Saturday, September 2, 2017

NMF Thoughts from Sept 1 - featuring Mollie King, Paloma Faith, possibly Patrick Wolf and more!


Mollie King made song of the week and cover art of the year!





Remember that horrible show about creating a boyband to take over now that 1D is gone? Well the band they created has a horrible name (In Real Life) and an absolute disappointment of a debut single. "Eyes Closed" should have been better based on their resources and how desperately America wants to launch their own boyband...





As if one bad boyband wasn't enough, Why Don't We has decided to add on top of the shit pile with "These Girls". Seriously boys, do better next time, we don't have all year here.  

Jason Derulo has decided to copy the hook from Shawn Mendes's last single and make a mediocre pop single with it. It even has the lyric "I'm selfish for you", whatever the hell thats supposed to mean. So business as usual. 

POWERS continue their slow journey to pop superstardom. "Just Kids" is a pleasant effort but a little half-hearted. And when you compare it to the song of the week, you'll know what I mean.

Galantis have finally credited their vocalist on the ROZES-featuring "Girls On Boys". Unfortunately, there are two things wrong with the song. The first is that it isn't very special and I expect a lot from Galantis. The second is that they don't mention "boys on boys", so I cannot relate. 

I'm not really sure what's going on in the lyrics for Alex Cameron's "Runnin Out Of Luck", but the new wave anthem is very nice for a Friday morning. 

TayĆ  (with an accent) has a new EP out today. I really loved her last single "When Ur Sober" but there is a lot to like on the EP, with "5432" being another highlight. 

Poppy reminds me a lot of those enigmatic electro pop stars from 2009 but her status as a YouTube icon makes her just as exciting. Luckily, her streak of techno imagery and odd pop continues in "My Style". She could have a Bad Romance up her sleeve and one to watch for sure. 



Isac Elliott was poised to be the next Bieber albeit of Scandinavia and he continues to follow his journey with the Latin-tinged trop-pop banger "AYO". At least there are more synths than usual which makes it all the more Swedish aka amazing. 

Both Matoma and The Vamps have been quite banal this year despite both having been amazing in their past. After their last collaboration "All Night" (it wasn't very good), they have decided to do it again with "Staying Up", a marked improvement that would have made me mental if it was released in 2014. 

KLP is slowly becoming my favorite singer out of Australia (excluding Kylie obviously) and she continues to build on her signature 90's electro-house sound with the sensuous bop "Melt". 

The best twins in pop (when Say Lou Lou are taking a break) Tegan & Sara have popped up on the new Matthew Dear track. It's a slow burning chugging synth track that wouldn't feel out of place on a Robyn album. A new album from either Tegan & Sara or Robyn would be great right about now. 

The second most bonkers song of the day is called "Satan, Luella & I" by some act called HMLTD. Is it me or is that Patrick Wolf singing?! (UPDATE: it is not Patrick Wolf, but it seems like a band he would be in) A new album from him would also be great. 

Maroon 5 has surprisingly made a lowkey breezy bop with their SZA collab "What Lovers Do". At least one band of boys is doing something right. 



One of my all time favorite Swedish singers Frida Sundemo has a new single out today called "Gold" and it's another orchestral and majestic pop masterpiece that swells and ebbs beautifully. There is a new album on the way! It's good to have Frida in our lives. 

I was eagerly awaiting the new Tove Lo single (more on that later) but to fill the Swedish dark pop slot this week, Skott is here to save the day. One of the more enigmatic and captivating singers of the year, Skott already made one of the best songs this year with "Mermaid". She continues her run of singles with "Remain" , an ode to falling out of love. Its just as twinkly and sinister as her best songs but come on, "Mermaid" is her masterpiece. 

Grace Hughes has a pretty lovely electropop anthem on her hands with "Habit." I really like this one. 

It's been quite some time since a full on banger from Hurts but "Ready To Go" has all the house pianos and lovelorn lyrics with a bit of disco that I love from the gloompop boys. 

George Maple is known for her dance collabs but her new single "Hero" is the type of Swedish chugging electropop slowburner that made me fall in love with pop in the first place. 

Jessie Ware's last single was a new twist on the Benny and the Jets hook but her new song "Selfish Love" is a beautiful pop bossanova. She literally cannot make a bad song.



ARY has teased  that she was possibly brilliant but her new song "Already There" properly introduces her as a Big Pop Thing™ to come. 

The new NONONO single "Masterpiece" is like a pirate theme song and follows up on the band making organic pop that's just a little off-kilter and very much brilliant. A masterpiece indeed. 

PALOMA FAITH IS BACK! Her new single "Crybaby: is her first after becoming a mother and it's a retro funk number that has bits and pieces that sounds like "The Boy Is Mine". An ode to letting the tears out, potentially on the dance floor, and it's by far her best single and reminds me just how much I missed a little Paloma in my playlists. 



Mollie King. Ex Saturday. Strictly Come Dancer. And now, a proper pop superstar. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Mollie's debut semi-ballad "Back To You" but let's not mess around: "Hair Down" is one of the most insane and genius songs I've heard in years. It's pop in it's purest form. Crafted with Xenomania, the team behind Girls Aloud and The Saturdays' biggest songs, "Hair Down" is beyond anything we deserve this year. It has a ridiculous sax hook full of nah nah nah's, cowbells, stupid lyrics, a double chorus, and Mollie killing the vocal. It's a mix of Girls Aloud, Florrie (WHO APPARENTLY PLAYS GUITAR ON THIS SONG!!!), and Alesha Dixon at their best and if there is any justice in the world, this will be a number one for the rest of the year. Regardless, Mollie is officially my favorite ex girlband solo star (at least until Nadine's single next week).


Here is a playlist of all the highlights of this week, with "Hair Down" as the finale. If you want to catch up with the best of the best, here is another playlist for 2017 pop hits!






No comments:

Post a Comment