Or OK, not 80s, but maybe you’d like…
[Video]
[6.14]
Thomas Inskeep: Indie dance that’s actually, y’know, good for dancing.
[6]
Will Adams: A cascade of ever-evolving arpeggios that gives way to a chorus of anxious synth and clacking wooden spoons, “This Song” is too shy to be that jam Rostam recalls, but it’s also too catchy to ignore. The bridge gives him away; sometimes returning to that wound, however badly you want to avoid thinking about it, can provide the catharsis you need.
[8]
Alfred Soto: Improving on his first pallid attempts to sing lead, Rostam uses his air of tentative dapperness to poignant effect even if the electronics sound musty; at times he reminds me of Owen Pallett. “I wanna tell you I’m all right/But I don’t wanna say too much,” he sings to those of us curious about his state of affairs since 2014.
[6]
Ryo Miyauchi: The real cruel joke here is that “This Song” also inevitably becomes the haunted record Rostam sings about. It’d be hard to connect to his writing here without thinking of at least one particular person that gets in the way while listening to that one single. Perhaps a voice specific to you will sing over him as he can’t not hear his ghost singing the refrain. I hear someone during that part at least.
[6]
Micha Cavaseno: Rostam’s drooling words out the mouth delivery still continues to put me on edge, and it’s not like having tastefully neon synths and production, that if we’re being honest isn’t two steps away from middling attempts at something off of Purpose, is going to make it any better for me. What’s downright confounding is this weird desire to make an anthem out of passivity that sounds exhaustingly passive-aggressive in tone.
[3]
Edward Okulicz: Arpeggios churn around Rostam as he yelps and mopes. Actually, his slightly wimpy voice is perfectly used here, unsure, lost in reminiscing, sad even on the dancefloor, and this is a great bit of blue-tinted EDM.
[8]
Iain Mew: With Clean Bandit’s ascendency in the UK complete and spreading further, it’s surprising not to have heard more artists take after their approach to dance-pop, all pristine lines and lush gestures to sophistication. Here’s an indier take which manages to capture most of the sonic appeal of “Rather Be”, if not its bursts of feeling.
[6]