FIFTY3FRIDAYS: EUROVISION NONSENSE
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- 5 min read
Photo of Look Mum No Computer © EBU / Sarah Louise Bennett
On the eve of Eurovision 2026 I thought I would top and tail this week’s tome with a little song contest nonsense. I am never quite sure whether it is considered cool to admit you actually watch, and even relish, this annual pop culture spectacular but I go way back to the days of Katie Boyle who first presented it for the BBC in 1960. In those days it was all ballgowns and tuxedos. Today we have the UK entrant, Sam Battle aka Look Mum No Computer, updating Howard Jones’ hairdo in a pink boilersuit with an admittedly earworm of a tune oddly titled 1,2, 3 in German.
Will nul pointes await? Let’s hope not. Invariably anyone who performs anything I think is half-decent at the contest scores spectacularly badly, particularly via the partisan public voting mechanism. Abba’s “Waterloo” is a rare exception to the rule. Usually, songs I like the best are confined to the lower rungs of the leaderboard and this week’s semi-finals saw some truly awful compositions go through to the final at the expense of the odd couple I thought were reasonably good.
Photo of Vanilla Ninja © EBU / Corinne Cumming
We will start with Tuesday’s equivalent of football’s play-offs. The big news was that San Marino failed to get through. If it were Euro football, that would be no surprise but Italian singer Senhit had Boy George alongside her and a catchy song called “Superstar.” I remain perplexed quite how the truly awful songs from Serbia and Lithuania especially got through. Equally surprising was that “Too Epic To Be True” from Estonia’s Vanilla Ninja did not make it either. Silly name and perhaps not a groundbreaking tune, but it had a nice early noughties vibe and the trio sang and performed it really well. Here is the official video.
From the high drama and nonsense of Eurovision now to the world of independent music more usually chronicled here. London-based singer-songwriter and producer Freya Everest fuses organic and electronic textures to create airy soundscapes. From the evidence of her debut single alone, her style is multi-levelled, melding alt-folk with art pop and her music is unlikely to find itself easily labelled. Freya takes her inspiration from personal experiences and the broader political landscape, layering acoustic instrumentation, synths and chilled beats with openly honest lyrics and social commentary. Hers is music made for both musing and movement.
Freya’s debut single, “Moniqué” takes its cue from the surrealist photograph of his lover and muse, Le Violon d’Ingres, created by Man Ray. From this striking image, Freya builds a story of a woman running away with her photographer lover. Lyrically the story converges with lived experience linked by conventional phone messages and exploring the fear of walking home alone at night, the tension between freedom and vulnerability. Strings are plucked, bowed and scraped while synths weave in and out creating an imaginative backcloth for the clarity of Freya’s vocals which mingle folk tones with jazz modulations and build harmonically. Impressive indeed.
It was my turn to write the reviews for last week’s Fresh Faves as voted for by Fresh On The Net readers. As I had reviewed her cracking song a couple of weeks back for Fifty3Fridays, I was delighted to see that “We Do What We Want (When We Want When We Want To)” by Brighton’s Cello proved a hit with Fresh On The Net readers too. This was an incredibly strong selection of Faves and it is nigh impossible to single out just two to share with you here – you can, of course, hear all 10 on Fresh On The Net (and read what I had to say about them).
Previously featured as a Fresh Fave under the moniker of March, London-based singer-songwriter Kitty O’Neal seems to have reverted to her birth name now as she works towards the release of a debut album, to follow two impressive self-released EPs over the last four years. Her alt-folk sound shares some common ground with the Laurel Canyon inspired storytelling of the 70s alongside more contemporary influences. Kitty’s music is hallmarked by versatility in songwriting, reflective lyrics and her instinctive feel for melody.
“Can I Let This One Go?” is the lead song taken from Kitty’s forthcoming long player. It takes her from the intimacy of her early acoustic material into folk-rock territory with electric guitar stings very much the dynamic counterpoint in the song. There is a palpable sense of catharsis in the lyrics which is mirrored by the instrumental punch and given meaning by Kitty’s captivating vocals. Indignation rarely sounds as sweet as this.
Unlike Kitty O’Neal, Richard Neuberg is a first time Fave, as far as I can tell. Based in Oxford, he fronted the band Viarosa who created a considerable buzz around its music in the mid to late noughties. The band’s music drew parallels with dark Americana though with a distinctive edge which was peculiarly English; “outstanding”, as Uncut magazine pronounced it, “like The Birthday Party doing Johnny Cash.” After a 16-year hiatus, during which Richard carved a niche as a producer but also battled a debilitating illness, he is back as a solo artist.
“Everything Dark Is Light” is the opening track from Richard's forthcoming album, The Vine, due out at the end of this month. He describes the song as being about “finding some light in the darkest of times”, sentiments which ring true from the very first listen. The notion of seeing past the pain of loss to a point where you are ready to embrace the light will resonate with so many. Richard’s warm, tender baritone will bring Richard Hawley to mind while the delightful string arrangement wraps itself around the song, never swamping, always complementing the vocals.
Next to the two songs I chose as my Alt Picks from last week’s Fresh On The Net entries. The first is from The Belmont Estate of whom I know very little, OK nothing. However, I really like the way “Big Love” builds from the simple opening voices over a drone background with layers of instrumentation and brilliant bright harmonies.
My second Alt Pick is from Annick Odom, an artist we featured here in our issue of 24 April with her wonderful song, “Amity and Lone Pine.” Here is another track from Annick’s album, Linen of Words. Chronicling a piece of history - a letter from mother to her pilot son during WW2 - "Hello Bill" is delivered with vocal delicacy and coloured by bass, piano and more than a touch of inventive sound design.
Photo of Eva Marija © EBU / Sarah Louise Bennett
So, it’s back to Eurovision to close today. Luxembourg’s entry, Eva Marija, was another victim of public elimination in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday night. Her song “Mother Nature” had caused some friction in the run-up as accusations arose that the four word chorus to the song was too close to that of Birdy’s “Keeping Your Head Up”. Well, it is but that should not have stopped the young singer claiming a final spot while the truly awful Bulgarian entry sailed through. I would take Eva’s back to nature paean any day over “Bangaranga.”
Fingers crossed for our Sam tonight!
