Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙔𝙤𝙪 – 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙣
Charles beckons…
Some of you have no doubt been quietly disgruntled that year after year I STILL haven’t reviewed a single one of your songs… This could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps it’s because you were pipped to the post by another at the very last minute. Perhaps it’s because you make a certain style of music that doesn’t resonate with me. Perhaps it’s because I can only review one song a week – that’s why the community opened things up with more song reviews by other reviewers. Perhaps it’s because you’ve made it known that you’re not a very nice person, regardless of the music quality. Or perhaps it’s because you’re just not very good… Nah; surely an impossibility… Well, those of you who feel this way are just about to get that little bit more humphy. More on that, after the break.
We’ve all been part of the community for differing periods. Some, for just a few months, while others have been here for 5 years or more! I personally, have been here pretty much since the very beginning in 2020. Meaning I really have seen all sorts of things and known all sorts of people. It really has been eventful. We’ve had the high highs and the low lows. We’ve had the darkest, mischievous characters; we’ve had the saints. We’ve had the ones we thought were saints who turned out to be mischievous characters. We’ve had the ones we thought were mischievous characters who turned out simply to be misunderstood innocents. We’ve had the colourful souls bursting with pep, vigour and vim; we’ve had the nocturnal sloths who only come out once in a blue moon. We’ve had the moaners, the explainers, the upbeats and the downright deadbeats. You see, we’ve had it all, because every community worth its salt is a microcosm of life itself. But much like life itself, it is easy to wander zombie-like through the samey monotony of it all. You get used to the way of something and quite quickly it becomes unthinking routine. That’s one of the reasons I write these articles every week. Sure, it might seem like the same thing again and again – Tuesday review day – but isn’t that like saying the newspaper is published every day…? It’s the content that differs. It’s important to not get stuck in a pit of habit-forming quicksand. We must keep moving, keep doing and keep evolving.
One thing we sometimes forget is that our little community is one of a billion. Our world is not everyone’s world. Take, for example, YouTube. YouTube is such a unique, interesting and frankly fascinating place. There can be a YouTuber who has 10 million subscribers. They earn a bundle, and are basically famous! But here’s the thing: they’re not. A famous YouTuber is famous to those who subscribe to them. It’s very different to a film star or pop star. We all know who Timothée Chalamet is, yet I have never seen him in a film. We all know who Ed Sheeran is, but many have never heard his music (lucky sods). YouTube is different. It’s a closed group. Admittedly a huge and embiggening group, but closed nevertheless. We tend to forget that “outsiders” exist. Or even that outsiders do occasionally pop their head in (intrigued to know what all the fuss is about)… So when a newcomer joins the community, they are often either ignored, or it is assumed that they know everything about everything that goes on here – drug deals, munition smuggling, counterfeit handbags – I’M JOKING!!!! Our handbags are genuine. Sometimes they might get a couple of polite waves or nods, but ultimately they are wandering aimlessly like a caveman who’s been magically transported to the centre of New York City – in awe, yet slightly terrified, paralysed and lost… There’s just too much to take in, and you don’t dare ask anyone anything because you don’t know who to trust, or even who to ask. OUR second nature might be THEIR chopsticks (“Where’s the f**king fork?!”)… While it might be just another day with YOU, it’s a whole new bag of beans with THEM.
And so, I would like to give a warm welcome to a fabulously talented newcomer. And by new, I mean NEW. Just a matter of days, can you believe. Everybody, please put your hands together for Anna Hansen! I meant applause, but yeah, pray if you wish – some do take me quite literally… Those at the back not clapping are evidently the sulkers getting more humphy by the minute… Let’s move on. So Anna, I hope you’ve been enjoying the sights and sounds so far. I know it can be daunting, and even time-consuming, but this goes for anything new. I trust you’re being treated well and taken care of. We’re a good bunch on the whole. I hear you were born in Iceland (home of Björk, Sigur Rós and many peculiarly accented letters), but you’re now living in Copenhagen, is that right? Of COURSE it’s right. CC (that’s me, by the way) does his homework. I will now address the class rather than just you. Why did I pick this newcomer over everyone else this week? Good question. Is it because she’s new? Is it because she’s stylish and chic? Frankly, it came down to trusting my ears. I listened to her music and I instantly heard quality. Simple as that. It could not be ignored. It was only when doing my usual research that I realised how new she was to the community. But something else caught my eye… Anna’s brand new single (‘Just Another Day With You’) is her first release in five years, and is only her third single ever. She started releasing the same year that a lot of us started – 2020: the year of the pandemic. The pandemic probably being the reason. Gotta do SOMEthing…! Then there was another single the following year, and then… nothing. So this fresh new slice of slick pop is more than welcome. “Slick pop…? But I thought you said she was from Iceland!!” – Oh ye of little scope… They’re not ALL weird over there. Besides, Scandinavia has given us PLENTY of pop over the years. For example, there’s… well I mean there’s… Look, pop is everywhere. Patrik Ahlm, there we go. Scandinavian slick pop. Oh, Anna, Patrik is a member of our community; just wanted to keep you in the loop. ABBA!! How could I forget them?! Sadly, they are not members of our community.
The thing is, in sound, there is NOTHING Scandinavian about Anna’s music. This is American pop. It has that glossy sheen. The sheen that half of us aspire to, while the other half shies away from it. It’s a love/hate thing, which I very much do understand. That’s what personal taste is all about. Anna has evidently immersed herself in the Nashville way. We used to have whole towns and lands built upon a certain trade, like mining, cotton, tobacco, leather, slippers (yes, slippers), but industry and international change have done away with most of this. A more modern industry town is Nashville. They built this city on pop and soul. It’s the hit factory! Slicker than an oil-smothered slipper-making machine. We went from slipper to slicker; sole to soul. As with the best of most pop, there are many people involved in ‘Just Another Day With You’. Both music and lyrics are written by Anna, Anders Bo Jespersen and Lockwood Barr. Aside from having the most astounding name, Lockwood Barr is the Nashville injection the song felt it needed; she’s a country artist born and raised in Nashville. Other than this lady, everyone else involved makes this a thoroughly Scandinavian affair. Basically, all the surnames end with “-sen” – dead giveaway. The performers are Anna (lead vocals and backing vocals), Anders (guitar), Rasmus Todbjerg Larsen (bass, keyboards, banjo and backing vocals) and Jens Bach Laursen (drums). I think I can safely say that very few of you will have ever heard such perfect musicians playing together – as is the Nashville way (if you’re not the best, you will not last long). Having played most of the instruments on the record, Rasmus is also the song’s producer – the man’s drowning in talent! Bastard. Finally, the piece is mixed and mastered – I was surprised to see that a record of this level did not have a separate mastering engineer (also the Nashville way) – by Brian Mørk Hansen. A chap who may or may not be a relation to Anna (Hansen is a very common name over there). Punk rockers will probably hate this song. But I think most of you will love it.
And so we get to the actual music itself – which I’ve been grooving to for ages while writing all this junk. We start subdued and mellow, but NOT lo-fi. A cleanly plucked electric guitar brings impeccable tone to a fabulous Tracy Chapman impersonation. It has the right amount of everything, from clarity to perfectly placed reverb. The drums are deep in the kick and clear ’n’ dry in the rim and hats. I can’t quite work out if there is a very quiet bass in there somewhere, or if that is part of that same guitar part; either way, it’s refined. Four bars later, Anna sings with the sound that all female pop singers aspire to, yet so few manage. Throughout the dismantling of this song, some parts remain welded in place… I cannot separate the performances from the mixing. It is whole. Which is why Anna’s voice sounds so perfect. Impeccable singing mixed impeccably. Imagine if you have a suit made for you… You can’t just pair it with an old pair of Converse (unless you’re a member of The Strokes). You have to go the whole hog and get the best shoes for the best suit. That’s why the singing (and indeed the music) goes hand in hand with the mixing. No mix should really ever be apparent. You should simply be aware of great music. Let’s get back to that great music. Exactly 30 seconds in, the bass shows its beautiful face (so it WAS the guitar before), complete with what could be the most sparkling acoustic guitar I think I have ever heard. The closest I have heard is in Take That’s first comeback album of 2006 (a very Nashville sounding record). The piano and electric guitars share the rhythm of Anna’s melody for the pre-chorus, before diving headfirst into the Natalie Imbruglia/Shania Twain-tinged chorus, complete with the tightest backing vocals. I mentioned that comeback record… As last year was the comeback year for the mandolin, this year seems to be the comeback year for the banjo. This banjo is just what brightens the chorus with the most lovely youthful bounce. The whole song features the classic tried and tested song structure of intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus. That chorus just keeps making a welcome comeback… “Comeback” is very much becoming a thing. Comeback is making a comeback…
Anna, have a drink. You’ve earned it.
As for the rest of you who have been around a while, why not strike up a conversation with some of the less familiar faces…?
After all these years, I’m still trying to get to grips with these chopsticks – “Where’s the f-”
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