New Pop on the Block

Marion Raven – Flesh and Bone (Listen)
It’s been difficult to know what’s going on with Marion’s career over the last few years – she split from Atlantic (who were supposed to make her an international star), signed to an indie label, and is now releasing a brand new album through the indie in conjunction with EMI. But that’s boring – what’s the song like? Well, it doesn’t have the oomph of her amazing Max Martin singles Break You (thank god Marion got that one before Kelly C screeched all over it!) and Here I Am, but it’s more interesting than anything she’s done since. It’s a nice, radio-friendly, mid-tempo pop-rock song which I think will do very well in Scandinavia. However, I get the feeling Marion is not going to be famous in the UK for anything other than being in M2M and featuring on a Meatloaf song for a while yet.
78% Poptastic!

Loveline – Shape Of My Heart (Watch)
I remember when I was younger thinking how exciting it would be when songs I liked at the time would be covered by the next generation of popstars. Little did I know it would make me feel a) old and b) depressed that kids will think awful talentless acts like Loveline came up with songs like this amazing Max Martin/Rami/Lisa Miskovsky creation. The only good thing is that those three will get royalties – better than another terrible dance song that doesn’t benefit any talented people, I suppose. Speaking of lack of talent, what is wrong with the curly haired singer’s voice? If that’s autotuned then they seriously need to sack whoever produced this! It’s so shrill and unpleasant. I don’t mind the odd cheesy sing-along dance track and even some of these covers can be quite fun, but this is a total disaster.
5% Poptastic! (the 5 is for at least having enough taste to like the original song)

Oskar Linnros – Från Och Med Du (Listen)
Since Oskar is currently no.1 with this song in Sweden and since it also won Best Single at the recent RockBjornen awards, I thought I’d better give it a listen. I know Oskar’s previous band Snook for their collection of distinctly average Swedish hip-hop hits, but this is new ground for him as he’s moved into the world of indie-pop. Från Och Med Du is sweet and pleasant with a jaunty pace and a nice violin bit, but I can’t see how it stands out from all the other similar Swedish indie-pop music. Certainly not enough to win Best Single over all the other amazing Swedish songs of the past year! There’s nothing wrong with Från Och Med Du, but there’s nothing especially great about it either. The success must be because of Oskar’s popularity from being in Snook, but why would rap fans like this song? It makes no sense!
67% Poptastic!