a lovely melody.

Tom: It does, and it’s a melody that I’m sure I’m certain I’ve heard before, but I’m damned if I can remember where.

Tim: I had the exact same feeling, but can also not place it, so never mind. Second verse is good, building on the groundwork the first one did but beefed up a little, and quite where that middle eight came from I’ve no idea, but I do like.

Tom: Yes! This track seems… inoffensive. There’s nothing that particularly stands out for me, apart from that joyous exit from the middle eight, but there’s also nothing wrong with it.

Tim: Well, I could criticise the track by suggesting the first chorus is probably twice as long as it needs to be, because it does get a bit tiring by the end – on the other hand, I’ve no issues with this at all. Nice one.

Sigala & Digital Farm Animals – Only One

“Strong echoes of Galantis”

Tim: Brilliant fact I’ve just discovered: Sigala comes from my wonderful hometown of Norwich (strapline: A Fine City). But anyway, I’d like you to push play on this lyric video, and then close your eyes so you can’t read the words. Just for the first fifteen seconds or so.

Tom: Your garlic sea?

Tim: Actually, I was more wondering exactly where that ultra light beam was staring, but if you don’t hear it then I won’t spoil it for you. But misheard lyrics aside, this is very good, not least because it has strong echoes of Galantis lurking around in there.

Tom: About thirty second in, I forgot this wasn’t Galantis. It feels very much like their style — albeit with a lot of Sigala’s synth patches applied to it.

Tim: In fact, that’s the main reason I like it so much – we’re into the time of the year where we can look back, and I can safely say that Love On Me is at least top five of 2016 for me.

Tom: Mm, that’s not unreasonable. There is a minor trend for these sort of happy, fun tracks, and I’m on board with it.

Tim: Right – this brings out some of the same emotions and feelings, and with very similar instrumentation it’s not hard to see why. But I don’t care that it’s markedly similar – all I want to do is enjoy the song, and I very much do.

Saturday Flashback: Tomas Heredia feat. Victoria Bernardi – Nothing to Lose

“Damn, when it’s good it really is good.”

Tim: This came out early this summer, by two artists from Buenos Aires, and has just been sent to us; it really is quite the BANGER once it gets going, so have a listen.

Tom: Not just once it gets going! That’s a great introduction, too, with a proper build. It feels like I haven’t heard something like that in a while.

Tim: You may be might. You see, this track, in combination with yesterday’s, made me realise how much I’ve missed good piano dance music. Yes, it was far too pervasive while it was around, and by the end of 2013 it was no wonder there was a vacuum for farmhouse music to fit into, but damn, when it’s good it really is good to jump around and go nuts to. And this fits that bill very, very nicely.

Tom: Yes, you’re exactly right. It’s by-the-numbers for back then — even down to that one-beat ‘reset’ at 1:50, shortly after the inexplicable shot of someone holding their WhatsApp conversation up in the sky for everyone to see — but those are good numbers.

Tim: When that build started 80 seconds in, I got excited, and then when the drop hit I was very keen indeed. All I’m really left wondering now is whether I’ll be feeling nostalgic for pineapples in 2020.

Sigma feat. Birdy – Find Me

“It’s solid Sigma.”

Tim: The anonymous person who sent this is said the chorus sounded like a news theme tune…

Tim: …and weirdly it does have elements of the current BBC one – the rolling strings, the important but not overpowering drum beat, and even the melody itself isn’t far out.

Tom: As someone who normally notices things like that: I don’t hear the similarity. It reminds me more of Emeli Sande’s Heaven.

Tim: Hmm, yes, that’s not far off either. As for the rest of it: it’s solid Sigma – good dance beat, good featured vocalist, good lack of tropical vibes.

Tom: And a great video: playing with framerates and timelapse like that is always a good trick, and finding someone who can emote for that length of time in close up isn’t easy.

Tim: All in all, pretty good.

Hardwell feat. Jay Sean – Thinking About You

“Most Disappointing Drop Of The Year”

Tom: It’s getting late for submissions, but I think we’ve got a November contender for the Most Disappointing Drop Of The Year Award.

Tom: Which is really a shame, because the rest of the song is a pretty good Generic Dance Tune, the sort of thing that AATW or someone similar would turn out. Why Hardwell’s gone for this odd silence instead of, you know, actually making this a BANGER, I’ve no idea.

Tim: Hmm, yes, you’re not wrong – certainly a let down, though again I can’t help feeling that, like Friday’s middle eight, it was just not meeting expectations. It’s not particularly awf– actually it’s just come round the second time, yes, you’re very right.

Tom: Even in the last chorus, it doesn’t get going: the whole thing seems like a bit of a cop-out really.

Tim: And an unpleasant cop out at that.