When I was at Eurovision in Concert, amongst my people, I asked everyone what their favourites were this year. A lot of names kept popping up. Some were expected – Switzerland, Spain – but, surprisingly, so did Poland, with Luna’s The Tower.
I say surprisingly not because it’s a bad song, but surprisingly because I thought I was the only person who absolutely adored this song. It wasn’t getting much publicity in the pre-party circuit – indeed, Luna took time off to rest her voice. No one had started a Luna fans group chat. Rather, The Tower has just been out there, quietly building up a fan base as people slowly realise how intoxicating this mix of slightly bratty vocals and ethereal synths can truly be.
I’ve talked before about my autism and how being hypersensitive to sounds makes of some of these songs an absolute aural delight. The Tower is one of the feasts this year, filled with aural delights that I’m still discovering listen after listen.
It’s one of those sounds – the opening huff of breath – which really intrigues me, because we have another song (Veronika by Raiven) ending on a series of breaths. And it got me thinking about how nicely The Tower acts as a companion piece to Veronika. Where Raiven is singing about the death of a woman accused of witchcraft in the 1400s, Luna is singing about a woman who is unapologetic about her power, and clear-eyed about her accomplishments. Has she left bodies in her wake? Undoubtedly, but that tower is complete! And she is the one who completed it!
Maybe that’s – in addition to the bleeps and bloops – the reason I like this song so much. Women are so often conditioned to downplay their accomplishments, lest they appear immodest and boastful. But Luna is out here telling people to ‘shout it louder.’ She wants people to know about the hard work and sacrifices that she’s made to get that darn tower built, and she’s not going to pretend like it just magically appeared one day!
In the video, this narrative translates into a series of chess games that Luna wins. Of course she wins them! She’s confident and smart and is not going to downplay her talents just to make other people feel better. The only person who can potentially defeat Luna is the old woman at the end who is, of course, a future version of Luna – the one who is her destiny.
There are many layers to this song, and this performance, and it’s so much more than just a wispy confection of a pop song! I want to shout it from the rooftops – I mean, Luna would normally be doing that, but she’s on vocal rest. Don’t underestimate this song, casual Eurovision fans!
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