Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Smith & Thell, ARISTA 2022.
Smith & Thell are a multi-platinum selling duo from Sweden who met each other as teenagers at a local music event in their hometown of Helsingborg.
They have gone on to release two albums and achieved two consecutive number one singles and four consecutive top five singles in Sweden plus a top 25 in the US charts.
In the process they’ve accumulated 350 million streams, won the 2020 Swedish Grammy for Composer of The Year and become one of the most sought-after songwriting/producing teams in the world.
They have clocked up a remarkable 3.5 billion streams to date on songs they have performed, written, and produced.
Maria Smith explains that Planet Mars is “a song about really wanting a relationship to work but realising that you’ve grown apart to the point that the distance between you is galaxies.”
It’s a classy pop song that captures some of the piano-based musicality of another famous Swedish pop group.
There are overtones of ABBA in the piano opening to the track and the mix of voices has an alluring harmony, the hallmark of the Swedish superstars.
The production is excellent as is the writing.
If Planet Mars is an indication of the quality of Smith & Thell’s work it’s no wonder that they’ve achieved such success.
The first half of the song is presented with just piano backing. It’s not until the mid-point that other instruments build considerable depth.
There’s oodles of space in the mix which allows a visualisation of the vastness of space between the two parties, and the heavenly bodies.
Planet Mars is a clever pop song written and performed by two talented musicians.
