This is the last Pot Pourri short compilation of songs as from 14th January it will be renamed as ‘Songs for the end of the day’ as that is when most people read NMC. My writing probably helps them sleep. Fair enough?
Sofia Hedia (Denmark) – Er du Bange? (single)
First up is Denmark’s Sofia Hedia with a big pop banger to kick start the new year, even if that was two weeks ago. ‘Er du bange?’ means ‘Are you afraid?’ not are you a head banger?
However, you might well be by the end of it.
Sofia paid us a visit last September with her first single since taking a theatrical break, and it was a potential Eurovision-sounding song if I remember.
This time she turns her attention to worrying about what is going on in the world and how it seems to be spinning out of control. As such she continues what has become a theme over the last three nights, in songs from Fie Eike, whose advice is to face up to your fears and before that from Lehnberg who simply wants you not to watch the news, in the hope perhaps that it will all just go away, which is pretty much as Sofia sees it, too, except that she feels guilty about taking that approach.
There are some clever lines:
“As we poke around in a bald man’s past” (The Donald, I presume)
kill the girls who show their hair (Mahsa Amini, I guess)
my feed shows an advertisement for fillers
and I could well consider that
(Are you afraid?)”
And what’s a girl to do when the going gets tough?
“I get scared when they talk about the war
I get scared when they talk about climate
I don’t want to be a part of that
Order a salad from Wolt with feta”
(Wolt is a Nordic version of Just Eat in case you were wondering).
Musically, it’s as much at odds with the lyrical content as was Lehnberg’s effort. Perhaps even more so. And perhaps the message is that you can dance your troubles away because you’ll be heading swiftly towards the dance floor with this one, even if there’s murder on it if you’ll forgive the pun. Reports say it is going down very well in live performances.
‘Er du bange’ is from her next album titled ‘Vidunderlig Verden Af katastrofer’ (‘Wonderful World of Disasters’).
Find her on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sofiahedia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sofiahedia/
Millie (Denmark) – Selfish (single)
With a total change of philosophy here comes the Copenhagen duo Millie, with their debut single, which is far more relaxed then the worry fest we’ve had this week and even a little lovey dovey.
As the PR says, it could fit a Friday night out with your friends (I no longer do those, I’m tied to this desk, tapping away on the keyboard, think of me) or “your Monday night jam where you emotionally sing along to the words: “I don’t know if it’s too selfish, but I like you…””
For those of a certain age in the UK, didn’t Dick Emery say something like that in his TV comedy sketches back in the day, when he played his Mandy Dunnit character?
I was intrigued to learn that ‘Selfish’ is a “country-inspired, relatable and vivid pop song”. It certainly does have a country feel about it, especially in the way that the word ‘selfish’ and the ‘oh’s are drawn out, and just about every C&W song is relatable.
It’s performed in a snappy way lyrically and vocally, which has the stamp of modernity on it but at the same time it has a dated feel too, as if it is out of another era.
It is very easy on the ear and will give you sufficient good vibes to put it on loop. Singer Emilie’s vocal standard is refreshing one to encounter on a debut song.
‘Selfish’ is the first single from a forthcoming EP from Millie, who are Emilie Fjeldsted Jensen and Jakob Bjerrum.
Find them on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/millie.wav
The Northern Belle (Norway) – Hell & Back (Single/track from forthcoming album)
Last time out (apart from a Christmas song) back in September, The Northern Belle were wallowing in nostalgia over a box of love letters one of the members, Stine Andreassen, had found from her grandfather to her grandmother while he wandered the world and she remained at home in northern Norway, and about their brief time together being spent in the ‘Merchant Navy Hotel’.
Now they return with the first single, ‘To Hell and Back, touted as the most pop-oriented song on their forthcoming and fifth album, ‘Bats in the attic’, which drops on 8th March and which seems to based around the stories unwinding from that same box of letters as the maritime promotional photo suggests.
The content and style of the album ranges widely, encompassing traditional Nordicana, rock and ballads while touching on subjects at either extreme of the life cycle, from birth to death.
The song isn’t as bleak as its title suggests. It concerns the act of falling in love and how you might as well be in another world, never able to find the right word, always saying the wrong thing, trying to remain composed while behaving in exactly the opposite way and then jumping in with both barrels firing and fingers crossed.
You know, for all the love songs in the world this one sums up that train of events better than any other that I can think of and the ‘hell’ analogy is in fact spot on. Perhaps it’s because I’m going through this right now that I noticed it more.
Based on a prominent bass line it’s jaunty and feel good and might be something that Kylie could have sung.
The Northern Belle are Stine Andreassen (vocals, guitars), Bjørnar Ekse Brandseth (guitars, pedal steel), Johanne Flottorp (hardanger fiddle, harmonies), Trym Gjermundbo (drums), Ole-André Sjøgren (guitars, harmonies) and Marie Tveiten (guitars, harmonies).
Find them on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheNorthernBelleMusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thenorthernbelle_official
