I’m guessing this is probably going to be my last proper ‘new release’ of the year, and I should probably finish on a sad song, but I’ll stick to the NMR script instead – a Nordic indie band writing pop songs with tunes because they simply love what they do. I hope we get loads more of it in 2021.
It comes courtesy of NOOA, not the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration branching out to release a Christmas single, but the Finnish-italian electropop band of the same name. They've been around (at least on social media) for almost 2 years, with a nice collection of singles, a fair few live performances in Helsinki, and the most heart warming (and wrenching) message on Facebook at the start of the Covid crisis in March, when none of us really had a clue what was about to happen.
Anyway they’ve managed to keep writing and releasing new tracks and the latest is ‘Rosie’, written about that girl we all know who has ‘everything’ going for her, as they explain: “Rosie is the charismatic friend everyone has. Clever, pretty and talented, always in the center of attention. She's sometimes even toxic in all her self-willingness. You know that she's not the best company, but still you keep staying around her and her magnetic charisma.”
I’ll end the year saying the same thing as I started in that it really is ‘all about the tunes’, because after a relatively laid back start, it just opens up with a killer melodic chorus. The vocals have a melancholic lilt to them which I like for sure, but it’s just a really cool easy listening pop song, with a nostalgic 80s feel to it.
Take a listen here.