74/100
Written by Allax
Since the end of 2015, Hardwell has been exercising heavily in his studio to polish his hardstyle production skills. 2017’s ‘Make The World Ours‘ was a step in the right direction. This path is becoming clearer as time goes by, to the point where Robbert has been joined by an all-time Hardstyle master, Joram Wildstylez.
To say the latter has been putting out a lot of songs is plain reductive, as ‘Shine A Light’ is the 8th song being released in 2018 tagged Wildstylez!
Hardwell’s momentum in the year has been enormous as well. ‘Shine A Light’, his Ultra Miami set outro, has been one of the most talked about songs of the past 3 months. Was the wait for ‘Shine A Light’ actually worth it? Does the track live up the massive fan hype?
Joining the magic is KiFi, the warm-voiced vocalist and songwriter responsible of co-writing the catchy lyrics for ‘Hunter‘ by Galantis, ‘When I Grow Up‘ by Wiz Khalifa, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and 3 collaborations with Headhunterz.
After a powerful start, the updated Wildstylez kick and KiFi’s vocals get chopped all over the mid-intro to then transition into a Hardwell-ish break filled with soft and welcoming piano chords.
KiFi’s kind vocal complements well the break… and that’s about it for his performance. The vocals are powerless, and the formulaic love-chanting bars don’t add much to the hard single overall quality.
Going back to the instrumental, the euphoric chords build and the melody soars to the sky, and an impactful, ever-happy-to-be-alive drop climaxes in a nice fashion. ‘Shine A Light’ features 4 climaxes, a pleasing characteristic considering such lengthy Hardstyle releases are rare nowadays. The mid-outro is arguably the most energetic and powerful climax out of the four, and it’s an embodiment of the aggressive side that Hardwell has been trying to ingrain in his Hardstyle discography.
Once the last kick fades, it’s realizable that ‘Shine A Light’ uplifts the listener with its melodic and jubilant chords, offering a vocal performance that, while not being top-tier, warms up hearts, and the record encloses its package with its climaxes’ jetting power.
But isn’t this every other Euphoric Hardstyle song?
Here are two core problems (for us). ‘Shine A Light’ didn’t fully convince us because of how glaring its reliance from Wildstylez’s production is; the overall product sounds generic, incapable of living up to the prestige of its composers, and it simply pales when compared to other Wildstylez’s vocal singles.
So, was the wait for ‘Shine A Light’ actually worth it? Does the track live up the massive fan hype?
From an objective standing point, no. Its halo of praise and fame is given mainly to the names involved, and to its suitable-for-everyone borderline-pop sonic appeal.
But taking a deeper look, that’s exactly the reason why we can see this single fitting Revealed Recordings: it’s a perfect introduction for newer and less knowledgeable fans to Euphoric Hardstyle in a formula that only gets more refined when touched by the legendary Wildstylez.
It’s easy to get excited thinking what else these two Dutch luminaries have in store for us in the second half of this fantastic and fast-paced year. After both having released EPs, dropped two of the most epic songs out of their respective genres this year, and having smashed their genres’ signature festivals, the future is looking bright and blessed for Wildstylez and Hardwell.
What do you think?
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