(this should be more) POPular #10

You know that thing when you hear a song and you can't believe it hasn't been a massive hit? Yeah, that...

For this week's under appreciated track we're going back to Sweden, the homeland of perfect 21st century pop. We're featuring a great singer, Ace Wilder, with her new track 'Stupid'.

Ace Wilder burst onto the Scandipop scene with the pretty special 'Do It', a buzzy synth-inflected shout along which really set a precedent for her attitude and sound. The sound in question combines perfect pop hooks and lyrics with the aforementioned synths, driving drums and crunchy pop guitar riffs. She really hit her stride in 2014 when she entered Melodifestivalen (the Swedish qualifier for the Eurovision Song Contest) with the abso-bloody-lutlely amazing 'Busy Doing Nothin'. Now this how you write a pop song, tight, simple lyrics with a schizophrenic sound that shouldn't work, acoustic guitar and folk-style drums in the verses then an acoustic dropout of a pre-chorus then a MASSIVE dancepop explosion of a chorus. This won the public vote in Sweden and went on to become a huge number 1 single for her. She followed it up with 'Riot', another masterclass in pop that does bear some resemblance to Icona Pop - but my God, those handclaps and the brass in the chorus are amazing!

So that brings us up to speed with the release of her latest single 'Stupid'. A sitar and eastern-style drums usher in the chanting verses which talk about starting a revolution to get drunk and high - it may not be the most lyrically deep of tracks but you try getting it out of your head! Then we get the solid gold of the chorus, silly and throwaway yet catchy as all kinds of hell.

"Stupid girls and stupid boys,

We're stupid just because.

We're free to be what we wanna be,

And smart we never was.

Let's get stupid!"

Her second album, 'The Wild Card', is scheduled for release later this year and I for one am very interested in hearing what other gems might be on this offering. Sweden may not need to produce any more world-conquering pop music but I'm pretty sure it would be a better place if more people had a little Ace Wilder in their lives.

If you're not singing this for the rest of the day then you've obviously been lobotomised!

You can follow Ace Wilder on social media:

Twitter: @AceWilderMusic

Facebook: Ace Wilder

Instagram: @acewilderhttps://instagram.com/acewilder/

Track of the Week #10

It's only the bloody track of the week!

This week for 'Track of the Week' we're featuring something a little summery from across the pond! Our big track this week is 'Shut up and Dance' by Walk the Moon, it's already been a massive hit in America and Australia and, as per usual the UK is massively behind on this, it's out this week over here.

Sonically it owes quite a debt to some of the Killers' back catalogue, that guitar riff is so infectious - especially when it chuggs it's way over the section before the chorus. This is guitar pop of the highest order, summery, catchy and so, so, SO good! Their sound somehow reminds me of the band fun. it has a similar sense of, well, fun and just giving yourself over to an absolute pop moment. This track makes me want to dance, jump on the bed and just go mental - truly dance like no-one is watching!

Velvety vocals drive the verses with the call-to-arms of a chorus bolstered by the chanted backing vocals. I'm not usually a massive fan of guitar solos but thankfully they avoid it completely with a mid-way frenetic synth breakdown which leads into a gorgeous stripped back section that shows off the simple yet effective pop hookery of the chorus.

"Oh don't you dare look back,

Just keep your eyes on me.

I said "You're holding back.",

She said "Shut up and dance with me!".

Lyrically it's not exactly Oscar Wilde, but who cares when you can write a pop tune like this? This track deserves to replicate it's success over here (it's looking fairly encouraging over on the i-Tunes chart), especially as the weather seems to be showing that Summer may be finally here! Other tunes from the back catalogue worth a look include the gloriously hyper 'Tightrope' from the 'Tightrope EP' and 'Quesadilla' from 2012's 'Walk the Moon' album.

Hopefully this won;t be the last we hear from this lot as this single offers a lot of promise!

So, without further ado, here is our Track of the Week, 'Shut Up and Dance' by Walk the Moon.

That video, what an 80's throwback - LOVE IT!

You can follow Walk the Moon on social media:

Twitter: @WALKTHEMOONband

Facebook: Walk the Moon

Instagram: @walkthemoonband

Mashed POP-tato #9

For our portion of Mashed POP-tato this week we're featuring a mashup from two of the biggest popstars in the world. Today we bare witness to the pop marriage of Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift, as we showcase a pop combo made in heaven, one of Bruno's lesser-known but still great tracks with one of the finest pop songs of the 21st century, it's 'Runaway Baby' and 'Shake it Off'!

This mashup perfectly combines the pop sensibility of Taylor's 'middle finger to the haters' pop stomper with the Stevie Wonder/James Brown-esque funk Bruno (those guitar riffs!). The fit is perfect and really brings something different, in particular to 'Shake it Off', replacing the cheerleader claps and drums with something much funkier.

So, clear the floor and get ready to pull some shapes - this is quiet special!

If that didn't make you want to tip some furniture and work up a sweat then you're dead to me!

#TBT #9

It's Throwback Thursday so today we're showcasing an absolute classic dance tune that has been around for over 20 years in various forms. Our #TBT tune of the week is 'Set You Free' by N-Trance!

Originally released in 1992 as a white label with only 500 copies pressed this would go on to become an absolute monster of a dance track that would take it's place in the history of the genre. 'Set You Free' was then re-released in 1993 but didn't make the top 40 in the UK, however, as demand for the track grew it was re-issued again in 1995 and hit number 2 in the UK and was a massive hit across Europe and Australia. In 2001 the group and their label, All Around the World, noticed there were a lot of unofficial bootlegs being played in clubs that had updated the sound of the track, they went back into the studio and commissioned a newly remixed version from DJ and producer Rob Searle - 'Set You Free 2001' was born and yet again became a massive hit in the UK and Europe. A harder sounding 2009 edit, cunningly titled 'Set You Free 2009', was also released but couldn't match the commercial success or previous versions.

Grab your airhorn, whistle and your glow sticks and get ready to rave your ass off!

That vocal! Still a TOTAL tune all these years later!

You can follow N-Trance on social media:

twitter: @ntrance_

facebook: N-Trance

And you can find vocalist Kelly Llorenna on social media:

twitter: @freakasylum

facebook: Kelly Llorenna

(this should be more) POPular #9

You know that thing when you hear a song and you can't believe it hasn't been a massive hit? Yeah, that...

For this week's featured under appreciated track is from the wonderful, anarchic force of nature that is Amanda FUCKING Palmer!

The track in question, taken from her superb second solo album 'Theatre is Evil', is one of the standouts of her already challenging and amazing career - 'Do It With a Rockstar'. No beating around the bush, this is a PROPER tune, scuzzy, rocky and rough, the filtered vocal intro is great and works so well with the backing vocal onslaught that awaits. Amanda is on fine vocal form growling her way through the bloody fantastic lyrics and the 'Do ya wanna?' build up to the chorus is sublime. Said chorus arrives in a blistering crash of guitars and impassioned wailing (in the best possible way) from Amanda and drops wonderfully at the end.

"Do you wanna see all my cavities?

Talk about the crisis in the Middle East?

Do you wanna get really terrified?

Ice caps are melting and we're all gonna die."

Accessible pop this may not be, but brilliance it surely is. Other highlights from 'Theatre is Evil' include the lilting, heartbreaking waltz of 'The Bed Song' and the glorious 'Bottomfeeder', that slide guitar work is beautiful.

I first came across Amanda when I was at Uni and discovered her previous band The Dresden Dolls with their truly amazing song 'Coin-operated Boy'. This really set the precedent for Amanda's combo of biting, witty lyrics and piano-driven pop, the deliciously bitter 'Backstabber' from the album 'No, Virginia' is also brilliant. She also dabbled in the world of the concept album with the brilliant batshit bonkers story of conjoined twins Evelyn and Evelyn on the album recorded with Jason Webley ('You Only Want Me 'Cause You Want My Sister' is my personal highlight). Her 2008 solo album 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer' included such pearls as 'Leeds United' and 'Ampersand'. Don't even get me started on the genius of 'Map of Tasmania', and yes it is about what you think it's about! She also does a pretty fine line in covers; 'Video Games' and 'No Surprises' being prime examples. Seriously, more people need to get on board, she is a genius.

I was fortunate to see Amanda at the Roundhouse in London on the tour to support 'Theatre is Evel' and, predictably she was awesome. She also dropped a little live surprise in light of the Daily Mail's "coverage" of her set at Glastonbury - see her response below...

Anyway, here is this week's (this should be more) POPular, Amanda Palmer with 'Do It With a Rockstar'!

I might actually love her!

You can follow Amanda on social media:

twitter - @amandapalmer

facebook - Amanda Palmer

instagram - @amandapalmer

Track of the Week #9

It's only the bloody track of the week!

For this week's featured track we're showcasing the comeback single for a British diva who has been a little quiet recently following her rapid rise to stardom in 2007. The artist and track in question are the amazing Leona Lewis with 'Fire Under My Feet'. Here she is taking her umbrella for a walk.

It so great to have Leona back after being out of the spotlight for a while since her Christmas album in 2013 (still an eccentric choice in my opinion), and this is a stomper of a comeback single. Let's just get this out of the way now, yes it bares more than a passingly resemblance to Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep' and 'Love Runs Out' by OneRepublic (both of which had the Midas touch of Ryan Tedder), but this deserves to stand on it's own merits. The acapella intro brings those velvety tones back with a bang then the instantly familiar combo of booming drums and driving piano (it's great to see Leona playing too) launches us into quite the pop moment. Midway we also get a smattering of brass which has echoes of '4 Minutes' by Madonna and Justin Timberlake, it's a really nice touch. It would seem that signing to Def Jam has given Leona a bit of grit and brought the spark back we haven't seen since her earlier material. For me this is a great tempo shift for her, a nice break from her well-worn track record of pop ballad belters but not going too far in the other direction. As much as I loved 'Out of My Head' from the Echo album and 'Glassheart' the third album's title track, people never seemed to buy Leona on a dance track but this seems to be a good fit.

The lyrics are bold and defiant and almost certainly aimed at a certain music mogul who may have wanted to clip the singers wings.

"Moving on to bigger things,

I began to spread my wings.

No longer in chains,

I'm dancing over these flames."

In my opinion the only weak link is the chain is the video, it's a little basic and looks kind of cheap, but the song is enough of a statement to carry the weight of expectation on its own.

I for one am really pleased to have Leona back on the pop scene and I hope that this single and it's parent album, apparently called 'I Am', propel her back to the lofty heights she hit with 'Bleeding Love' and 'Spirit'. Welcome back Leona, I can't wait to see what you've got coming up next!

You can follow Leona on social media:

twitter - @leonalewis

facebook - Leona Lewis

instagram - @leonalewis

#TBT #8

For Throwback Thursday every week we're going to shine our poplight on a stone cold classic.

So, this week is Eurovision week on 'Pop is Not the Enemy'! I'm jetting off to Vienna tomorrow to watch the final live for the first time ever - excited doesn't really cover it!

For this week's 'Throwback Thursday' we're featuring a massive moment for the UK in Eurovision history, come on I'm allowed to show a little bit of patriotic bias! I am of course talking about the last time the United Kingdom won the competition in 1997 with 'Love Shine a Light' by Katrina and The Waves!

Katrina and The Waves finally managed to break the Irish stronghold on Eurovision (they'd won 4 times in the past 5 years at that point) and brought the competition over the Irish sea to Birmingham in 1998.

The song was a marked departure from the Katrina and The Waves people knew, case in point being 'Walking on Sunshine', and it paid off big time! Anthemic is definitely the word, showcasing Katrina's towering vocal it was the epitome of 1990's Eurovision with the focus being on how love can unite everyone regardless of the borders and barriers that sometimes stand in our way (this concept felt much fresher in the heady days of 1997!).

"And we're all gonna shine a light together,

All shine a light to light the way.

Brothers and sisters in every little part,

Let our love shine a light in every corner of our hearts."

The staging was simple, what more do you need when you have the perfect combination of song and voice? So, take a step back in time for 'Throwback Thursday' and soak up the epicness of 'Love Shine a Light'!

We'll just have to wait and see if Electro Velvet are more of a Katrina than a Bonnie!