Tag: Niki & The Dove

Niki & The Dove – Love To The Test

Are those sound effects?

Tim: As mentioned in January, shortlisted for the BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll, and, as appropriate and predicted, having been paid virtually no attention since. They have, however, still been putting out tunes, such as this, the new single from their album Instinct.

Tim: If you can overlook the dodgy compression issues, this is a pretty good track.

Tom: That’s a very 80s sound – not a complaint! – although I’m not sure about her Gwen Stefani-like vocals.

Tim: The voice, yes, is as potentially off-putting as ever, but let’s be fair, there’s not a lot they can do about that. What they can do things about is the music, and there they’ve done very good things indeed.

Tom: Agreed. There’s some complex synth work there, some unexpected Big Percussion, and… are those sound effects? I’m not sure.

Tim: I think so – I mean there’s a veritable mish-mash of things going on in there, including lots of bass, some brassy stuff, a glockenspiel and what sounds like a sword fight, and I think it’s brilliant. The verses sound good to start with, but then the chorus comes along and you realise that they were actually pretty boring, and that’s a good sign in any song.

Tom: They’ve even got the repeat-to-fade at the end. I think I have a soft spot for 80s-revival tracks.

Tim: It’s a shame the BBC seems to ignore its own awards, because these guys really have the potential to break out, if only they were given radio airplay instead of being roundly ignored. Sad, really, but I guess that’s the music industry.

Niki & The Dove – DJ, Ease My Mind

The BBC’s Sound of 2012, often regarded as a load of pap.

Tim: This week, the BBC have been doing their annual ‘Sound of [year]’ thing, and while it’s put together by loads of professional music industry people who should know what they’re on about, it’s often regarded as a load of pap. Last year’s top 5 did have Jessie J and The Vaccines, both of whom had a good year, but also included Clare Maguire (three singles, reaching the dizzying chart heights of 78, 23 and 91), Jamie Woon (67 and 76) and James Blake (39, 136, and four that didn’t chart at all, and that takes effort – even The Churned got to number 94).

Tom: I remember Little Boots being featured there the year before, and she’s still going – but I’m not sure about the rest.

Tim: Well, quite, and this year, they’ve chosen to include these guys, a Swedish duo who met making music for the theatre. Apparently, they’ve ‘been threatening to launch the latest offensive of striking Scandinavian pop on these shores for almost two years’. Well, you’ve got to give them points for effort, I suppose, so here’s their latest track.

Tom: Is that a bit of dubstep backing I hear during the verse? It’s like coriander – I can always taste the stuff if it’s in there, and it rarely improves anything it’s in.

Tim: Except carrot and coriander soup, I find.

Tom: Huh. You’re right, as well. I wonder why that is?

Tim: Thoughts on the song:

It takes far, far too long to do anything, and the verses are almost coma-inducing.

Tom: Yep. The chorus, while good, can’t make up for that lengthy verse.

Tim: That pause 36 seconds in makes me think YouTube has broken.

Tom: I used to hate those when I did student radio. I’d think the playback had failed, and rush to the desk in panic.

Tim: Though on a somewhat positive note, the chorus is vaguely enjoyable. Having said that, when it’s repeated for a full minute at the end it gets boring.

So, harsh as this may be, I think they’ll be lucky if they beat James Blake – at least he’s successful enough to have a Wikipedia page.

Tom: That’s not too harsh.