Tag: Rebecca & Fiona

Nause feat. Rebecca & Fiona – Can’t Erase

“PROPER BANGER.”

Tim: It’s been three years since we featured Rebecca & Fiona, and even longer than that since we featured Nause, but both are apparently still going strong, and seemingly wanting to get any thought of Christmas out of your mind with this PROPER BANGER.

Tom: A bold claim, Tim.

Tom: Huh, you’re right. That’s a really, really good dance track.

Tim: And why they didn’t leave leave in a drawer for a few months I’ve no idea, because (a) that’s a great dance track but (b) which sensible person wants to dance to this less than two weeks before Christmas?

Yes, parties happen, but the playlists are (or at least should be) entirely made up of Christmas songs or, especially come New Year’s Eve, tracks that each and every single person in the room knows. However good a dance track it is (and be in no doubt, I think this is brilliant), it shouldn’t be out now. Or am I wrong?

Tom: I think there is still a place for things like this: clubs don’t switch their playlists too much, other than occasional dance remixes of All I Want For Christmas. And in summer, the market for tracks like this is saturated. It stands out.

Tim: Hmm, yeah, I’d not thought of that. Fair point.

Tom: I like it. In an era of Spotify playlists and long-tail playback, I think this can still work.

Rebecca & Fiona – Shotgun

“It has everything.”

Tim: The new one of this reliable duo is, I’m pleased to inform you, more or less exactly what I was hoping for when I first pressed play on the new Icona Pop track.

Tom: I wasn’t sold on it until the pre-chorus: then I think my brain figured out what it was trying to do, and it clicked into place.

Tim: It has everything: loud but still melodic vocals, with the occasional bout of mild sincerity, planted gracefully on top of a hefty electro synth backing. I really like this a lot. I don’t, annoyingly, have much more to say about it – there are no spectacular moments, but also no obvious disappointing parts.

Tom: As with so many tracks we see, Tim, it’s… it’s okay. It’s not a bright moment of genius, but it’ll do.

Tim: All I have to say is: Icona Pop, move over. We’ve got another duo to take your place.

Rebecca & Fiona – Sayonara

“Sod it, it’s not gonna work, let’s ditch it now”

Tim: With strong language from the start, the new one off Rebecca & Fiona has a decidedly downbeat message, so buckle up, we’re going in.

Tom: Oh, full marks for whoever did the design for that lyric video. That’s really, really well done, and that’s coming from someone who makes this sort of thing.

Tim: For those unaware, as I was, ‘sayonara’ is a Japanese word meaning a very final goodbye (and also Spanish for flip-flop, though that’s probably not what they’re going for).

Tom: Wait, how have you made it this far through life without knowing that? I thought that was common knowledge. Huh. Yes, that’s what it means.

Tim: Well used here, with a song that’s basically “sod it, it’s not gonna work, let’s ditch it now”, and to be honest that makes me very glad they work in a recording studio and not my local A&E. There’s not even any indication there’s anything wrong with the relationship – just “probably not gonna happen, bye!” What a very bleak outlook on life they must have.

Tom: I don’t know, I think it’s quite a pragmatic outlook myself. Nothing lasts forever, enjoy it while it’s here, accept that people move on. There’s a bit of Lee Marvin about that.

Tim: Hmm, perhaps. At least the music’s good – catchy, beat-heavy and weirdly feeling rather upbeat, so despite giving me some depressing going round in my head, that’s reason enough for me to hang around. Maybe at some point I’ll work out what the video’s meant to be all about.

Rebecca & Fiona – Hard

“My word, that takes a long time to get going.”

Tim: This is one side of the new double A-side from these two, the other being the somewhat uninspiring If She Was Away; this one’s a bit better.

Tom: My word, that takes a long time to get going.

Tim: Perhaps – it sort of strikes me as like the six-minute full version you get of most dance tracks which have filler at each end for the DJ to play with, though that normally gets cut down for the radio edit, or whatever this is.

Not much in the way of lyrics, so the main focus is clearly meant to be on the music. This is not an issue for me, since the music’s good. A tad reminiscent of other tracks occasionally, but again I have no problems.

To be honest, it’s probably what would be the B-side it it wasn’t a double A-side, what with the other one having the video and lots of words and stuff, but I prefer it.

Tom: It’s begging to get mixed in to another few tracks – to be used as a backdrop by the DJ. On its own, it does drag – even at three minutes long – but any competent DJ could make it a lot more exciting.

Tim: It’s middle of the set club night tuneage, and it would fit in well at any decent club, I believe.

Tom: Damn right.