Delam por az darde khoda dobare

I know I've already written about Arash's new single here, but I haven't posted it and, given that a month on it's still getting plays from me, I thought it was worth sharing. Swedish-Iranian singer Arash's earlier hits like "Temptation" and "Boro Boro" from his 2005 self-titled album may be catchier and probably better, but "Donya," the lead single from Arash's upcoming album, has proven itself to have more staying power (for me personally, anyway) than I expected. I'm hoping we'll get some great songs on Donya, also the title of his new album, which is due out May 28.

Donya--more from the "Boro Boro" school than the "Temptation" school, "Donya" is kind of a surprising comeback single because it's not as in-your-face or upbeat-ly aggressively catchy as I would have expected. Beyond that, if you've heard an Arash single, you're not going to be surprised by the sound of this: pop with Persian flourishes and the Swedish sense of catchiness. Shaggy drops by with a couple of asides (which are mainly noteworthy only because the first time he said "a bomb" I had to do the aural equivalent of a doubletake at the idea that Obama was being mentioned in a Swedish pop song). None of this is to say that it's anything less than an enjoyable listen, though, and though "Donya" might not seem quite as memorable as some of Arash's earlier singles, it's better than others and still great. You may walk away from it now thinking you'll never think about it again, but give yourself a few hours or a day and you'll find yourself with "Didi didi donya" popping into your head at odd times. Oddly enough, the lyrics are apparently kind of depressing...at any rate, I'm glad to have Arash back.

As a side note, there are a bunch of remixes for this song on the single. The Mintman one sounds like its backing came straight out of a Timbaland song (mainly "The Way I Are"), which is an odd combination I never expected to hear. They're mainly worth mentioning, though, for the Payami Break Mix and the full-length Payami Remix, which are really pretty great if you like your pop songs reworked into pure '80's-esque dance tracks. I really recommend tracking them down; they're not life-changing remixes that you'll listen to all the time on their own and that everyone regardless of their feelings on remixes needs to hear like that "Mistake" remix, but they're very listenable if you like remixes in general. The Odessa Club Mix isn't bad either. In fact...

Donya (Payami Remix)

...in case you're curious.

Arash's new album Donya isn't out yet, but it can be preordered here (physical) and you can buy his single "Donya" here (physical, out in a a couple of days) or here (digital, being sold now). This song will only be posted for a little bit, since it's a fairly new single.

Next up: maybe those American singers.