rahu the fool 1 supernova 2018

Yee-haw, y’all! Don’t worry, this is still Latvia’s Supernova 2018 we’re talking about here. Our Wiwi Jury is dusting off their dancing shoes though, as our team of music un-professionals looks to review Rahu the Fool.

The group’s entry for Supernova is “Oh, Long River”. They’re inspired by their great-grandparents, and their stories of love, war, the sea and childhood. With that in mind, they keep the feeling of the 1920s-50s alive today.

Rahu the Fool — “Oh, Long River”

“Oh, Long River” Reviews

Kristin: I´m usually all down for ragtime blue, but this kind of gives me a cringy feeling. This is so all over the place, and it leaves a bit of irritation instead of satisfaction. There are other songs from Rahu the Fool that are far better than “Oh, Long River”, so it seems that this isn’t their absolutely very best, which is disappointing. Maybe, this will change during their live performance, but until then, it’s a no.

Score: 4/10

Chris: There’s a remarkable charm to “Oh, Long River”. A 40s and 50s American folk song in a Latvian pre-selection shouldn’t work, but that charm and joy around the song means that it does. A more commercially viable sound than Aarzemnieki helps too. It maybe goes on a little too long, and there’s so much instrumentation that it might struggle to translate live, but I certainly hope it does.

Score: 6.5/10

Antranig: This song may work well as backing music on a movie, moving through a country town, but as a Eurovision entry this does not work. They could probably come up with some memorable staging to bring this song to life — but on its own merits, the song is completely forgettable. Latvia have some decent options to choose from and this is not one of them.

Score: 2/10

rahu the fool 2 supernova 2018Robyn: A Latvian skiffle band? Why not! There’s a strong Americana feeling here, but it comes with the sense that they could be singing about the Daugava and not the Mississippi. Like an actual long river, the song meanders, there’s not enough going on here to irrigate the great plains of Latvia’s Eurovision future.

Score: 4.5/10

Edgars: This will totally stand out amongst other songs this year. Loving the vibe of a party in some pub in the 30’s: these guys really know how to make some positive music. And you can never be sure about how this will end up doing in Supernova. The public could (and should) give some credit for the folk music and positive live performance.

Score: 7/10

Bernardo: Barnyard realness feels for the first time this national final season. To be honest, I kind of missed it. However, “Oh, Long River” doesn’t explode into the party you’d hope for. It’s flat like a pancake and cringy at points. Such a shame.

Score: 3.5/10

Luis: When they say “long river”, they better not refer to the Tagus, because there’s no way they’re visiting it in May. This kind of music is often easy on the ears, and it leaves you with a smile on your face. Instead, in Rahu the Fool’s case, their song sounds indifferent on the first listen, and annoying on the second.

Score: 4/10

In our Latvia Wiwi Jury, we have 14 jurors but only room for 7 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Jonathan: 4.5/10

Jordi: 6/10

Lukas: 4/10

Natalie: 7/10

William: 5.5/10

Jovana: 9/10

Steinunn: 6.5/10

 

 

 

 

Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 9.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 5.25/10

Are you floating along this river, or jumping off to shore? Let us know your thoughts about Rahu the Fool in the comments section below!

Read all our Supernova 2018 Wiwi Jury rankings here

Check out more Latvia Eurovision news here

8 Comments
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AngieP
AngieP
6 years ago

Neither here not in the show did I like this. Sounds too basic.
4/10

CyxCy
CyxCy
6 years ago

I like (the violin passages are nice), and the singer has a nice voice. It’s a little represented style in Eurovision and it can make a difference, in a good way. I want to dance with them at the village ball! XD Good luck to them, it’s a little crush.

ye me
ye me
6 years ago

underrated

Kris
Kris
6 years ago

I was initially shell-shocked to see this in the final 21. But it represents a different genre and is actually not that bad. A huge no for Eurovision though.
A 5/10.

Janis
Janis
6 years ago

Actually they’re representing a genre that itself sounds bad, ultra outdated and with weak lyrics. These guys are actually singing about a river called Garupe (what basically translates as Long (Gar-) River(upe))

fred w
fred w
6 years ago

This is not my cup of tea,but my dog Figo is listening to it, raising his ears, I’ve never saw him reacting like that.

Kris
Kris
6 years ago
Reply to  fred w

Oh!! can we have a pic of him?? I love dogs

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago

Oh this one is really bad. Some decent songs did not make it to the semi-finals of Supernova and this did. For what purpose, exactly? I disagree that this is forgettable….I will remember this for all the WRONG reasons.