PELICAN DEALER – Coming Around
If there are, indeed, formulas that will get a band or a singer to the top of the charts, thankfully, those get replaced periodically. And, it’s a shame to see the people with previous successes trying to work in an old key that simply won’t fit any more.
Yet, there are very few who will accept this simple reality of what pop music is meant to be. If nothing else, in the simplest terms, pop music is the blending of exuberance and trends. You need both these things to get the attention of enough people.
This is what the Belgian duo PELICAN DEALER understands. This is why the band’s music is neither retro nor futuristic. This is why the music here isn’t shying away from life’s great truths, not attempting to lay a philosophy class on you.
Nah, “Coming Around” is just old-fashioned, smooth funk-pop about the challenges and rewards of romantic relationships. It’s the way in which the blend integrates modern pop production trends that gives the song the edge that these tried and tested methods require.
Soma Please – Alone
I’m convinced that burly members of biker gangs like nothing more than going home, pulling the sheets over their heads, and listening to ABBA in great secrecy. And why shouldn’t they want that? There’s nobody in this world who is above some pop music magic. If enough people could resist it and its perfect hooks, pop music would’ve disappeared by now.
And, so, while many of the groups featured on Alt77, indeed, are busy trying to save the world, rage against authority and protest against the evilness of the world, we still need some tunes to make us feel hopeful about the world and about what it can still offer.
Some Please need to apologise to nobody for using indie-rock sounds and the genre’s aesthetic to write pop songs. Why, listening to “Alone” is like visiting a candy shop. Sure, there’s probably something healthier for you out there. But is there anything that makes you feel as good? “Alone” has the potential to be a big hit single, and the fact that people will like it doesn’t surprise me at all.
