Belgium BELGIUM 2020 - Hooverphonic - Release Me

[escYOUnited]

 

[RainyWoods]

Woah, this is very good. I was pleased to see Hooverphonic had been selected for Eurovision (they were a great bag for Belgium), but I've held back on hype as I hadn't listened to them since my teen years, and the band seemed to have changed a bit over the years.

Release Me is so luxurious. So dangerous. She's slipping poison into your martini whilst declining your advances with a seductive half smile. It's such a nocturnal piece with this mysterious darkness hanging over it. I love the twangy guitar and the slight dissonance in the electronics at times. The chorus is pure sex. Like.. wow, so good.

I have just one rather small nitpick and that's the vocals. They are fine but I'm just imagining this in my head being performed by an older, more life-withered vocalist. Luka's voice is nice enough. It's just that it's the composition mostly doing the slaying of my body here. Very nice entry all in all though.

10 points (composition 12 points).

 

[BarefootBoogaloo]

It definitely wouldn't be out of place as the main theme to a movie, the guitar and the strings blend with her voice nicely. My second 12 of the season!

 

[opinionsigotem]

There's something very 90's indie pop about it which is vuurrrrry appealing - like imagine it being sung by Shirley Manson or Beth Gibbons? Perfection (which I guess speaks to Rainy's minor criticism, Luka is slightly less).

Honestly, all they have to do is not fuck it up. Sennek came close to making it even though she stumbled around the stage like an inebriated ostrich. Eliot still came 13th in the semi despite... *gestures to garbage can* all of that. The song is there, no question, but a simpler staging with more camera angles and less choreography would cement its success.

 

[PinchyCrabstina]

I didn't have any expectations for this song and after listening to it I'm left feeling indifferent about it. I guess it's nice, but nothing special. It could perhaps be elevated by a nice staging but at this moment I feel that it will probably NQ.

 

[Mainshow]

Awesome entry. It's my #1 by miles. Incredibly eerie yet seductive. I love the slight Bond touches! Like @RainyWoods said, a more mature voice would have lift the song to another level,though. Her voice is a bit too soft but that's just a minor thing.... The song itself is memorable and I love the melody ad well + its arrangement is divine.

10 points for now!

 

[HayashiM]

I always find it funny when people say "I did not expect this from [country]!" in their reaction videos, because I don't think the patterns are as strong as we fans perceive them to be.
However, if there's a country that definitely has a clear pattern for their entries, it's Belgium. Put their last 4 songs on the same James Bond OSC album and it will hold its ground as such. Stil, something changes for me, because this time I am here for it.
I don't know why, maybe it's Luka's super hot timbre, maybe it's the desire to finally have something good again after the disappointments of this weekend... But unlike its predecessors, I really like Release Me. My only caveat is it becomes kinda repetitive by the end.
Well done Hooverphonics, it's a !

 

[Edweis]

Had to listen to it a multuple times before making up my mind.
Yeah, I'm not surprised at all, after Sennek and Blanche this just screams Belgian ESC song.
The song set up a mood right at the start, a mood that would be a perfect fit in a James Bond movie, but then the chorus comes and breaks this bubble a little. The whole package is a little too repetitive for my taste. I give it a 6.

 

[Fierro]

Didn't expect anything from them. Song is not interesting, but there's a hope I will eventually like it. So far 4 pts from me

 

[Uto]

Listened a couple of times by now and it's just not much of a chorus, verses are pretty good. Feel like all the bits and pieces are there for this song, but they don't build up to something greater than te sum of its parts. It's just a nice song, but ultimately forgettable. Will probably be able to ride the jury into the final with relative ease, but once there this won't do much with the televote I think and will just be an unfortunate vote-splitter that is going to benefit songs in other genres. Staging still a big question mark for me. Could be that it all comes together through visuals.

 

[marty]

Nice song. This year is very retro so far. I think it will be difficult for Belgium to reach the final. I give 6 points.

 

[ijsbeer]

Might not be impossible do to the 'Calm after the storm route'. It's a song without a big bang, and therefore it has to grow a bit on people. A good performance en staging will be needed to make sure this song comes across.

 

[heke1988]

Belgium goes Darude feat. Sebastian Sejman song title "Release Me"?

I think live version would be better than studio version. At this point I will give 6 points.

 

[DursunZaman]

Alright, time to book the flight to Brussels for May 2021.

 

[Ezio]

OMG, I got goosebumps with the first note. So exciting. Listening to it now.

 

[MooseShoes]

Classy song. I like it a lot but I have to say that it didn't hit me instantly the way "A Matter of Time" did. I suppose that's because Sennek's verses were quiet compared to the chorus and this is much more subtle. Am giving it for the moment, but it could well become a later on.

 

[Ezio]

Finally, a song worth winning Eurovision and perfectly suiting the Zeitgeist. Release my body now and let's go Brugge 2021!

Wanna know my secret? Bam 12 points

 

[Schlagerman1]

Another Bondinspired song from Belgium, and I do like it, even if I think this isn't as strong songwise as "A Matter Of Time". But it is nice and I like the british 90s indiepop feel to it (which seems to be a theme in 2020, since Italy also has a strong touch of it as wel, very interesting..), but it is a little repetetive and monotonous and I am afraid this will be rather boring on stage.

 

[mauve]

Wow ... just listened to it. Absolutely goosebumps The song has no true highlights or a chorus, but it crawls under your skin. My second 12 pts after Italy. Thank you, Belgium giving us a wonderful song because so many songs are very mediocre this year.

 

[sigi]

First 12 of the season...masterpiece

 

[Ezio]

Awesome entry. It's my #1 by miles. Incredibly eerie yet seductive. I love the slight Bond touches! Like @RainyWoods said, a more mature voice would have lift the song to another level,though. Her voice is a bit too soft but that's just a minor thing.... The song itself is memorable and I love the melody ad well + its arrangement is divine.

10 points for now!

It is instantly accessible without a cliché build-up and chorus. This will eat up the competition alive. Juries and televotes are lit!