32. Believe Me
Average: 7.61
High: 10 x 4 (
@First2Run @Animalia @tylerc904 @Mikey1701)
Low: 4 x 1 (
@HeartSwells)
My score: 8.5
OK, so we're now at a point where I mostly agree with every elimination, so well done everyone, we got there eventually. I low-key adore this one but it's not my absolute favourite song left from Bright Lights so I guess it is a good time for it to sashay away.
I think my favourite feature of this track is the earthy, almost Joanna Newsom-esque intro with the fluttering baroque string-led instrumentation, which gives it a very bright and sunny melodic effect. The chorus also fucking
knocks, it's got that oh-so-nostalgic noughties disco-pop vibe to it which gives me all the good feels. Overall, despite its simplicity, it's one of her very cutest and it never fails to lift my mood.
Blodskur reminded me that a demo version exists and is actually quite different in tone and energy to the final product. Rather than baroque strings and organic instrumentation, the demo begins with some lovely ad-libs and proceeds with a lighter and more etherial vibe, until some funky synths come in during the last chorus and fuck me up a tad. Both versions are essential for any Ellie/Lights fan (the album, not the Canadian artist), so I included them both at the end of the write-up.
Y'all were generally very positive about this one:
GhettoPrincess (5) thinks
“this sounds like a demo”.
Remorque (6) explains why this is one of the earlier Bright Lights tracks to leave...
Definitely one of the weaker songs on the expanded re-release, but it’s still kind of a bop though. It suffers from some of her weaker verses and the chorus is a bit of a wet damp, but I think that’s just because it’s surrounded by such fucking fantastic songs…
ufint (7):
“Quite the chorus, eh?” Idk...I guess...
D.Jay (7) highlights a good line:
The whole “can’t change the world with a song” line is just iconic as.
Bear in mind that Run Away With Me hadn't been released at this point...
I can’t personally vouch for this because I’ve never bothered to listen to Kesha’s demos, but I shall take your word for it,
DrinkMyTears (7.25):
Reminds me of a Kesha demo for some reason #ratepromo
Blodskur (8) is ANGRY, y’all! Not angry enough to underscore this, mind:
Fuck this version as it misses out the amazing intro that the demo "This Music" had!
Consideration (8) reminds us that Ellie started her career as the queen of folktronica. Legend.
Everything about the Bright Lights songs feels so much more refined and developed than a lot of the songs on the original album. She finally managed to combine folk and electronica instead of making music that sounds like her trying to conform to the idea of mixing the two genres together.
The quirky pre-chorus had
Slice of Life (8.5) checking that their Walkman was still working!
The pre-chorus is soooo weird. I thought my music player was acting up. Other than that, this is another sweet homerun for Ellie.
Once again, there is a disconnect between
kaushik’s scoring and the accompanying commentary, like, he gave this one a 9 but this is what he wrote:
Bit too commercial sounding for this album, but a great track nonetheless.
Well
ohnostalgia (9) woke up feeling positive, ‘buoyant’ even;
My joyous buoyant bop!!! I love her voice here, it's a bit eerie.
Never thought the word(s) ‘helter skelter’ would be included in one of these write-ups but you never really know with
DJHazey (9):
Love how it sounds like she's delivering the song over an intercom at first. The chorus is so helter skelter and crazy, yet it makes me feeling like I'm spinning around (C: MOVE OUT OF MY WAY-E)
and jumping simultaneously. That's euphoria in audio form.
I believe that
First2Run (10) loves this:
This just gets better with every listen. The whole song feels like a big merry-go-round spinning in circles at exponentially increasing speeds, in the best of ways of course.
Here's
Mikey1701 (10) doing the most as usual:
I’M BALD. While I was a big fan with Lights, this track came along and turned me into a rabid stan. Our first real taste of Ellie’s big pop girl potential (which she then promptly squandered with shit single choices and Halcyon in general- but that’s a whole other story). The opening bars put me in mind of the Final Fantasy X soundtrack and the entire thing might just be one of the finest songs of the millennium. So of course, she doesn’t release it as a single.
(The demo version)