Saturday Flashback: Euroband – Fullkomið Líf

“I just got to that high-pitched bit in the middle eight and it completely distracted me”

Tim: So, here’s a fun thing I discovered when coming up with suggestion for the new work Pride-themed playlist – was looking at This Is My Life, stone cold banger from Eurovision 2008, and turns out: there’s an Icelandic version as well! It was performed at their national selection, and…it’s different.

Tom: Solid “2000s daytime TV game show” vibes from that introduction, there. Actually, from the instrumentation through most of it. You’re right that it’s different, though.

Tim: Isn’t it just? It’s not just the instruments, and basically genre change, though – the lyrics are something very different. If you want to go back and hear the English version for yourself I won’t blame you, but the lyrics are, basically, I AM GAY LIVE WITH IT. Yes, there are other interpretations, but put it up at Eurovision with that backing, those outfits and the lines like “I spent my days in vain just waiting / for happiness to come my way” and “There’s no denying all the heartaches”, followed by “I opened my eyes, finally I realised” and then the massive THIS IS MY LIFE I DON’T WANT TO CHANGE A THING, and you might as well put out a parade of rainbow flags on stage.

Tom: I suspect, from the way you’re leading into this, that this isn’t quite– sorry, I just got to that high-pitched bit in the middle eight and it completely distracted me — the Icelandic one isn’t the same?

Tim: No – in fact, it’s almost entirely different: the title translates to Perfect Life, and the lyrics are not really alike at all. They’re singing to a person, chatting about how a perfect life will arrive once they’re here, and it’s really just a basic love song. And that makes me wonder what the plan was: was it originally written as a big gay anthem before being toned down for a domestic audience to vote for, or written like this and then beefed up for Europe? Either way, though, I know which version I’m sticking with.

Yello – Waba Duba

It’s really easy to say “well, this won’t be popular”.

Tom: They’re Swiss. They’re 75 and 68 years old. And you’ll know them from 1985’s Oh Yeah.

Tim: Tragically, or perhaps not, I’ve somehow gone this far throughout my life without encountering that one. Ah, well, let’s see what we’ve got now.  

Tom: It’s important to note: this isn’t a comeback or an attempt at a novelty single. This is just the same genre of electronic music that they’ve been doing for years.

Tim: Hmm – yeah, I can certainly see the link from Oh Yeah to this. In fact, listening to them one after the other they could almost be on the same album.

Tom: Thing is, sure, it’s really easy to say “well, this won’t be popular”. It almost certainly won’t. I almost clicked away after the first few seconds. But the exact same could have been said for “Oh Yeah”. Back then, it became popular because of its use in movies; now, all it’s take is one TikTok trend and this would be in the charts. It’s weird, but I don’t think it’s bad. I’m not adding it to my playlists. But I’m not ruling it out either.

Tim: Okay. Yeah, I see that, and I’d agree. These days, can’t really rule anything out.

Rico & Miella – We Are The Lights

“This manages to hit both “different” and “good”, which is a very rare skill indeed.”

Tim: Normally, I hate YouTube’s AutoPlay feature, as I do wth SoundCloud. On the other hand, I absent-mindedly left it on after yesterday’s track, and, well, this arrived. It’s not our usual, what with the duo being based in New York, but have a listen, would you? Just for me.

Tom: I was reminded of “My Heart Is Yours” by that introduction — and then it went in a very different direction.

Tim: Very different indeed, yes – and I think it’s a little bit good, isn’t it? The first verse is (at the very least) as good as your standard dreamy pop dance track, but then even as soon as we get to that vocal pre-chorus, it’s just wonderful, elevating it to a whole other level. The full chorus, when it hits, just sounds so impressive, both the bits with and with the choral vocal.

Tom: Yep, this manages to hit both “different” and “good”, which is a very rare skill indeed.

Tim: And throughout the track, from then on, it really doesn’t put a single foot wrong.

Tom: There’s even a Ministry of Sound-style euphoric build into that final chorus, which somehow manages to not sound cheesy.

Tim: I think, basically, that this is a really, really on point track. I don’t know exactly what genre I’d place in it – it wouldn’t be top of the league in ‘dance’ or ‘pop’ or even ‘dance-pop’ – but it’s sure as hell near the top of whatever genre it might be classified as.

NERVO feat. Frida – Hurt

“See, for the first verse, it’s a typical Frida Sundemo track.”

Tim: For some reason, ‘Frida’ isn’t getting a full name credit, so your average listener doesn’t necessarily have any real idea who it is. On the other hand, we intelligent and cultured people recognise the voice and know exactly who it is.

Tom: Yes. Absolutely. I can 100% remember the Frida we’ve talked about before. Sure.

Tim: 1t’s an interesting one, this. Or at least, that ‘feat.’ is. See, for the first verse, it’s a typical Frida Sundemo track.

Tom: Frida Sundemo! Right. Yes. I do actually remember her name now, although I don’t think I could have placed that voice.

Tim: Low on the instrumental, but very definitely a dance track, carried solely by her vocal. Chorus comes along, and again it’s a straight up Frida track – her vocal, good melodic dance beat.

Tom: Which is fine, I guess? I’ll be honest, there’s not much here that makes me feel… well, anything, to be honest. It is a Generic Dance Number with a good vocal.

Tim: But that second verse, that’s different, that’s not something we’ve heard before from her, with that darker backing. That’s straight up NERVO. That’s where the ‘feat’ comes in, where she basically does what they’re telling her to do. Not necessarily a bad thing, mind, but I will say I’m happy it doesn’t last all that long. Because after that? Again, that’s an energetic Frida track.

Tom: And if that’s your thing — which is seems to be — then I guess that’ll do nicely.

Tim: And so for everything except that second verse, that ‘feat.’ could be an ‘&’. And you know, I love that. Shame she doesn’t get full credit, really.

KEiiNO – I Wanna Dance With Somebody

“The fact I played it several times is a very, very strong endorsement from me.”

Tom: The “2020 Global Pride Song”, apparently. It’s a choice that seems both genius and obvious in hindsight: pick a Eurovision darling, and get them to cover an absolute banger.

Tom: We’ve talked before about how KEiiNO are basically required to put some sort of joik in there, even when it doesn’t really fit. And… well, I don’t think it really fits here.

Tim: No. Although, it does fit better than when it’s awkwardly shoved in to replace a lyric line in the chorus – here, it just sounds like some weird instrument they’ve dug up to stick in the post-chorus.

Tom: It could’ve worked if it was more integrated as part of the song, perhaps telegraphed early on in the introduction — but Dance With Somebody is so well recognised that just changing the lyrics and timing in one place like this is going to feel wrong no matter what you do.

Tim: Ah, see with the timing I very much do agree with you – in fact, that’s one of the main reasons that, overall, I’m not keen on this, upsettingly. The other, though, is that the build through the verse and the chorus just, for me, doesn’t lead into enough. Along with the join, there should be another bit – not sure what, but the sole “somebody whooo” doesn’t really seem enough.

Tom: Now, I did play this multiple times, and I did get used to the change. And the fact I played it several times is a very, very strong endorsement from me: and it’s because absolutely everything else about this is so good. It doesn’t outstay its welcome, it’s impeccably produced, and somehow they’re able to get a wall-of-sound effect working through modern compression. It’s a really good track.

Tim: Hmm. I mean. I can’t disagree with any of the specifics you’ve got there – I think it’s missing, say, an extra two lines of instrumental. Give me that, I’m happy. Without it, sadly all I can manage is a gentle ehh.

Annie – American Cars

“There is something about that chorus, isn’t there?”

Tim: Annie, for anyone who doesn’t know, is a Norwegian who did electropop and synth pop from the early 90s and then just stopped about five years ago, and everyone got very disappointed and basically gave up hope. But NOW she’s back, with a whole album co-produced with Stefan off The Sound of Arrows announced for September and this as the lead single, HURRAH.

Tom: Right, so as usual: you’ll love it, and I’ll be put off my how slow and ethereal it is.

Tim: Perhaps, because, well, if you thought dreampop was dreamy before, brace yourself.

Tom: Huh. So here’s the thing: I was all set to really dislike that from the intro, because it is just the epitome of every retro “80s recreated with modern tech” track out there… but there is something about that chorus, isn’t there?

Tim: There is, yes – see, I had an interesting thought journey along that: started out with “ooh, yes, this is lovely and absolutely what I want right now”, and “oh this chorus is just DELIGHTFUL” then “wait, have they just stuck some vocals on the Stranger Things theme for the verse” and finally, at the two minute mark, “ah, nope, this is exactly the reason I pay £7.99 a month for a streaming service and quite a bit more on overpriced merch”.

Tom: Okay, stick with me here. That ‘Stranger Things’ reference, and the repetitive four-note rising ostinato: change the instruments up a bit, and it’s basically the theme tune to Wycliffe. Yes, I’m referencing an obscure mid-nineties ITV detective drama, yes, I know it’s not strictly relevant, but I think it’s interesting how the elements of a composition can be the same across very different genres. No? Fine, suit yourself.

Tim: Not a theme tune (or indeed a programme) that I’d ever heard of before, but you’re absolutely not wrong there, it is similar – to be honest, though, it’s difficult to pull off a fast up and down synth melody that doesn’t sound like it rips off Stranger Things (or indeed Wycliffe). But anyway, everything after that first two minutes is just pure Sound of Arrows, and (believe it or not) I actually quite like that! So WELL DONE and THANK YOU and WELCOME BACK. Oh, and also, speaking of overpriced merch it seems that every artist under the sun has face masks out right now, can we have Sound of Arrows ones as well please? THANKS.

Saturday Flashback: A*Teens – Halfway Round The World

“Oh, that is clever. Well done, director.”

Tim: The second original track from the greatest ABBA tribute act, following on from Upside Down.

Tom: Overextending the brand quite a bit there, but good luck to them.

Tim: Hey, they got four albums in all, and even the last went top five. The song isn’t quite as brilliant as Upside Down, but the video contains one of the greatest moments in music video history (and I’m not talking about when Amit runs round the back of the camera).

Tom: Oh, that is clever. Well done, director.

Tim: You wonder for a few seconds why they’re standing so woodenly – hell, the guys have got their hands in their pockets – but then it all makes sense! The screen falls forward, they break out in the full on dance routine that, in hindsight, you realise should have been there the whole time but obviously couldn’t have been, and now you want to start again and dance along, because what a routine that is. And let’s not forget: that’s a great song, and it still very much holds up to this day.

Tom: That may well be because the backing is an endless loop of the riff from Can You Feel It — but to be fair, that is a full-on, A+ pop song over the top of it.

Tim: I know the answer to this question but I want to ask it anyway: why don’t we have pop music like this any more Tom, why?

Tom: Because it doesn’t sell.

Tim: Ugh.

Paul Rey – Mistakes

“The thing that impresses me most about it is how, whenever he’s singing, there’s really very little instrumentation going on underneath.”

Tim: Paul had a somewhat decent Melodifestivalen entry this year which got him through to the final; I don’t know why he didn’t go with this one, though, as it’s much better and he’d only need to chop a few seconds off.

Tim: The PR bumf for this comes with the line “I wanted to pay homage to the ‘ugly side’ of a relationship”, and so I was initially “oh, great because no-one’s done that before”, but I decided, against all my natural cynical instincts, to give it a good chance, and I’m glad I did.

Tom: I’m not convinced it’d work as a Eurovision track, but I’ll agree that it’s a better song. There are some lovely choices by both composer and producer in that chorus.

Tim: The thing that impresses me most about it is how, whenever he’s singing, there’s really very little instrumentation going on underneath – a light guitar in the verse, a drumbeat in the chorus – and so the vast majority of the song it carried solely by his vocal and the floaty underline bit (there’s probably a better name for it but you know what I mean), and both of those sound good, for individual reasons.

The voice, because it’s strong, emotive and powerful, and the floaty bit (yep, sticking with it) because it gives a lovely pleasant ambience to the song.

Tom: Right! And both singer and producer need confidence in those vocals in order to put them this clearly in the mix. I’m not sure it’s necessarily “stripped-down” instrumentation, which was the term I was going to use — it’s just produces so it backs up the vocals rather than competes with them.

Tim: So we’re given two things to focus on, both of which work well – and I think that’s a good recipe for a song.

Ella Henderson – Take Care Of You

“Hits all the right notes and none of the wrong ones.”

Tom: This is one of the more inventive lockdown music videos I’ve seen, even if the faux-Windows 98 sound effects do rather get in the way of the music.

Tom: Full marks to the director and the animator: it’s a great job.

Tim: It is indeed. The fact that there are numerous clips where she’s moving her mouth but not to the words irritates me a tad, but I get what they’re going for so I’ll accept it.

Tom: As for the music…

Tim: Pretty good piano dance track, I reckon. Hits all the right notes and none of the wrong ones.

Tom: …yeah, it’s pretty standard. A good standard, mind, but it feels like we’re both having trouble finding interesting tracks at the moment. I wonder if that’s because the industry isn’t matching our tastes, or because lockdown means no-one’s putting out their best work?

Tim: What, a sort of ‘can’t record new stuff, let’s have a rummage around in the drafts folder’ type thing? Could be, I guess.

Robin Packalen – Benefits

”Ah, it’s the chorus, isn’t it?“

Tim: A Finnish guys that we’ve not featured before, largely because, like Alex Järvi last week, the genre isn’t typically something I’d normally listen to. To be honest, most of this song still fits in that category.

Tom: Yep, this isn’t normally the sort of thing that either of us likes, why do– ah, it’s the chorus, isn’t it?

Tim: It’s the chorus, yes indeed. It’s very much of the genre the Sweden was sending to Eurovision 2017 & 2018, which left me with a “yep, I see what you’re doing, not for me thanks” – but Done quite a bit better than either of those. That loud “but SHE KNOWS” sounds really really good, and gets me giving the song enough of a good will factor that I’ll enjoy the rest of the chorus as well.

Tom: Right: it reminds me a lot of the Weeknd’s style.

Tim: In the first chorus it’s not there quite so much, so I’m still not really in there for the second verse, but everything after that gets me really enjoying all the rest. I like it when a song does that – obviously it’d be preferable if it was strong enough from the outset that I enjoyed it immediately, but when a song can build up enough of a momentum from one point to carry me through to another, that’s a good thing.

Tom: Although I am a bit worried that one of the, uh, ‘benefits’ listed is the “ways her legs can bend”. I know what that’s meant to imply, but my brain jumped to some odd alien joint arrangement first.