Pop doesn’t have to be obvious. In fact, when it moves along more sophisticated lines, it is always much more interesting. But of course, the art is not to get too clever; you don’t want to lose sight of the things that make the genre work – contagion and groove – but neither is there much point in just doing the same old, same old.
It is such an understanding that makes ‘Now or Never’ work so well: a modern take on the cinematic sweep and grandeur of the old chamber pop form, it blends orchestral scope with pop addiction. But more than that, it is a masterclass in dynamics, running through string-soaked lulls and sonic highs, punchy vocal deliveries and whispered intimacies.
And if that seems like a lot to juggle, and it is, you also have to factor in glitchy electronica and skanking, reggae-infused guitar work, clubland beats and lush, ornate, wide-screen sonic imagination. But Oskar Brandt is deft enough to find room for all of those elements, and more, to fit together and still have room to breathe.
Lyrically, it is a song that hangs on the edge of life-changing potential, that moment when the people in a relationship must decide whether they want to make it work or if their individual futures lie elsewhere, that deep intake of breath before the answer reveals itself.
Pop can be big; it can be clever; it can be infectious; it can be intricate, but rarely is it this grand, this sophisticated.
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
x
YouTube
