Spoiler: Reactions
Slovenia // Soju - RedHook ft. Sly Withers
Not my genre, although I'm never going to say no to a sax break. Felt like it leant too heavily on the swearing.
Lithuania // Bocanegra - Sonido Gallo Negro
Broadly thought this was alright, particularly enjoying the percussion, but found the high hook line a bit raspy and scraping against my ears. Comfortably too long for how repetitive it was, too.
Gibraltar // Raven - Kelela
I like a slow build, although I wanted this one to be a little bit less droney than it was. Feels like it suffers for transitioning directly into the next track on the album because it left this track feeling like a bit of an orphan - it still seemed unresolved to me, like we were missing the second half of the song rather than a separate track. I liked the greater ambition of this track compared to the first two, though.
USA // Idol - Yoasobi
Percussion, you're at a 10, and I need you to be at like a 4. Everything here's just a bit busy and exhausting.
Peru // Desire Lines - Deerhunter
I liked this a lot. Lovely gaze-out-of-the-car-window guitars, lyrical themes of possibility and the roads not taken which I always enjoy, solid vocals and it definitely earned that long, hazy outro. Shocked if I don't listen to this again.
Wales // Come On Mess Me Up - Cub Sport
I wasn't sure after the first 20 seconds or so but I really warmed up to it as it went along. I was worried that it might end up going super sad-sack for the chorus but I really liked the balance of emotions that it ended up striking - particularly that clear-eyed determination. Very affecting.
Chile // Hollywood - Cigarbox Man
Not sure that the voice completely worked for me but I quite liked that the instrumentation felt a bit wriggly and hard to pin down (outside of the "light it up" refrain which went on way too long doing not much of anything). Structurally a bit disjointed in an interesting way but I don't think that the result ever lived up to the chutzpah that went into it all.
Ireland // Heal - Tom Odell
I'm not normally a huge piano-ballad person but I thought this was pretty good. The sparseness of the lyrics was well supported by the emotionally drained delivery.
Israel // Lon La-bul - Joulez
I really wish that the bass thumping was turned down, like, a full 50% because it would have ended up with a song that I'd have enjoyed quite a lot. As it was, it just got way too overbearing for me, trampling over the rest of the song.
Yemen // Pirate Blues - As Cities Burn
It was really difficult to pin down what was going on in the lyrics here; seemed like it might be a mix of the genuinely interesting and the complete nonsense? Quite liked what was going on instrumentally, though; the drums were particularly cool!
Denmark // Dust in the Wind - Kansas
I liked this alright. When the gentle bongo came in towards the end, that really highlighted to me that I'd wanted something more than just the acoustic guitar.
eSwatini // Ready Now - Dodie
I really liked the gentle backing vocals but really bristled at the clipped, ASMR-y delivery of the leads.
Oz // Bible Black - Hortus Animae
A world of no.
Mali // Angel of Death - Manchester Orchestra
(my entry!)
I'm late to discovering Manchester Orchestra but they were my favourite artist introduced to me in 2022. 2017's spectacular A Black Mile to the Surface is my favourite album of theirs but this record, The Million Masks of God, runs it pretty close, and I felt like entering something from it.
Andy Hull's voice is one that I find incredibly emotive, and he's a fascinating lyricist, but this song is all in the guitars and the drums for me. That intro is such a thrill, the moment of pause before the drums crash back in for "sleeping with the angel of death", and then the build up for the bridge is absolutely electric. Woof.