Tag: Cars & Calories

Cars & Calories – To The Extreme

“Just very specific parts I dislike.”

Tom: To the “EXTREME”? I’ll warn you, Tim: if that’s the chorus hook I’m going to have issues with this.

Tim: We’ve written about Cars & Calories before, and had generally very positive things to say about them; you’ll be please to know that I don’t think this’ll change that much.

Tim: Bad bit out of the way: the first verse, with not much to focus on except the auto-tuned voice, which I find incredibly 2009 and rather unpleasant.

Tom: Yep, I pretty much tuned out for that. It’s monotonous, and not a good way — it picks up a bit on the pre-chorus, I’ll give it that.

Tim: Right — 45 seconds in, other stuff happens and that’s all forgotten. The melody picks up, the instruments kick in properly, and then a bit later that chorus melody hits properly and blimey is it something of an earworm. A good earworm, and overall a good track.

Tom: Oh, and that’s where we disagree. The combination of inane lyrics and autotune just grates really badly for me. And that’s a shame, because you’re absolutely right: overall, it’s a really good track. It just has very specific parts I dislike.

Tim: I’d like an album next, I think. That’d do me well.

Cars & Calories – Here

“It’s like Owl City grew up a bit.”

Tim: You may or may not remember the very very good Runner Up from about six weeks back; if you don’t, have a listen to it later. First, though, listen to this.

https://soundcloud.com/blingbling-5/cars-calories-here-1

Tom: Oh blimey, that’s excellent. It’s like Owl City grew up a bit.

Tim: Here, we’re getting more of the same punk/rock-influenced electropop that we heard last time – the vocals could come from any modern electro track, but then some of the instrumentation in the chorus could be a late-90s punk group.

Tom: Agreed: and it’s a brilliant tune as well.

Tim: It’s a combination that, once again, works brilliantly. Lyrics are happily pleasant as well, so all round I’ve got no reason at all to dislike it. Top work, folks.

Cars & Calories – Runner Up

If this doesn’t lift you out of your ‘funk’ I don’t know what will.

Tim: Monday was a sort of rock/electropop blend that you weren’t keen on, despite that chorus. This from a new Norwegian group is similar, but more so, and if this doesn’t lift you out of your ‘funk’ I don’t know what will.

Tom: Oh, that’ll do nicely.

Tim: The duo apparently grew up on rock and punk music, and now want to do their own variant and, according to one interview, ‘expand the horizons of commercial pop music’, which I think is an entirely noble quest, because this is just wonderful.

Tom: I was all ready to be disappointed in it until that wall of sound hit — possibly needs a bit less compression on it, but hell, I’m not going to complain.

Tim: Lovely intro, Donkeyboy-esque vocals, good verses building up to that blinder of a chorus.

Tom: Let’s not forget that middle eight: he’s got the vocal skills to make it work unaccompanied. That’s not to be sniffed at either.

Tim: Oh, absolutely. Lyrics are good as well: they’re of the “are you sure he’s just your friend?” variety, but in a nice way that doesn’t get angry about it, but just keeps singing instead with more a sense of desperation and giving up. Not exactly alpha male stuff, but then again if you’ve got that chorus and everything else going for you you shouldn’t need to be begging. She’s a fool.