A minor Fascination
I went down a rabbit hole and now I can't stop listening to a Danish power-pop band.
Anna and the Apocalypse is fast becoming a holiday staple for me. I'm a Scot. I adore horror comedies set at Christmas. Musicals are not-so-secretly my jam too. So, it ticks off all of the right boxes. It's not perfect — it's not nearly as Scottish as you might expect, for one thing — but it's charming and fun as hell and I love it.
One of its biggest selling points is the earwormy soundtrack. I've barely been able to get "Hollywood Ending" out of my head over the last couple of years. On my most recent watch, "Turning My Life Around" stood out more than most, mainly because I realized it sounded like a song I hadn't thought about in over a decade. And thus kicked off one of my obsessions for the last couple of weeks.
It’s similar to "Fascination" from Alphabeat, a power-pop band from Denmark who scored a big hit with that great, catchy pop track in Europe in the late 2000s. I spent a couple of hours watching live versions of Alphabeat performing it, including at my beloved T in the Park. Anders SG, one of the two main vocalists, dances around the stage with a furious energy that reminds me of Matt and Kim's infectious performances.
Me being me, I had to learn about everything Alphabeat has been up to since their moment in the sun. After a hiatus of several years, they re-emerged in 2019 with a super-fun album, Don't Know What's Cool Anymore. The title track hit me harder than I would have expected, but it's the first track, "Shadows," I can't stop listening to. That bass line and those harmonies are fantastic and it has a perfect pop chorus. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.