Chart Review: 22nd March 2024
There’s churn in the charts this week, but mostly of the undramatic variety. Four stalwarts since I’ve been tuning in are on their last legs. Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder On The Dancefloor” has been on the slide since everyone got over Saltburn and is now at (32), while Noah Kahan’s Sam Fender-featuring “Homesick” slips to (37). I don’t think I’ve mentioned at length before how bizarre it is to have Sam Fender on this song which is explicitly about being from New England - Fender honking away about the North Eastern US in his extremely North Eastern UK voice just doesn’t fly, even though the song’s perfectly fine in all its Springsteen-aping excess. The album version with Kahan alone makes much more sense.
Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” has dropped sharply to (31) - maybe everyone’s watching the tour movie on Disney+ rather than streaming this week - and YG Marley’s “Praise Jah In The Moonlight” has plummeted to (39) down from (11) last week. I don’t mind admitting I’ve gotten pretty bored of that song, which I did like a lot at first (and do think is good on the whole, even if it really doesn’t stand up to repeat listens).
Going the other way most notably are a couple of more or less fine tunes. Dasha’s “Austin” has jumped 10 spots to (15). She’s a TikTok star who doesn’t seem to have much of a profile outside of this song thus far. It’s a pop-country-by-numbers effort about a scorned lover with stomping and clapping percussion and all the usual genre signifiers in super quick succession (boots, trucks, whiskey - check, check, check). It also strikes me as being remarkably low stakes for a dramatically performed song. Dasha and her chap make plans to leave Austin for LA, but when she comes round to meet him, he hasn’t packed his gear so she goes oh right OK and leaves on her own. She seems to just assume he’s not coming and that’s that. The whole kiss off to the chorus is that this poor sod is stuck in Austin while she’s in LA, but my understanding is that Austin’s a pretty class place to be, so I don’t know that it really works.
Leaping higher still is Michael Marcagi’s “Scared To Start”, now 10 weeks into its stint in the charts but reaching its best yet position at (1). This is a very 2010s indie number with the dusty piano that Vampire Weekend put to (much better) use and the usual clangy guitars and relatable, quotidian lyrics. I think with about eight bars you could map out how the whole thing will go down to the bit at the end where everything but the guitar and vocals drops out. Marcagi has a nice voice and the chorus is decent but this has never been my kind of thing.
Not a lot of new gear this week, but at (18) is an intriguing selection. Mark Knopfler has re-recorded his classic theme from Local Hero with an all-star line up of guitarists (plus Roger Daltrey on harmonica for some reason). The track is, obviously, absolutely gorgeous and there’s no denying the cash is going to a great cause. There’s some fun to be had figuring out who’s playing when (it’d be sheer guesswork a lot of the time but the video seems to flash up the name of the most prominent axeperson at any given time and you do go oh yes that is Slash! or whoever). Is it as good as the original? No, of course it isn’t.
The only other new entry is “Fri(end)s” by V, dropping at (13). I had no idea who this was - it turns out he’s one of the BTS dudes. It’s pretty good! Slick pop r&b with a nice swing to it. You can’t get a great idea of what his voice is like because the production on it is treacle-thick, which isn’t a knock because it sounds cool. I know zilch about BTS other than the passion of their fanbase (and there’s some fun to be had reading through the gushing comments on the video for this track). This isn’t making me rush out to investigate their oeuvre further but it’s a cool tune with plenty of attention to detail.
We’ve put it off long enough - Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” is (1). It only feels right that I listen to this again properly to figure out what I really hate about it. The first point that really creeps me out is that it’s sort of a love song, but the best thing he can say about his partner is that she’s a “girl my parents love”. And it stands to reason he’d write a line as bloodless as that because it would because this is at its heart a Christian rock song. The chorus is mostly “I want you I need you oh God”, and I think he’s beseeching the big man rather than taking his name in vain. I absolutely detest this man’s voice. It’s pure earache disguised as soulful soft rock. He called into the BBC chart show. I was worried I’d have to change my stance if he came across like a nice guy and I’m pleased to say he didn’t.
Pick of the week: V - “Fri(end)s”
