Every week, a panel of writers for The Corner will focus on a bunch of recently released local singles and grade them. We call it Great Sounds Great; Bad Sounds Bad. We might have borrowed this idea from thesinglesjukebox.com but we love that site and we hope that you like this.

[Video / iTunes]

[Grade: 4.9]

Danielle Street: Unlike other TNAF tracks this one is a real slow-burner. The drums and synths build pulsating rhythms which gain momentum giving the song the feeling it would make a the perfect soundtrack for a summer roadtrip. But start paying closer attention to the lyrics and it all reeks a little but much of someone who’s girlfriend has given them the flick and they’re still a bit sore about it, bringing to mind Carly Simons’ ‘Your So Vain’ except with more mysterious and convoluted wording. The redeeming factor is Alisa’s back up lyrics, which really only pipe in at the end, bringing a little more depth to the track. I would definitely look to other singles that feature more of her singing, such as ‘All of This’ before giving this one more airtime. [7]

Dan Trevarthen: It was a given this would come out as a single, and I can’t deny its accessibility and potential for success, but I think they’re better than this. The lyricism sounds like pop punk and the vocal performance comes across hysterical and adolescent. Always felt like Alisa singing this would have made it far more interesting and subtle. [3]

Michael McClelland: Fuck the haters. Sorry I’m not ‘cool’ enough to swallow my intrinsic reaction to catchy hooks, but this is the TNAF’s best song. They may be jerks in real life, and their band may be another knockoff of music’s trending topics, but I wouldn’t have been turned onto pop music in the first place if either of those things ever got in the way of a good song. Maybe cheesy rhetorical questions and gut-level sensuality are my weaknesses when it comes to the love song formula, but at least people are finding interesting ways to do it. This time, it’s the minute-long extended chord progression at the end of the song which is unfortunately absent from the single release. Alisa Xayalith’s sighing whispers near the start do pretty well at chilling your everyday pop sucker too. If only they’d thought of a way to up the intensity without resorting to the obvious dynamic and pitch changes at 1:35. There’s your fatal flaw again, Nakies. To respond, I’ll do something just as obvious: Don’t you know people write reviews about songs like you? [8]

Chelsea Nikkel: I appreciate the interesting structure of this song – traditional verse chorus verse chorus go wacky, generally chill out a bit, then go back to the chorus then one more chorus,  is instead abandoned for a gradual crescendo throughout. Great vocal delivery from Tom Powers. Lyrically this might be a bit teeny /  melodramatic and not of a substance or style that a cynic can relate to, but I suppose it’s a pop song not a novel. Can imagine this as the soundtrack to a fatal car crash / breakup / coming of age / group-home-renovation montage on a Gossip girl season finale. [8]

Hussein Moses: Not great at all and a bloated way to end an otherwise well-rounded album. Tom’s vocals sound stiff and the wording is kind of moody and bitter. How about that refrain though; “Don’t you know people write songs about girls like you?” Overreaching. [3]

Dan Taipua: This is the most misogynistic song I’ve heard in years; and I own Too $hort’s back catalogue. Seriously, this sounds like it was written by the type of guy who cuts the eyes out of photos of his ex-girlfriend. I hate when privileged-kid rock pulls this crap. [2]

Kim Gruschow: The lyrics are a pubescent grasp at depth with forced rhyme and dull emotion. They have an air of Garbage’s heyday, all-engineering alt-rock.  It’s ok when groovin’ but when the dance isn’t kicking, the pleading delivery of vocals and rising/falling synths are way too close to U2 for comfort. [4]

Matthew McAuley: I’m not crazy about this, but I like the change of tack from the album’s previous two singles. Also, am I the only one that feels like this is almost an homage to the Tall Dwarfs classic ‘Crush’? The “what would you do” style lyrics are pretty similar, and there’s just something in the feel of the song that kinda seems like Knox + Bathgate with a Skins edge. All in all, it’s reasonably unmemorable; better than ‘Punching In A Dream’ but nowhere near ‘Young Blood’. [7]

Phyllis Gabor: I already made up my mind about The Naked and Famous a while ago and this has definitely failed to sway me the other way. To my ears this sounds like wishy washy musical drivel, and not in the good way. [2]

Stevie Kaye: Lyrically, a slightly sulky version of a “hang in there, baby!” poster; musically, a slightly sulky version of U2 w/ synths. The most self-consciously anthemic thing I’ve heard in ages, and will probably be licensed to a soundtrack for sacks full of cash despite the wince-inducing use of “little girl”. [4]

Julie Petsounds: I really think that these guys have nailed that “build, build, build, build, build, SOMETHING MEANINGFUL” type of song, which is cool. This track is kind of forgettable, but not bad. All of their songs feel like they are saying “LOOK INTO MY EYES AND TELL ME YOU DON’T FEEL ME. INSIDE YOU. BEHIND YOU. INSIDE YOU.” (Must not say anything rapey here.) [6]

The Naked and Famous’ video for Young Blood is predictably about being young – jumping in water with your clothes on, destroying stuff, jumping off things, flying kites, riding bikes, getting hurt, laughing, crying, yelling, all that good stuff – it was directed by Special Problems, who seem to be on some sort of genius streak right now with their recent videos for Jonathan Boulet, David Dallas, Wolfmother, The Mint Chicks and Midnight Juggernauts, and this just nails exactly what the song is all about. With a lack of money around, video concepts seems to follow the same boring approach, showcasing the artist without thinking about the song, or otherwise getting it all wrong (a la every recent Timbaland video) and creating a forgettable three-minute filler moment on TV. The Naked and Famous always hinted that they could make a song like Young Blood but until now they never fully delivered. Listen to the damn thing already. [via TNAF]