Spoiler: Reactions
Nigeria // Naked & Red - Colour Revolt
Really, really dug the intro, and it warmed me up well for vocals that I think I would have found more off-putting if they had come in more immediately. Guitars were great throughout (loved those sharp little half-notes that kept appearing like spits of water escaping from a boiling pot). Drums too. A really arresting, moody rock song that was urgent without being overpowering. Dug it a lot.
Peru // Mythical - R.A.P. Ferreira
I couldn't tell you exactly what this song is about (nor could I do it vaguely, let's be honest) but I really liked Ferreira's flow here. Some of the jazzy elements in the beat weren't entirely my cup of tea, some of the little adventures with the drumbeat being mixed up in particular, but it was mostly a good head-nodder on that front. I don't know if it ever had a line where I thought 'damn, I've got to listen to this again' but I would enjoy it if I did.
Sumer // Oh Marcello - Regina Spektor
Ah, Regina Spektor. One of the big 'it's weird that I've never tried an album of hers given her place in the history of alt-rock' artists. This is... not a song that will encourage me to catch up. I am usually left a little cold by songs that are mostly just a voice with a piano, although the slightly discordant filter on the piano here is pretty cool. But it's mostly that Spektor spends multiple verses in an iffy Italian accent, which just completely fell flat for me.
Scythia // Storm - Vanessa Mae
I don't have a lot of ways to distinguish this from Lindsey Stirling's work, but I quite like what I've heard of Stirling and I quite like this too. There's more of an overt interaction with specific classical pieces (that I can recognise, anyway) in this one and that was cool, to directly indicate the reinterpretation and illustrate the updated technological approach. Pretty neat.
Sweden // Charles Francis Coghlan - Carach Angren
Not for meeeeeee
Mount Celeste // Objection Funk - iteachvader
This is a clever little piece of work, but I also think I'd have enjoyed it more as a
song
without any of the words, which may not be helpful for it in the context of a song contest.Chile // One Week - Postmodern Jukebox ft. Emma Smith
Postmodern Jukebox are one of my least favourite things.
Wales // Grapefruit - Tove Lo
Banger. I'm fortunate to never have experienced an eating disorder but I feel like I really learned something about the experience from this, and being able to communicate some complicated shit on first listen is pretty excellent storytelling for a pop song. It's also, as mentioned, a banger. That is some earwormy shit right there.
Mali // Expert in a Dying Field - The Beths
(my entry!)
You know, I could have
sworn
that I'd discovered this song through the Song Contest, so I was so surprised when I did my check to see if the Beths had become eligible again to discover that they'd never been ineligible. Wild. Must have just been the YouTube algorithm, then.In any case, uh, this rules. I bounced off the one song someone tried to play me from the Beths' debut album a few years ago but I'm gonna go have to go back and revisit that record because this is an absolutely killer track from a very good album of the same name. The central metaphor is just divine - that idea of letting go of something into which you've invested so much learning, it's just so well observed here. It's propelled so well by catchy guitars (that livewire intro gets you on your toes immediately) and a lovely melody supported by great all-band backing vocals. It's one of the most accomplished rock songs I've heard for years.
Madagascar // Plan Z - Boi What
I am... quite confused. It's not really to my taste and, well, I generally prefer songs that spend less time talking about Spongebob Squarepants, but also it kind of slaps anyway? And at least it's very brief. This would probably get so annoying if it were four minutes or longer, but it knows to bug out. So fair fucks. I am probably going to be quite surprised when I look at the full list of songs and realise how many times I would choose listening to this again than listening to one of the others.
Uqbar // Farfalle - Cani dei Portici
Well, I cannot tell you how relieved I am that we weren't just doing the intro for seven full minutes, even if I do wish it had mixed things up more than it had. I was glad that its climax wasn't a sudden explosion of guitars - it felt like a natural progression of where it had been, which made it feel earned even though I had not really enjoyed the proceeding four minutes much. The sludgy repetition was somewhat effective at creating mood but mostly just left me frustrated with how slowly it was progressing. I probably would have really dug this as a soundtrack to some more visually diverting action, though.
Gabon // Red Wine Supernova - Chappell Roan
I feel like this title has to be in conversation with Oasis somehow but I couldn't quite parse how, if so. That said, redheads using magic as a metaphor for lesbian sex is a fun way for this song to be in conversation with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Anyway, while this isn't going to dislodge Silk Chiffon as my favourite big gay pop song of the last couple of years, it's still lots of fun. Maybe I could have done with a little more delineation between verse and chorus; its runtime is on the short side but any longer and I think it might have started to feel samey. But those synths give it a nice chunky feeling. I think this'll be in my head for a while, even if it doesn't get my twelve here.
Antarctica // Chocological - Mili
I can see why this works for others (there's some real vigour to the percussion and the synth work feels inventive) but the vocal effects here are pitched just right to sound like nails on chalkboard to me.