Europop – Page 11

Maja Kristina – Idiot

“For every questionable bit, there’s a good part to match it.”

Tim: The first line of this song’s chorus reminds me of another one. I’m not sure which, but I think it’s by Imagine Dragons, and at first I though it was Believer but then it turned out it isn’t (though there are still similarities), but now I’ve hit play on too many songs to ever have an idea, so let’s just have a listen to this one.

Tim: Not bad, is it?

Tom: That introduction and first verse sounds like it’s from a Bond theme. In fact, I think that’s what you might be comparing it to, aside from Believer.

Tim: Hmm, maybe, but I don’t think so. Anyway, it’s her second track out, after last September’s No Fake Love, and I’m fairly sure it can be described an entirely serviceable piece of pop music. Production’s on point, vocal’s good, melody works well with its slight air of discordance and aggression.

Tom: Some very odd synth choices in there towards the end, particularly that ‘shaking-a-pot-of-yogurt’ sound in the first bit of the middle eight. But for every questionable bit, there’s a good part to match it, usually straight after.

Tim: I do wish I could remember what it reminds me of, mind, but ah, well. Hopefully, Maja’s output rate will increase and we’ll get a third track some time before January 2021, but if not, well, this’ll do in the meantime.

Saturday Flashback: Louise Dubiel – Rejs Dig Op

“I cannot for the life of me understand why we didn’t feature it, because it’s wonderful.”

Tim: For no reason at all other than that it’s on my list of ones we didn’t have room for at the time, here’s a song that was deemed not good enough to represent Denmark at Eurovision in 2013 (for context, that’s the year Emmelie de Forest ended up winning it).

Tim: And I cannot for the life of me understand why we didn’t feature it, because it’s wonderful.

Tom: That’s a brilliant melody in the introduction and chorus — and the final chorus in particular — but I’m not sure about the rest of it. What tips it over to wonderful for you?

Tim: Admittedly I didn’t entirely think that until I checked the lyrics, but it’s basically “who gives a shit if you get knocked down, just get up and keep fighting” – those two main chorus lines are “You have to dance in the rain and never get enough; you must shine in the dark and always rise again”. And that message, with those military drumbeats, those swooshing lights and that wonderful key change are entirely fantastic.

Tom: And it would have been translated into English for the contest, almost certainly. You’re right: in another year, this might have been a serious contender. I mean, apart from the key change. I love it, but it’s pretty clear at this point that Europe doesn’t.

Tim: Obviously, in hindsight it’s clear the Danish populace made the right call, but this is still a blinder.

Clara Mae – Unmiss You

“This song has, comfortably, the most awful lyrics we’ve featured in a long time.”

Tim: This song has, comfortably, the most awful lyrics we’ve featured in a long time, and I’m assuming you’re already annoyed by them.

Tom: And comparing them to Fletcher’s Undrunk, which I could have sworn we talked about at some point, but apparently not.

Tim: However, I would like you to (at least) try to let them go and just listen to the music.

Tim: Okay so here’s the thing: that’s a good chorus. The verses, sure, they’re fine enough, but the backing and energy that comes along in the chorus really could elevate this song to a higher level.

Tom: Except?

Tim: Except, well, there’s that ‘could’ there, rather than ‘does’. Because GOD, those lyrics. I know normally I’m able to ignore things like this, and that of the two of us I’m less likely to find them annoying, but DAMMIT, they’re just atrocious, and also so pervasive.

Tom: I was almost disagreeing with you — almost — until the words “a hundred of reasons”.

Tim: If it was just one line in the chorus, I might have a better shot. But no – it’s every single line there, and I just can’t get past it. And that really, really sucks. Because it should be a good chorus.

Stefan – I Feel Nothing

“I don’t like it, but I get why you do.”

Tim: Tom, I sort of want to apologise in advance here, because I’ve a feeling your reaction will be roughly along the lines of “I don’t like it, but I get why you do.”

Tom: “I feel nothing” is how I react to a lot of the music that’s here, so that’d be better than nothing.

Tim: Have a listen anyway.

Tom: I don’t like it, but I get why you do.

Tim: Absolutely beautiful, I’d say. Heartfelt emotional vocal, a delightful backing that starts quiet but gradually builds up to something marvellous at the end: as a ballad, this is entirely wonderful. Your thoughts?

Tom: You called it: I get there’s a lot to like in theory here, but I… well, yeah, I feel nothing.

Saturday Flashback: Da Buzz – Let Me Love You Tonight

“Obscure Swedish 2002 eurodance!”

Tom: Obscure Swedish 2002 eurodance!

Tim: Hooray!

Tom: No, really, that’s all I’ve got, I just stumbled across it and it’s been stuck in my head for a couple of days now.

Tim: Nothing wrong with that, it’s a pretty good track. And incidentally, I’ve just looked at their Wikipedia page, and found the most outstanding sentence: “In June 2011, one of the Karlstad transit buses was named after the group.” And what greater an honour can there be than that?

Alex Järvi – Dina Skor

“I actually did find myself waving my arms in the air.”

Tim: Alex here, singing about Your Shoes, or, rather, the fact that no-one can fill them. How sweet.

Tom: Good heavens, who picked those brass synth pads? They sound like a MIDI keyboard from the 90s. They could afford a choir, but they couldn’t afford an actual trumpet?

Tim: Oh, hush. We’ve almost two songs in one, here – the standard and fairly unremarkable verses, which fortunately make up a comparatively small amount of time, and then OH that GLORIOUS brassy chorus.

Tom: It is a wonderful, schlagery chorus, isn’t it? Full-on, hands-waving-back-and-forth, entirely predictable chord progressions. Not a complaint, that.

Tim: Oh, no – and during the middle of the final three choruses I actually did find myself waving my arms in the air. It’s a jubilant sound, which is somewhat bizarre given the lyrics: basic narrative is that she left him because he was a dick; he’s now saying that he’s getting off with new girls left right and centre, but none of them are quite as good so can she come back. TRIUMPHANT BRASS!

Tom: Amazing. I wonder if there’s anyone in the world that would work on?

Tim: I’ve been trying to think, to make a snarky comment, but nope, I’ve got nothing. To be honest, though, I don’t care that the sound doesn’t fit, because it’s bloody wonderful to listen to, and really just over all too quickly.

Tom: Just… maybe they should hire an actual brass section.

SKAAR – Five Times

“Loud and thrashy and intense”

Tim: YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID, Tom. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID.

Tom: I mean, yes, I do, but I’m fairly sure you don’t.

Tim: Maybe not, but SKAAR reckons she does.

Tom: And I’m fairly sure she doesn’t either.

Tim: Oh, well that shows her. Apparently this is an anthem to “all the women out there that think men should own up to their own shit”, and having just watched an episode of The Apprentice where one guy said “yeah, one second darling” to his female team-mate and got no pushback about it whatsoever, I’m all for that.

Tom: Well, that’s one of the worst paragraphs we’ve had here for a while. Pity about the music, though.

Tim: You think? Because I think this is a message that is massively boosted when it comes with such an enormous backing to it, loud and thrashy and intense, that means there can be absolutely no misunderstanding about it. Helpfully, it’s one I love as well.

Tom: I just wish I actually liked the song! “Loud and thrashy and intense” isn’t something I actually want to listen to.

Tim: Oh. Well, for me: strong message, strong music, love it.

Michel Young – 70s80s90s

“I liked it! It’s pretty good!”

Tim: Single take video for you here, though I’m almost certain they didn’t keep the camera running for three minutes and thirteen seconds.

Tim: So, we’ve a guy walking up a street singing his song, camera constantly on him, so far so standard. Except – his hair’s moving weirdly slowly, and I’m sure dogs’ tails normally wag faster than that. I played with the settings, though, and it turns out that if you play it at 1.5x, it seems much more normal. So, best guess: camera guy’s also carrying a speaker, song playing from it unusually quickly, and he’s doing his best to mouth along to it? Quite why you’d do that I don’t really know – my only thought is that maybe they couldn’t find a backstreet in Stockholm that takes three minutes to walk up?

Tom: It’s a stylistic thing, and it’s really common in music videos! Most of them are filmed a little bit off-framerate: it’s the look. Here, have this video demonstrating it.

Tim: Huh, I’d not noticed it before. Nice work with the self-plug, though. Back to here: music’s good as well, isn’t it?

Tom: Even if I do keep wanting to sing “I just came to say hello” over that verse. You’re not wrong, though: there’s a lot of clever production tricks, and it’s doing that same interesting-chord-progression thing that the Killers did back in their early albums.

Tim: Nice bit of strong beat dance pop, lyrics are largely meaningless, but the melody’s good, the production’s lovely and everything’s nice to hear, really.

Tom: I wasn’t sure about that middle eight the first time I heard it: on a second listen, knowing was coming, I think it works. And the key part of that sentence: second listen. I liked it! It’s pretty good!

Tim: However fast we play it.

Lisa Ajax – Känn En Doft Av Kärleken

“It’s really, really jarring, and it upsets me.”

Tim: RIGHT THEN so you’ll recall back in June we got Dolly Style doing a cover of How Far I’ll Go as part of a new We Love Disney album, except then for months we had nothing at all, despite me hunting for stuff at least once a week.

HOWEVER, last week the whole album arrived, yippee! We’ve a variety of styles: some straight up covers, some simple translations (Aladdin’s En Helt Ny Värld), English covers that have really played with the genre (Circle of Life), and some that might as well be brand new songs, because I’m willing to bet you’d forgotten the existence of Brother Bear altogether.

And then…and then there’s this.

Tim: So, I have no problem at all with about 90% of that. The early part of it takes the same genre we’re used to, and a translation’s always fun (though, weirdly, they’ve used different lyrics from the translation they used in the film). The bit where the chorus has a big hefty backing underneath it, very very much so.

Tom: Agreed: there are, as far as I’m concerned, two canonical versions of this: the film version, and Elton John’s version. This doesn’t hold a candle to either of them, of course, but I’ve got to admit that the voice works, and the production for most of it is good too. It’s a solid Disney Cover. I think you’ve got the same problem with it that I have, though.

Tim: Most likely. Because that dance breakdown – where on earth did that come from? I don’t mind it particularly, and certainly if it was in a whole other song I’d have no problems with it at all. Except it isn’t in a whole other song, it’s in the middle of one of the most memorable film songs ever, and it completely and totally doesn’t belong. It’s really, really jarring, and it upsets me.

Tom: And it’s a real shame! Because the rest of it is good. Not spectacular, but good.

Tim: I’ll finish on a positive, though: we’ve got something similar with Kamferdrops’s version of Let It Go. And this time, it works for me.

Tim: I’ve no idea why it works, as logically I should have the same problem – still a great song, still a largely unrelated breakdown. But I don’t.

Tom: I think I know why: Let It Go is meant to be a big, showstopper, belt-it-out number — but here it’s being sung relatively quietly and calmly. That chorus sounds wrong, it’s underwhelming — but it means that your brain’s more prepared for the dance bit.

Tim: Hmm, yeah, could be.

Tom: What we’ve learned here is that nothing’s going to break Andrew WK covering the Mickey Mouse March.

Tim: Erm…well, okay, whatever works for you. I’ll stick with Dolly Style, if you don’t mind.

Måns Zelmerlöw – On My Way

“One of the loveliest melodies I’ve heard in a while.”

Tim: Måns’s latest album came out the other week, and I’ve just got round to listening to it; pleasingly, it’s got some pretty good numbers on it, some of which we’ve already covered. This one is the first track, though, and it starts out with some rather fruity language, given who he’s singing it to.

Tom: Oh. Yes. Yes, you’re not wrong there.

Tim: I’ll be honest, I’ve no idea how the lyrics in the chorus relate to the lyrics in the verse, unless he’s doing a dialogue-style duet with himself, which’d be weird.

Tom: That is actually how I read it! I assumed it was ‘advice to past self’, but I suppose it could also be ‘I haven’t got it figured out either, kid’.

Tim: Well, whichever it is, never mind that because that chorus has one of the loveliest melodies I’ve heard in a while. Thing is, it starts out pretty good anyway with the opening “I’m on my way!” line, but then when the flowing “I know it’s only…” arrives it suddenly becomes even better. As for the rest of it: well, it’s fine.

Tom: Alas, the chorus just doesn’t work that well for me, which means that… well, yes. “Fine” about sums it up, which is a shame.

Tim: Nothing brilliant, but nothing that could be described as bad. Well, except for maybe that artwork, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Tom: One observation: it sounds very weird to hear very British-southern long vowels in Måns’ voice. “Dis-arse-ster” just doesn’t seem right somehow.

Tim: Well, let’s just play the chorus again.