Dolly Style – Boom Boom Box

“We’ve got a decent dance routine to go with it so the important stuff’s there.”

Tim: Tom, you’ve always had time for country music, right?

Tom: Yep. And I maintain that country music — by which I mean modern pop-country, the sort of thing you get on US radio stations — is pretty much just schlager with different instruments. Of course, when a European band tries to imitate that…

Tim: Now, admittedly, this is about as country as 5, 6, 7, 8 but the intentions were good so I think that counts, and we’ve got a decent dance routine to go with it so the important stuff’s there.

Tom: Good intentions and a dance routine. That is basically every basic Europop act, isn’t it?

Tim: I’d say minimum requirements, certainly. I don’t know what my favourite part about the ‘yes, we’re honestly playing the instruments’ video is – it’s definitely her with the banjo, but it’s 50-50 between just after a minute where she decisively stops playing while the music carries on, or around two minutes where she’s playing but there’s nothing in the music.

Tom: Or the fact that the drummer is almost always covered by someone else while playing, or else cut away from so fast that it’s extremely difficult to tell if anything’s being hit remotely correctly. Maybe she can drum! But, uh, I’m not convinced.

Tim: Either way, it’s a cracker of a track, cracker of a video, and when lockdown’s over I’d like to arrange a street party where we all do that dance, please.

Nordik Sonar – Fiction No Science

“Lovely blend of 80s synths and modern sounding melodies”

Tim: We got sent this the other day; they’re two guys, Benjamin and Linus, chatting about how the video is a “colourful declaration of love to electronic pop” and how they’re using bright colours to “celebrate pop culture”, and that’s lovely and everything but there’s one main question: do you miss BWO?

Tom: I’d actually forgotten about BWO, which is unduly harsh, because they made some really good songs. The fact I can still remember a few of the tracks off Big Science more than a decade later is basically the biggest endorsement I can give them. So while I wouldn’t say I miss them, I certainly wouldn’t say no to tracks along those lines.

Tim: See, I do miss BWO, and this song brings us the lovely blend of 80s synths and modern sounding melodies – it’s that pre-chorus build that really drives home the similarity for me, although there are lots of other small bits in there as well, and it sounds absolutely wonderful for it.

Tom: There are some really good choices in here. I don’t think it’s quite as fun as BWO, but then it’s unfair to just compare them to another band. This stands well on its own.

Tim: Beyond that, there’s those lovely twinkly bits, and really just how everything fits together nicely. Sure, the pause before the chorus could maybe do with being a couple of beats shorter, but otherwise this is absolutely great. Love it.

Galantis & Wrabel – The Lake

“Orchestral Galantis sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Tim: No lockdown in Sweden, so Galantis have got themselves a 15-piece orchestra for this one – apparently they’ve got other music ready to go, but this one felt right for the time.

Tom: Huh. Orchestral Galantis sounds like a wonderful idea.

Tim: “I wanted to release something different. Some people said: ‘Everyone wants to be happy,’ but I thought: ‘I need to feel it. I don’t want a big drop right now,'” said Christian, to Popjustice last week.

Tom: I mean, it’s uncomfortably reminiscent of Clean Bandit — that is not a compliment, I am not a Clean Bandit fan — but it’s interesting to see that “sudden appearance of an orchestra” still sorta-qualifies as a drop.

Tim: And yeah, I like that, because to be honest I don’t want a big drop right now either – to get briefly personal, the one time I’ve felt properly down during this whole thing was when guys from work wanted suggestions for a workout playlist and I listened to a load of dance music to find stuff, and it turns out I really do miss going out to bars and clubs and having fun. The titular lake is allegedly a metaphor for that – it’s for whatever we’re looking forward to, getting out, hanging out, doing whatever, though that kind of brings the question: with these lyrics, is the timing really right for this? Shouldn’t it maybe have been held back until there is a house on the lake? I don’t know, maybe it’s just there as a dream, as something to look forward to, to feel wistful about. I’ll take the music, though. The music’s nice.

Tom: It is! I don’t think the birdsong works in there — it’s just a bit too twee. But then, I tend to disparage basically any sound effect in a song, so perhaps I’m just too easily distracted. As a nice, calm Galantis track: yes, I’m glad to see that combining dance music with an orchestra still works.

Tim: It does. And incidentally, if you’re in the market for a Galantis face mask, one can be yours for just £15 plus £2.90 shipping to the UK, which actually works out a bargain compared to Alan Walker – his are a bit cheaper, but he’ll charge you over a tenner for shipping. Disgraceful.

LÉON – Who You Lovin

“It really all does hang on that chorus working, doesn’t it?”

Tim: Nice one for you here from Sweden to start your week off; nothing to say about it in advance really, except: press play.

Tom: Huh. Starts slow, doesn’t it?

Tim: It does, yes, and so much so that I was a bit disappointed after that first chorus ended, a distinct sense of ‘is that it, are we back to the dull verse already?’, but no, of course we’re not. The second verse is bigger and bolder than the first, the second chorus lasts a decent amount of time, in for a middle eight, back out for a brief chorus and then that absolutely lovely closing instrumental section.

Tom: It really all does hang on that chorus working, doesn’t it? And I can see how a melody like that could grate. I’m not as convinced about the chorus as you seem to be, but sure, it’ll do.

Tim: Good, and that was pretty much my thought after I first heard it. It took me a couple of goes to get this – but then, since the chorus got stuck in my head immediately, I didn’t really care.

Tom: And for once, the aesthetic of the music video fits that: it does sound like the sort of melody and vocal timbre that would fit well in the 70s.

Tim: Yep, and despite all that sounding like a modern song as well. Yes, I stand my my ‘dull first verse’ assessment, but boy does that last closing section make up for it.

Saturday Reject: Igor Simić – Ples za rastanak

“The first time round it’s okay, as you’re dumbstruck by the outfits and are wondering why they’re re-enacting Batman Forever.”

Tim: We didn’t much rate Serbia’s entry; basically a Little Mix style track with none of the charm or catchiness. This one came third in their competition, liked by the jury but not so much the voters. And to be honest, I’m surprised it was that way round.

Tim: See, the choruses here are fine – nothing that’ll set the roof on fire, but probably enough to get you through to the finals. The verses, though: mate, there’s just nothing. The first time round it’s okay, as you’re dumbstruck by the outfits and are wondering why they’re re-enacting Batman Forever.

Tom: Well done to the costume designer, though: UV clothes are an old trick, but they’re done very well here. I wonder if part of the lack of appeal here is that you can’t really see his face? It’s difficult to connect with the performer when they are, essentially, wearing a mask. And the disappearing act at the end won’t help either.

Tim: The chorus is, like I said, an okay dance bit, so everything’s good until the end of that. Come the second verse, though, we’re good with the outfits, but in the music there’s just…nothing. It’s really, really dull, and I don’t quite understand who could have thought that was a good idea.

Tom: I mean, it’s every mainstream dance track from about five years ago, isn’t it?

Tim: Ooh, get you bitching. Like I said, though, I find it weird the way the points landed – it was very popular with the juries, who I’d assume wouldn’t care much about the costume and notice both verses, and not at all popular with the viewers, who I’d assume would vote for it just because of the costumes. That’s no criticism, mind, as I probably would have done – so I’m just a tad mystified. By everything here, if I’m honest.

Tiësto & Becky Hill – Nothing Really Matters

“Now I think about it, I’m not really sure what the purpose of music videos in general is.”

Tom: We were talking about lockdown music videos yesterday, and, uh, well, I bet this video seemed like a much better idea a few months ago.

Tom: Expensive, time-consuming lyric videos do seem to be the norm now — which kind of defeats the original purpose of them, really — but at least they’re not, I don’t know, spinning some unfortunate mythos about a virus destroying humanity. Has Alan Walker done that yet? I’ve forgotten how all his mythos works.

Tim: Well, his most recent one was from a meteor strike; before that we had a solar flare, I think? And maybe it’s just that lyric videos are taking over from regular videos entirely. Now I think about it, I’m not really sure what the purpose of music videos in general is, though if they’re there to give us something to watch and pay attention to the music, lyric videos are arguably batter than Alan’s world-ending cults.

Tom: As for the music, well, it’s generic Tiësto, isn’t it?

Tim: See, you say it’s generic Tiësto, and sure, it is, but it also comes across to me as just generic dance. I don’t know if it’s because Tiësto doesn’t have a unique sound, but to me this just sounds like a Becky Hill track. Not a bad thing – but a bit less than what I’d expect from a name as big as Tiësto.

Tom: I think it’s notable that, for both today and yesterday, we’re talking a lot more about the video than the music. Is that because we’ve picked dull tracks, or is it because there’s just less interesting stuff coming out? And I wonder how much production on new pop has been paused, and how much is continuing in home studios?

Tim: I was wondering that the other day, and to be honest I’d imagine it’s much less affected than film and TV – writing tracks can just about be done over video chat, and while it’d be hard for proper instruments to be recorded at home, vocals shouldn’t present too much of a problem, that can then be sent to be cleaned up by a producer and then placed on top of fake drums and guitars, or just your standard synth beats. If you want a good example of what can be done, I recommend Radio 1’s Stay Home Live Lounge from yesterday, all recorded at artists’ homes and sounding amazing.

Kygo, Zak Abel – Freedom

“Yep, that’s a Kygo track, pineapples, coconuts and every other summer fruit under the sun baked right in there.”

Tim: It’s only been a few weeks since Kygo’s last, and you remarked that he’d changed his style and moved on a bit; I don’t think you’d have said that if he’d released this one then.

Tim: Yep, that’s a Kygo track, pineapples, coconuts and every other summer fruit under the sun baked right in there.

Tom: I saw a behind-the-scenes on how Kygo made “Higher Love” the other day, and I’ll be honest: the answer to how he composes tracks like this is really underwhelming. Take all the vocal samples, assign each one to a key on his keyboard, and improvise until he comes up with something that sounds good.

I guess I imagined there was something more to it than “play about until it works” — even though that is, basically, how any composer or creative person works, really. 

Tim: So, let’s have a chat about the video, shall we? Because, well, you know me, Tom, I’m always the most likely of the two of us to give artists the benefit of the doubt when stuff looks dodgy, and you’re typically the cynical one. And yet, even I’m slightly wondering about the fact that the video focuses on them not being able to film it in the Maldives (actually, hang on, found a little violin between my sofa cushions, let me play it quickly), and so having to make do at home instead.

Tom: Right. We’re going to be seeing a lot of those.

Tim: BUT ALSO in the video description, we have “Directed and filmed by Johannes Lovund”. Now, he’s done a lovely job there, can’t fault any of the footage – but one guy filming in two locations, with two musicians, doesn’t exactly scream lonely isolation, does it?

Ah, well. Who cares. It’s a nice Kygo track.

Sam Smith, Demi Lovato – I’m Ready

“Why does it feel like it’s odd?”

Tom: Well, I guess we should talk about this. Two artists with very different styles. Well, very different styles for modern pop music, at least.

Tom: I was originally going to say “that’s strange”, but then I realised I couldn’t back the statement up. While my gut reaction was that it seemed like it had a weird song structure, or weird duet structure, it just doesn’t. Sam’s verse and chorus; Demi’s verse and chorus with a bit from Sam; middle eight; big joint abbreviated final verse-and-chorus with a gospel choir. It’s a by-the-numbers traditional pop duet structure. So why does it feel like it’s odd?

Tim: Best guess: the genre shift. Sam’s is standard nice pop, largely unobjectionable, but when Demi comes along for her verse the backing changes significantly: it becomes a lot harsher, and even the underlying beat almost drops into two-step, giving an impression of a middle eight coming significantly earlier than in should do. The chorus comes along sounding nice, then we get an actual middle eight that’s itself chopped in two – part of it lovely and part of it harsh, and then we go into a full melodic and lovely closing chorus.

Tom: At least they actually shot the music video together, though.

Jon Henrik Fjällgren – The Avatar

“He’s been joiking since before KEiiNO made it cool, and now he’s taken the bold step of basically nicking some Disney promo.”

Tim: He’s been joiking since before KEiiNO made it cool, and now he’s taken the bold step of basically nicking some Disney promo.

Tom: That is… pretty blatant, really, isn’t it? Is he trying out for the soundtrack of Avatar 2 or something?

Tim: Hard to write about this, really, beyond ‘I like the sound of it, and that’s an exceptionally lovely closing segment’, what with it not really being any form of pop song.

Tom: Right! This really does sound like it’s some… well, I was going to say “stock music”, but that’s too harsh. Movie score, then.

Tim: Unlike any of his other ones we’ve featured, which have either had featured singers or been Melodifestivalen entries, there’s no readily identifiable verse or chorus structure (or at least not to my ears, with me not getting any of the lyrics), and it’s arguably better suited to being a nature documentary soundtrack. So I guess people could ask why we’re featuring it, and the answer to that is simple: I like the sound of it, and that’s an exceptionally lovely closing segment.

Kelly Clarkson – I Dare You

“Hang around on the playlists for a month or so and then fade into the background, to be revisited every now and then.”

Tom: I have never heard a more obvious “chuck a millennial whoop in the background” than this track.

Tom: It doesn’t help that those few notes sounds like it’s sampled from Katy Perry’s California Girls, really — it’s pretty the only thing I could remember about this after one listen.

Tim: Ah, see I went for Owl City and Carley Rae Jepsen with the chorus, but, yeah, guess it shows how dam ubiquitous that’s become.

Tom: There’s some lovely vocal work in here, of course, and there’s nothing wrong with the song. (Of course there’s nothing wrong with it; it’s a Kelly Clarkson track, she’s enough of a star she’s only going to released polished stuff.)

Tim: It is, and I mean this in no bad way whatsoever, a typical Kelly Clarkson track.

Tom: Maybe it’s cynically designed for radio airplay: this is the sort of track that will do very well on several genres of hit-radio stations in the US, particularly given the message right now.

Tim: Yep – hang around on the playlists for a month or so and then fade into the background, to be revisited every now and then.

Tom: But I can’t see this being an all-time classic.