DAVID44 – I Feel Better On My Own

“Normally anything like that turns me right off.”

Tim: Turns out DAVID44 has a surname as well as a number, which is Ólafsson; I don’t know what I expect you to do with that information, but anyway, here’s his new track.

Tim: It’s apparently not just about breaking up, as he says he’s recently started enjoying his own company rather than going out all the time, and as someone in a similar place I have a lot of appreciation for that. Musically it’s pretty nice as well – starting very calm, developing briefly into that chilled house vibe you’re not keen on, before swiftly changing gears into a slightly funked-up number, which I was surprised to discover I quite like.

Tom: Oddly, the chilled-house vibe works for me as an introduction: I just don’t want a full track of it. And I’m not convinced that the gear change moves it out of there: I think the production feels a little bit lackluster. And sure, that may well be the effect they’re going for: laid-back is a fine aesthetic, it’s just not for me.

Tim: Fair enough, though it’s weird that it is for me. Normally anything like that turns me right off (that’s why I’ve had no time for either of Sweden’s last two Eurovision entries) but here it really works for me. Maybe it’s just because it’s sort of layered in gently, I don’t know. But I do know I like it, and that’s enough.

DAVID44 – Truth

“Nope. Sorry.”

Tim: Another capitalised Scandinavian, and this time we’ve got some numbers thrown in as well for good measure. This is a song I’ve been back and forth about featuring for a week or so now, largely because I’m fairly sure you probably won’t like it. Here it is anyway, though.

Tom: You’re right! Well, not quite. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that I find it difficult to have any strong opinion about chilled house like this.

Tim: Right, because it does slot in nicely to the chilled house genre that we’ve debated before, and while I’m not expecting to make you a convert any time soon, I do still want to share it. I’m prepared for a “don’t be ridiculous” here, but it’s not so far removed from the recent Calvin Harris/Sam Smith track Promises – vulnerable male vocal over an understated backing – and for me it works. Any chance for you?

Tom: Nope. Sorry. It’s… well, it’s music.