National final season might be at its peak in February, but the rest of the music industry is very busy too. So welcome to this edition of the round-up, where I catch you up on all the best and biggest new releases you might have missed this month. In this edition chock-full of new Eurovision music: some great EPs, acoustic arrangements, and some very personal and biographical tracks.
The 2023 entries
Mimicat – “Peito”
If you felt like your heart jumped out of your “Peito” (Chest), then maybe you are a Mimicat fan just like me. The new music by the Portuguese Eurovision representative is slower, more emotional, but no less engaging or powerful than “Ai Coração”. Sparse yet dramatic production plus, of course, excellent vocals make this track about missing a former loved one an absolute must-listen.
Käärijä x Erika Vikman – “Ruoska”
Erika Vikman is a frequently recurring name in the round-up. Now, her name being up here is not because she finally is going to Eurovision, but because she worked with Käärijä (who also shows up a lot here) for new joint release “Ruoska” (Whip). Many of you will already have seen the excellent performance during UMK where Käärijä and Erika were the interval act, but the music video below is also very much worth checking out.
Mae Muller – “Billionaire”
Gassed Up is a film that premiered in 2023 at London Film Fest, and this month finally made it to silver screens across the UK. Mae Muller not only acted in it, but also contributed to the soundtrack with her song “Billionaire”. Musically, the song is a large departure from her fare with a mixture of genres that are best described as lo-fi. Even Mae’s partially modulated vocals are difficult to recognize as her own at times on this great, surprising track.
Remo Forrer – “Heaven or Hell”
It’s a piano break-up ballad with a musically soaring climax for Remo Forrer this month. The Swiss singer says this song is his most personal song yet. Despite his claims that this is a power ballad, I would argue “Heaven or Hell” is a minor update to the classic piano ballad, written by Remo Forrer, DANA, and Benjamin Schmid. Benjamin also produced the track, together with Tom Oehler (“Watergun”, “Sister”, “Love You in a Dream”), and Pele Loriano (“Watergun”, “Répondez-moi”, “Who the Hell Is Edgar?”).
Joker Out – “Everybody’s Waiting”
They may have recently released an (admittedly, live) album, Joker Out know that is “Everybody’s Waiting” for more. The first half of this song about anxiety sees the band experiment musically with the specific pulled-back sound they go with, but the second half quickly builds to something much more akin to what I know from them.
Alessandra – “Best Year Of My Life” (EP)
Alessandra looks back on the year since her win at MGP with her new EP “Best Year Of My Life”. From the acoustic guitar driven title track to last month’s “Narcissist”, the new, apologetically hopeful “Mama I”m Sorry” to Eurovision entry “Queen of Kings” and 4 more tracks, this new release is a treat for Alessandra fans.
Parg & Brunette – “AREV ES”
Brunette teams up with fellow Armenian Parg for duet “AREV ES” (YOU’RE THE SUN). Parg might be a name some dedicated Eurovision fans recognize for his cover of Rosa Linn’s entry “Snap”, which got its own remix courtesy of J-Marin. The track “AREV ES” is a calm-yet-fiery ode to love.
Blanka – “Cara Mia”
Blanka is singing about her “Cara Mia” (My Darling) on her first release since the “Rodeo” remixes. The pop track was written by Blanka, Ilon Adlercreutz, Kim Mannila (Ahti, Benjamin, Isac Elliot), Vallo Kikas (Estonia’s 2016, 2019, and 2021 entry), and Venla Edelmann. Vallo Kikas also produced the track.
TuralTuranX – “Reasons to Get High”
TuralTuranX are back with more moody excellence on “Reasons to Get High”. Electronic rock, EDM, and other genres are added to their regular sound as they sing about all the reasons they have to get high tonight. Personally, it reminds me of some the alt-poprock (and some of the better remixes of back then) from the late 00s and early 10s. The self-penned track was produced by the duo in collaboration with Bahdan Harayeu.
Next page: New releases from Eurovision winners
Giwrgos Oiko
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