One Night Only - 'Say You Don't Want It'
School Sports Day: The only athletic tournament - outside of Total Wipeout - which features disciplines that are designed to make spectators laugh AND create a sense of equality between all contestants, no matter how sporty. Limber up all you like, speedy kids, unless you can keep that egg on that spoon, you ain't going nowhere.
I mention this because this is a bit of a three-legged race of a song. For all that it surges forward, rightly confident of victory and bubbling over with the fun of itself, there is still something ungainly about the way it lurches across the ground.
Which, of course, only adds to the fun.
(. Wait, what happens at the end there? Hermione turns them both into DOGS?)
I mean who knew it was possible to FAIL to rhyme 'dear' with 'here'? Not me! And yet that is what happens.
"Don't you ask me if it's love, my dear, love don't really mean a thing round here"
comes out as
"don't you ask me if it's love my daaare, love don't really mean a thing round heeeere"
And, for an analogy which gets quite so much repetition, "like electric" is just dim. Like electric WHAT? Shoes? A toaster?
I BET they meant to fix that before release and just could not come up with anything else that fitted the melody and said the same sort of thing. Or they thought it was cool that the grammar was upside down. Either way, they KNOW it's dim, and WE know it's dim. And yes it sticks in the mind, which means they can claim it as a moral victory. And that's annoying AND dim. GAH!
While we're still on the lurches, that guitar line at the beginning and in between the verses sounded uninsipired when it first graced 'Breathless' by the Corrs. Hearing it wheeled out again here is not a fun thing. Not least because a) it's drab and b) OMG YOU'RE TAKING MUSICAL INSPIRATION FROM THE FLIPPING CORRS??
And yet...the bits that fly REALLY fly.
The skeleton of the song is pretty damn perfect. Sultry whispered verses give way to a huge anthemic chorus - like a more sugary Killers, or a 30 Seconds To Mars without the sense of overwhelming heroism - which is half-jabbered, half sneering...and all great.
They clearly know this too, as they've put in a dropped-out chorus so that, during their live extravaganza, they can do that thing where they get the audience to sing the entire chorus back at them while they pretend to clap along with their hands over their heads.
Which is the School Fair equivalent of thrusting your chest out and winking into your mum's camera as you break the ribbon on the finishing line.
Download: Out now
91Èȱ¬ Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
"Their sound is fuller, poppier and better in every conceivable way.."
"The song is just really really catchy!"
"Some hints of a more electro indie sound but still with the pounding drums and smashing guitars you would expect to hear."
Comment number 1.
At 12th Aug 2010, OddOne wrote:I really like this song, I saw the Killers reference quite quickly but even if it does seem like their trying to be the Killers, I just love the way George sings the verses like he's Niel Tennant and then blows up in the chorus!
4 stars.
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Comment number 2.
At 12th Aug 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:I actually didn't see The Killers references until you mentioned them Fraser. I agree but I think they're trying to sound like they're the Libertines or something with their pretentious poetic lyrics.
Too bad your song is as catchy as Hell and you have Hermione running around in the video though. To be honest, I only watched the video and listened to the song because of Emma Watson, who I fancy the pants off. I think she should ditch George and go for a real man *coughRandycough*!
Ah no, all joking aside, I'm really into this song. The chorus is absolutely epic and this is one of my many Summer jams. I'm moving to the big city soon for university. This is totally soundtracking my journey there.
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Comment number 3.
At 12th Aug 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:Oh and I knew Hermione was an Animagus! ;)
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Comment number 4.
At 12th Aug 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:Oh and hate to write another mildly negative comment about this band but the YouTube video says 'One Night Only featuring Emma Watson' like she's singing on it or producing it LOL. Looking for publicity, much?
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Comment number 5.
At 13th Aug 2010, kutox wrote:^ Definitely. As it happens, the video got well over a million views within it's first week on Youtube! Now, I've got nothing against One Night Only, but I very much doubt that would of happened without Emma Watson being in it!
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Comment number 6.
At 13th Aug 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:Sure thing Kutox, it has over 2 million views now. Anyone want to make predictions on how this will do on the UK Chart?
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Comment number 7.
At 13th Aug 2010, OddOne wrote:I reckon it will be there highest charting single to date. Back in 2008 they went to #9 with 'Just For Tonight', and since then they've not bothered the top end of the chart so that probably explains the extra promotion (I also noticed the rather desperate inclusion of 'ft. Emma Watson' in the official video title) with their comeback single.
I'm thinking, depending on Radio 1's support, that it could reach a couple spots adrift of the Top 5 at most, it's by far their best single to date.
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Comment number 8.
At 17th Aug 2010, spirit wrote:This song boasts a huge , infectious chorus , and should give One Night Only a well deserved TOP 20 HIT , due to airplay and the Emma Watson effect of the video .
Don't think it will make top 10 .
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Comment number 9.
At 17th Aug 2010, OddOne wrote:I'm sure if it was playlisted on Radio 1 it'd be heading for Top 10 most definitely. Unfortunately it's not, so it's barely going to scrape the Top 15.
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