Eurovision 2024 song (p)reviews: part 1 of 2

2024: the year I came prepared for Eurovision!

By the end of February we already knew the official selections of who to send, and what song to sing, from over half of the 37 participating countries. I've listened to the songs as they became available, and somewhat arbitrarily I've chosen 19 of them to review below. This means I'll have roughly half of the entries to review at a later point, hopefully not too far away now that all the songs have been released.

Unlike 2023, I'm reviewing these songs well before the actual contest and so I'm not going to be able to comment very consistently on the quality of live vocal performance given the various different set-ups the different countries have for selecting their entrants and whether there is any good live footage. However, where I've been able to hear live performances from national finals, there will no doubt be things to comment on. But for now I'll stick with reviewing mainly the songs themselves in their studio versions. I'm going to wheel out the same starring system as I used from 2023, namely:

no stars = if I had control of the playlist I would turn it off or skip

★ wouldn't skip if it came up on shuffle

★★ on my "2024 Eurovision Favourites" playlist on Spotify

★★★ spent my own money getting a digital download; gone digging around their back catalogue for more stuff

★★★★ bought their entire back catalogue; checking out tour dates

Right, let's start...

Albania: Besa - "Zemrën n'dorë"

A mid-tempo pop almost-ballad which was well-enough sung at Albania's national final but whose composition really struggles to generate any enthusiasm in me. There's a more rhythmic patter bit in the middle which gives at least some stylistic interest, but it's not enough for me to grant any stars. If this fails in its semi-final I think it will be deserved.

Czechia: Aiko - "Pedestal" ★★

A respectable indie-rock composition that sounds like it could easily have come from a mid-1990s British band with a one-word name. I do wonder what the Czechia delegation will do about the swearing in the lyrics - it doesn't bother me of course, but there are rules in place meaning Aiko probably won't be able to sing "bullshit" in the choruses, which frankly seems kind of essential to the feel of the whole thing. Also, it's super-short (2min 23s) which seems a wasted opportunity. Surely there's time for a grungy guitar solo in the middle? Maybe a whole new mid-section? There's time yet, I guess, so let's see what the Czech delegation actually bring to the contest in May.

Denmark: Saba - "Sand"

Unremarkable mainstream pop vocal with a mild tinge of 90s dance nostalgia thanks to the piano parts and the chord progression. I find the pre-chorus a bit too epic for its own good, taking away some potential excitement from the chorus itself. The last minute or so feels like wasted time too, despite an attempt to spice up the orchestration with some strings - we mainly get recycled chorus material, which given the mediocrity of the chorus the first 2 times round, probably wasn't a great decision. Another no-star "meh" overall for me.

Estonia: 5miinust & Puuluup - "(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi" ★★★

In Eurovision and anywhere else, I'm a sucker for a folk crossover number and this one hits the spot for me. It looks like the act is literally 2 bands squished together for the sake of Eurovision: 4 voices from hip-hop group 5miinust and 2 musicians from folk fusion group Puuluup, both of whom play a Nordic bowed lyre instrument called the talharpa.

lyre, lyre, pants on fire

There are only 2 chords in this song and lots of the vocal delivery is basically monotonic, but I still found plenty to like about this composition, despite its fundamental simplicity. The central riff that really defines the song is played on the talharpa much like you'd expect an electric guitar player to do in a rock band. The overall groove is part EDM (kick drum on every beat), part folk (oom-pah quaver offbeats) and part rock (plenty of distorted sounds that remind me of rock guitars, I'm guessing this originates from the talharpa). There's also plenty of opportunity for offbeat crotchet "hey!"s in live performance, which I'm sure will get the audience joing in. I'm pleasantly satisfied by the amount of vocal variety too: as well as the monotonic delivery in the verses there's also some baritone wailing ("oooooh-yeeeaaaah"), some falsetto interjections in the choruses and a couple of proper bass-register passages (not something you get very often in modern pop music). I'm a tiny bit worried that this is so niche that it might not make it to the Grand Final, but it sure as hell belongs there if you ask me.

Finland: Windows95man - "No Rules!" ★★★

This is the first obvious joke / troll entry I heard this year - a pastiche of various clichés which are so bad that together they're good. Clunky English text that sounds like it should be epic but is completely inane if you think for one moment about the meaning. Energetic four-to-the-floor Euro EDM sound with oom-pah quavers on the synths and a bright-sounding piano. Poorly-pronounced English muttering from Windows95man himself, contrasting with stratospheric vocal histrionics from Henri Piispanen. A classic cheesy key change! The sound of an eagle screeching! It seems that Eurovision 2024 is, relatively-speaking, well-endowed with 90s nostalgia, and Windows95man is the frontrunner in this field. It's a ridiculous parody, but I still listen to it because of the quality of its craft.

France: Slimane - "Mon amour"

My strong dislike of sickly pop ballads overall means this one's getting no stars too. However, I have a suspicion that like Italy, Estonia and Lithuania last year, France's Slimane might have the vocal chops to deliver a great performance even though I don't like the material he's performing. From the live vocal clips I've seen, he certainly should do better than France's La Zarra from 2023. Let's see!

Germany: Isaak - "Always on the Run" ★

A plain mid-tempo pop tune with no massive stand-out stylistic features. However it's not so dull it makes me want to turn it off: the beginning reminds me a bit of Eye Of The Tiger, which is no bad thing. It was perfectly pleasantly sung in Germany's national final, but it's difficult to imagine anyone feeling strongly about it, least of all me. I'm mostly frustrated about this because I loved Galant's Katze, a sparse and understated piece of electronica which lost out to Isaak's tune. That's to say nothing about the fuss Eurovision fans made over Grossstadtgeflüster's Ich Kündige which was never even going to be entered in the first place but somehow picked up loads of social media attention. Ah well, Germany may be sending a dud this year but at least I discovered 2 fantastic German bands. Germany probably doesn't deserve to come last again this year, but if that happens I won't be surprised, given the extremely "safe" entry. I mean, the first line is even "I am nothing but the average... even though I'm especially so". I find it difficult to disagree.

Ireland: Bambie Thug - "Doomsday Blue"★★

Congratulations to Ireland on sending an entry that goes beyond merely avoiding the über-boredom of last year's entry, and is genuinely interesting and will probably cause a few raised eyebrows for viewers hearing this for the first time. It's got at least 3 different feels - creepy-sounding interludes and middle section that would definitely suit the soundtrack of a halloween-themed movie; a more chilled out chorus in a more generic but melancholy pop style, and some distorted bits in the introduction, verses and coda, complete with shouted and screamed vocals and that by-now-standard metal trope of the tritone interval. I think this song is somewhat held back by the complete unrelatedness of the different sections, but at least they're all interesting enough to make me put this on my 2024 playlist. I really, really want this to qualify for the Grand Final, if only to signal to Ireland that they should never ever consider going back to sending entries as dull as last year's.

Italy: Angelina Mango - "La noia" ★★★

An upbeat latin number, specifically namechecking a style whose name I hadn't thought about for years, namely cumbia. I only know the word from staying in Peru a decade and a half ago where cumbia peruana was a really popular style, the kind of thing you'd get a live band to play at a big party or event, even at nightclubs. It turns out cumbia is not unique to Peru, and the word describes various latin music traditions in South America, which might explain why I was a little confused listening to Angelina Mango's song, which isn't particular similar to the cumbia I knew of. It's also not clear why the Italian lyrics would reference this particular latin style, but I'm not complaining. The groove is infectious but non-obvious, and the vocals show plenty of variety: monotonic patter in the verses, carefree wailing in the choruses, and a short but heartfelt a cappella passage towards the end to showcase Angelina's voice which, by the way, is technically excellent based on the footage from Italy's national final performances. She's in time, in tune, and in control, perfectly understanding the genre she's singing in. The orchestration of the accompaniment is engaging, even though it's unclear whether some of the sounds are organic or synthesised: steel drums at the beginning, strings during the pre-chorus, celeste during the middle 8, and a busy bassline with more interest than your average latin-styled tune. Great stuff, and at the time of writing, my prediction to win the whole thing.

Latvia: Dons - "Hollow" ★

Another steady pop ballad of the sort that I generally don't like at all, but avoids getting zero stars because (1) the harmonic progression doesn't totally bore me, and (2) the orchestration is quite lush. If the live vocal is as good as the recording, this could be a very respectable performance. However, I don't really see that it provides the juries or televoters any reason in particular to vote for it.

Lithuania: Silvester Belt - "Luktelk" ★

Respectable enough pop vocal with EDM backing. The main feature holding back this tune for me is that it doesn't use the whole 3 minutes and the ending is notable in its anticlimax - it finishes and I think "is that it?". It still gets a star from me because bar-by-bar I like the groove, it's just that overall there's very little music direction and then it just stops.

Luxembourg: Tali - "Fighter" ★

I like the interesting sounds and high-quality production, and this is definitely not unpleasant or annoying to listen to. However, it's still pop, and un-challenging pop at that. I do feel much better when Tali leans into her French-language lyrics though, as if the pure sounds plus my lack of understanding suit this pop tune much better than when she swaps to English. I just don't think the fundamental musical material is particularly noteworthy, so it's not getting more than one star from me.

Malta: Sarah Bonnici - "Loop"

I disliked this immediately I heard the plastic-sounding orchestral hit samples that it opens with, and sadly the rest of it didn't convince me otherwise. The mildly latin groove is toe-tap-worthy in places, but even then it's not original and just makes me sad I'm not listening to a better example of the plastic pop-latin genre, say Chanel's Slomo from 2022's contest.

Moldova: Natalia Barbu - "In the Middle" ★★

In one respect, this is an unremarkable pop vocal (albeit a well-recorded one) with English lyrics that are forgettable at best. But what a tasteful surprise this tune turns out to be! The production is genuinely beautiful: within a few bars we get dreamy string synths adding a ninth to the existing minor chord, immediately reminding me of epic EDM and soundtrack producers Hybrid. Similarly tasteful synth work accompanies the verse. A kick drum and sub-bass drop in during the wordless chorus and change the feel to something like deep house. The kick drum persists through the second verse and the second chorus goads the listener with a couple of bass trombone stabs. The final violin interlude is breathtaking in its simplicity: suddenly we have the organic sound of multiple violins playing a melancholy tune in unison, over a new chord progression from the synthesised backing, one whose bassline starts on the un-flattened 6th degree of the scale, in contrast to the expected flattened 6th that's been used up to this point in keeping with the key signature (G♯ minor or A♭ minor, take your pick!). The wordless chorus gets repeated up an octave to finish, and despite its stratospheric heights, this appears to have been sung competently in Moldova's national final. It's unclear to me if this was Natalia or one of her colleagues on stage singing, but she's certainly sung that high before, notably in her previous Eurovision appearance in 2007. Given the static staging, I suspect this will be one of those hidden gems that I'm quite fond of but gets booted out at the semi-final stage. Fingers crossed that I'm wrong...

Norway: Gåte - "Ulveham" ★★★

Gåte: beyond the metal umlaut to the metal "Å"

More folk fusion, and my favourite Eurovision 2024 entry, at the time of writing. The folkiness comes from Gunnhild Sundli's vocal delivery and the use of a nyckelharpa in the accompaniment. We also have a rock band instrumentation to accompany, and I would argue it crosses over the poorly-defined boundary from rock to metal at points. Further evidence for describing this as metal comes from the full version (almost twice as long as the mandatory 3min Eurovision time limit) where an extended mid-section finishes with some proper screaming. The things that really match my taste when combined are: folk instrumentation and styling; half-time chorus; the contrast of wailing vocals with distorted guitars below; and the interesting harmonic progression, particularly in the introductory bars. I have a great deal of confidence in the live vocal performance too, based on the Norwegian national final. Perhaps not absolutely perfectly delivered, but pretty damned close.

Poland: Luna - "The Tower" 

An unremarkable pop song delivered in a very breathy tone as if that somehow ought to bestow character and quality to it. Sadly it doesn't. There's not much going on rhythmically - it's uptempo but there's precious little syncopation or variety of feel - and I feel like the melody is too simple and square, and rooted to the reasonably predictable harmonic progression. Another entry where I just have to ask: "Why would you enter this? What's its main selling point?". I'm not sure Poland really knows.

Slovenia: Raiven - "Veronika" ★★

I like this gorgeously-produced epic soundscape, but it might actually be a bit too intense to squeeze into 3 minutes for the benefit of a Eurovision audience. It feels to me a bit like video game music in the sense that it seems to be trying to directly manipulate listeners into thinking "this is mysterious... and now it's EPIC!". As a result it never quite feels like it settles into a rhythm of its own and I think the EPIC chorus doesn't feel properly earned like maybe Norway's does. Still, I like the sounds and would love to hear an extended 5- or 6-minute version, which might then avoid the pitfall of going to epic too soon.

Spain: Nebulossa - "Zorra" ★★

In a contest line-up with so many nods to 1990s nostalgia, this tune is going further back, to the 1980s. The synth sounds are the key to this 80s sound, particularly the plastic-sounding percussion which is tastefully incorporated alongside a more modern bass sound to make a disco-esque groove that doesn't sound too dated. I have significant worries about whether the vocal performance will be any good live though - the vocal line sits very low in the typical female voice range, so much so that most of it is a comfortable sing for a male voice. In the Spanish national final performance it sounded like Mery Bas struggled for volume low down in her range and reliably tended to edge a tiny bit sharp. This became a particular problem when the vocal line finally rose out of the depths and her volume naturally increased and the pitch went even sharper, as if the adrenaline of performance prevented her from relaxing the vocal cords. Fingers crossed for her that the same thing doesn't happen in May.

Ukraine: Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil - "Teresa & Maria" ★★

A melancholy mix of spoken word and soulful vocal harmony. It's stuck at my 2-star level though, for a couple of reasons: the groove is quite simple, unsyncopated and sits heavily at mid-tempo; and the same 4-bar chord progression is used for almost the whole song. Combined, those 2 factors hold it back from being a stand-out performance for me. Otherwise, it's very serviceable and I will eat my corduroy flat cap if it doesn't qualify for the Grand Final and do well there.

 

19 down, 18 to go!

Right, that's enough for now, I'll do a Part 2 covering the remaining 18 songs as soon as I can. See you then!