- On paper it looks like a solid formula: Crosstown meets the Pet Shop Boys. If you let two seasoned hands like Martin Dawson and Glimpse take a crack at bringing it to life, then chances are you have a solid crowd-pleaser on your hands, where a caffeinated, uptempo groove gets neatly married to slow swells of synth strings and an abundance of peppy cowbell. With a romantic, feel-good vocal promoting inclusiveness, the tune demonstrates dance music's capacity for life affirmation.
It's a bit surprising that Neil Tennant's singing style doesn't get aped more often in clubworld—winsome British cooing seems to sit so nicely on top of crispy deep house. And yet while Dawson & Glimpse have pulled off the tune with ease, it's precisely the slight feeling of being engineered that makes "No One Belongs Here More Than You" verge on cloying. You'll note that its title has ostensibly been cribbed from Miranda July's collection of intimate short stories—which kind of underscores that the tune's sentiment feels slightly borrowed rather than the result of immediate experience.
It's always refreshing to see a remixer do something risky and inventive and Ewan Pearson doesn't disappoint. Pearson's remix pulls off a neat balancing act, undergirding dense echoey loops up top with double-time machine gun bass down below. "Balearos Maximos" indeed. When the sub kicks in, it sounds like drifty island beats on steroids. Shifting bursts of white noise careen in and out, and the whole track has a rollicking tidal vibe, with elements elbowing for attention over a disco stomp. A vocal snippet and those dreamy strings are sprinkled throughout, and when the full vocal hits it doesn't dominate but bobs about as another bit of flotsam in the foamy tide.
Tracklist A No One Belongs Here More Than You
B No One Belongs Here More Than You (Ewan's Balearos Maximos Remix)
Digital. Martin Dawson & Glimpse - Lola