Avicii: True
Details
Genre: Disco, Electronica, SynthpopPros:
Alt-folk, Americana, Brit rock in electronica? Strange pairing makes Avicii's debut album an attractive novelty item. Dancefloor buzz is still representedCons:
'True' is still a bit short in lengthWith debut solo album, DJ turns up the dial on the future of electropop
With debut solo album, DJ turns up the dial on the future of electropop
The good-looking Swedish DJ Tim Bergling – best known as Avicii – seems to be more interested in extending the boundaries of modern electronica with the awkwardly-sounding, but pleasantly assembled Mumford & Sons-meets-disco aboard his debut solo album, True. With the opening folk-dance number, “Wake Me Up!,” a strange combination of otherworldly synth wizzes, Aloe Blacc’s soulful lead vocals and gospel tempo comes together creates a global party anthem. He returns the favor with “Hey Brother,” which is divided into a Civil Wars-esque half and a full throttle instrumental vamp seasoned with horn fanfare.
But not everything is tricked up like a disco inferno or a country-bordered remix. “Addicted to You,” featuring Audra Mae singing to a tune masked in Adele balladry, does what it has to with two minutes of playing time escaping the newly established format of the album’s half-and-half formula. “You Make Me” marches loudly with a Brit pop swagger before transforming into a New Wave experiment. “Liar Liar” focuses on Jim Morrison-like shouts and Ray Manzarek-esque organ blasts. On “Hope There’s Someone,” Linnea Henriksson tackles her with a Barbra Streisand warmth before an invasion of soulful house beats spike up the song’s last minute. Fans of Florence Welch’s brilliant performance on Calvin Harris’s “Sweet Nothing” will find refuge in “Someone.”
With only ten tracks to sort through, almost everything aboard True sounds like it’s a scientific experiment. And that’s pretty impressive for a genre that’s often lambasted by foes of EDM for playing too safely. But even when Avicii cooks up something predictable, he comes out ahead of David Guetta. The eight-minute adventure of “Dear Boy” is mesmerized with a preponderance of laser-like synths. Sandwiched between the rave-friendly carpentry of Avicii is a brief vocal from Karen Marie Ørsted, which works as an efficient cool down for dancers. The rapturous beauty of that track, even with its lengthiness, makes this easily one of the album’s strongest standouts. “Lay Me Down,” featuring Adam Lambert on vocals and a few funky moments from Nile Rodgers’s guitar riffs, is just as appetizing, a delightful addition to the realm of Giorgio Moroder disco. So does Avicii break enough ground in EDM? Most certainly. And what’s quite impressive is that he’s doing so on his first full-length record. While Daft Punk is trying to go in reverse in exploring the awesomeness of the Seventies and Studio 54, he is successfully thrusting modern electropop ahead of the Top 40 curb using new and smart amalgams, even if the media’s focus on the molly craze may be an embarrassing distraction to the genre.
