Somehow we believe her when she says this isn’t over…
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[6.25]
Katherine St Asaph: She may tease her hair and rebel it up, but the chorus is too polished and her vocals too moussed. Which isn’t a strike; it just means at least two of the songwriter, producer and vocalist are at odds.
[7]
Zach Lyon: Very obviously the fourth single off the album: a bit of a confused experiment in pop star image, seeing as Tove’s still at the point where she and her producers don’t know exactly where to take it. So it’s a declaration of character, an equal mix of our brave heroine defining herself as “rebel” because she “one who does things to their hair” and simultaneously basking in the limelight that characterization may or may not be providing her. All the parts limp into each other with little sense in the transition. But she’s still one of the best new acts of 2011, so this has no choice but to be above-average.
[6]
Hazel Robinson: Despite the Kate Bush reference, lyrically this is almost line-for-line a less snotty version of No Good Advice. Sonically, it’s got some of the hum and thrum of Born This Way without ever going as big. It’s very pleasant but totally throwaway, the last few minutes nearly totally content free from repetition of the non-chorus.
[6]
Iain Mew: “Call My Name” is immaculate, forceful synth-pop but perhaps a touch too immaculate. The relatively unadorned “I’ll be waiting, this ain’t over” at the end hints at a depth of emotion that it never otherwise reaches, and it doesn’t have enough shiny tricks or variety to make make up for it.
[5]
Alfred Soto: Another Swedish would-be with the latest in programming and whey-voiced co-dependency. That’s a lot of hyphenates to live up to.
[6]
Brad Shoup: Was listening to “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” on the True Oldies Channel last week when I realized I couldn’t think of a female-sung origin story. Styrke’s – wonderfully muddled with talk of jawbones, hair straightening and vertigo – will do for now. Thanks to those Legend of Zelda intervals and “this ain’t over,” the refrain becomes a threat issued across a DMZ, through the underground. Tove seems to be going for a Robyn thing with the track, but she doesn’t have the same weird-ass voice and the mix becomes the focus. Until I get a proper lyric transcription, I’m inclined to say it’s for the best.
[7]
Sally O’Rourke: After the graceful, morose “High and Low,” one of my favorite singles so far this year, Tove retreats to the brash’n’bland Europop signifiers of “White Light Moment.” Gone too is the lovesick catch in her voice, buffed out to ensure “Call My Name” is unburdened by anything marginally distinctive. That the record succeeds anyway, more or less, is testimony to the sheer force of Tove’s attitude and the power of durable hooks to overcome derivative material. I don’t begrudge Tove cloning her biggest hit, especially when she improves on the original; I just hope she realizes her true potential is as the future queen of misery disco.
[7]
Jer Fairall: Somewhere between an okay Robyn b-side (those haunting little synth echoes!) and a typically blah Sia a-side (that nothing of a chorus), though her concluding “I’ll be waiting / this ain’t over” hints at something sinister lurking offscreen.
[6]