The Singles Jukebox

Emphasis on “little”…

[Video]
[3.45]

Iain Mew: James Bay’s “Hold Back the River” is six years old but feels like a lifetime ago. That makes it quite impressive that Tom Grennan started off doing that but has managed to transition to something that recognisably has the same roots but fits seamlessly into Radio 1’s playlist in 2021. To call this maximalist sells short the way it finds whole new ways of sounding huge at every turn. The problem is that the starting point was something designed to build to bellowing emotion and the arrangement removes any build, or indeed any chance for even a moment’s rest. Dynamics and scale all fall away as he just keeps going and going, exits mercilessly blocked.
[2]

Alfred Soto: Put Years & Years, Billie Eilish, and OneRepublic in a blender and this goo might emerge. Cross-platform appeal!
[1]

Harlan Talib Ockey: Ed Sheeran + Lewis Capaldi + Shawn Mendes = whatever this is. Even a Frankenstein metaphor would be too original.
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Samson Savill de Jong: Oh hey, Lewis Capaldi changed his name and literally nothing else. Not sure why, but good for him I guess.
[4]

Nortey Dowuona: I know what you’re doing, Tom. You’re a year older than me. You are skidding over shaky, thin guitars, popping pianos and flat Elevator Drive Munchies drums. You’re wailing about the deep end and a little bit of love from your ex. Unfortunately I can’t give you a single bite — not even the little left of the crumbs for that crowd chant pre chorus — ’cause Natalie Merchant took it. Also, the strings are great but it’s not 2012 anymore.
[6]

Thomas Inskeep: He sounds like a braying goat — Tom, why are you shouting at me? — over an Imagine Dragons production, and it’s produced to sound very, obnoxiously loud. 
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Katherine St Asaph: Like a dude singing Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” as pisstake karaoke, attempting to mock quirky female vocal stylings.
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Juana Giaimo: I always feel bad when I say I don’t like someone’s voice because it’s one of the most personal instruments, but I feel this would a lot better if Tom Grennan didn’t try so hard to show he has feelings. Throughout the whole song his voice trembles, gets hoarse, louder and more melodramatic to the point I can barely listen to the synthpop track behind which is actually quite nice!
[4]

Scott Mildenhall: Finally, a UK Eurovision entry that will challenge. It’s a fine representation of the kind of thing the country is keen to export: a flat-out pop song — with hymnal melodies, hints of the orchestral and arms around the world — alleging an edge with its little bit of gruff. Yes, its transparent desperation moves it into the territory of pastiche, but with just three minutes on stage, it’s wise to heighten things. Grennan’s overwrought understatement is uplifting by sheer will; sometimes more is more. Europe might well show him a lot — no, hang on, it’s James Newman again isn’t it.
[8]

Hazel Southwell: Sometimes when you seen an artist’s name you can already immediately imagine what the track is gonna sound like. This is one of those male solo artists who creates the illusion of authenticity by having a fundamentally unpleasant singing voice while delivering an Ellie Goulding track with less personality and gusto than she would. If it gets played everywhere I’ll probably end up liking it more than I’m comfortable with.
[4]

Aaron Bergstrom: Imagine my surprise upon learning that there’s a song called “Little Bit of Love” climbing the UK singles charts in March 2021 and somehow it’s not the one from the Drag Race finale. Instead, it’s a serviceable addition to a growing fake genre I’ll call beach-hostel-core: songs that sound pretty good while you’re drinking a Mexican beer in a threadbare hammock… and in absolutely no other circumstance. TSJ has not been kind to other classics of the genre. Maybe this is just my cabin fever talking, but I don’t hate it.
[5]