Phil’s Eurovision Countdown 2022 – Part 30 – Poland

Ochman – River

There are people that claim to know things saying that this is going to be the one to challenge Ukraine or Sweden or <insert country name here>. So with this being my first listen, I’m interested to see what all the fuss has been about.

The first thought is that the introduction sounds remarkably similar to “Mad World” by Gary Jules – which is not a bad thing. I mean I have compared songs with worse in this year’s Countdown.

Ochman has won The Voice of Poland which, I am sure, is a fine contest, and you can tell  he has performed in public a number of times by the preview video, which is immaculately shot and produced and you can hear his American twang in his voice without me actually checking his country of birth.

Overall, though, this is a very strong song and gives me Gjon’s Tears vibes, insofar as it taps into the same part of my psyche, except this one does not have the falsetto and the distressed Channel 4 Logo for the singer to perch on.

I also get a whiff of Arcade (I appreciate this is a review not a wine tasting), which, again, is no bad thing. The sum of its parts, though, is greater than its whole, in my opinion.

Arcade grabbed me from the opening, and I could see that winning weeks out. This doesn’t do that. The required elements are all laid out before me like a Eurovision buffet, and I get to pick the bits I like best. A winning song shouldn’t do that, it should be a complete tasting in one course. Does the quality of the parts equal winner? Not sure, but I know a good song when I hear one.

Phil’s score – 10 Points

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Lesley
Lesley
1 year ago

A haunting ballad performed by a very talented vocalist – I like this a lot. A contender but have not booked tickets to Warsaw just yet.