DP Review: Private – My Secret Lover

I’m going to do a bumper review of the very many CDs I received between my birthday (22 Dec – remember it cos next year I’ll be 21!) and Christmas once I’ve listened to them all enough to give accurate opinions, but the process has been slowed down somewhat by my current obsession with this album by Danish band Private. I can’t stop listening to it, and I know that a paragraph review would no be sufficient to express my absolute adoration.

We Got Some Breaking Up To Do
My style plan for 2008 is to dress like this song. It’s the perfect retro-pop song, perhaps the best one I’ve ever heard, and I do love retro-pop a lot. The bit where the music comes in after 3 seconds of tinny electro drum beat is utterly euphoric.

One In A Million
This sounds like The Attic at their best, so more of a modern dance-pop sound. I love how the male and female vocals fit together here, the girl reminding me of Annie or Kate Havnevik. Very pretty and great to dance to at the same time.

My Secret Lover
The single which you’ll know by now unless you’re an idiot. The line “man, I’m a man machine” makes me wish for a sex change just so I can sing it more convincingly. This is the song that makes most obvious the band’s link to Junior Senior, but Private are much purer pop than their indier pals.

Crucify My Heart
The next single, and excellent choice. As Mr PJ said it’s a modern Like A Prayer, also reminding me of When Doves Cry and Army Of Lovers (the band, not the Lee Ryan song). Isn’t religion-bating disco a brilliant genre?

That Boy Is Hurting You
I keep waking up in the night with this in my head. It might not be the most obviously catchy song but it really gets to me. The lines about alcohol remind me of PSBs’ You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk, and the song overall has a similar effect.

Let’s Make Love (Underneath The Apple Tree)
Silly voices and perverse lyrics – I’ve a few friends I can’t wait to recommend this to, so we can join in Private appreciation mania. Got me thinking about how pop music is both the rudest and cleanest genre in the charts.

Killer On The Dancefloor
This sounds like BWO, in fact better than a lot of their last album. It’s just brilliant pop, also harking back to Thriller, although that might be cos Killer and Thriller rhyme and there’s a general spooky vibe. Brilliant ooh-whoahohs, too.

Waiting For Tonight
One of the less distinctive tracks for me but it’s still utterly brilliant disco-pop. More 70s, while other tracks are more 80s. The “if you were my lover” line is quite an earworm, but the chorus could do with some lexical variety.

I Can’t Wait
I can’t really think of anything to say about this, but unsurprisingly it’s good.

Strangers In The Night
The obligatory ballad, or as close to one as you get from Private anyway, a spooky electro love song. Nice water effects at the end.

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