Hey there, welcome to second instalment of the “Weekly Roundup”! Awful good to have you here! Now, I am hoping the format is feeling all comfy for everyone running their eyes through this. Some changes will be made now and then, as it deems suitable to make this series more efficient. Alright, that being said, this week has a lot of star-studded aliases coming back, so lets dive right into it.
Calvin Harris – By Your Side (ft. Tom Grennan)
78/100
Might not be as ear-candy as “One Kiss”, this new single from Calvin Harris still keeps a healthy potential to become a summer hit.
Scottish hit record maker and gardening dilettante Calvin Harris has made a near auspicious re-entry with summer-ready track “By Your Side”, featuring vocalist Tom Grennan. Having spent the entirety of last year as Love Regenerator, an side-act that oversaw his experimentations with underground music, this marks his first major release for this year.
Containing a buoyant and cheerful atmosphere, it ticks on everything requisite for radio-friendly electronic music. Frolicking piano riffs, a nice dash of groovy and simple bassline meets an eccentric but likeable lead-synth. While this may not be like its Disco-indulging predecessors “Promises” (featuring Sam Smith) and “One Kiss” (with Dua Lipa), it might just pull-off as another one of memorable show-stopper from the veteran producer. Although, I am using “might” lightly here, the said Deep House single hasn’t convinced me in entirety.
Alesso – Progresso Vol. 2
80/100
Swedish star returns with a bang. Progresso Volume 2 delights with a strong Groove House mentality that Alesso knows mighty well how to craft.
Ahh, here comes new dance-floor kerfuffle-r from the fourth member of SHM (wait, he was, wasn’t he?). Humour aside, the Swedish hotshot has returned to EDM side of things, after announcing the sequel to Progresso Volume 1, an Electro House compilation that came when standing next to each other wasn’t a sin. This time around, we have two dynamite contestants, “Together” and “Again”.
Both of the tracks go back to the roots of Swedish Groove House style (only the 90s kids will remember), and Alesso hits the sweet-spot with great accuracy. Having percussion laden drop sequences that don’t overdo and focusing on minimality, these productions don the signature we are endearingly used to from its creator.
San Holo – bb u ok?
84/100
Having plenty of Emo-heavy instrumentals, San Holo’s newest endeavour “bb u ok?” is splendid for easy-listening.
Okay, how will I pull this off… surely reviewing an album in midst of a summary is foolishness? Whatever. This is a brief take, so don’t expect a surplus of details flooded here. As the title’s theme suggests, there is lot of feel-good chill instrumentals awaiting you. Feeling the blues? San Holo amalgamated melodic and lo-fi aesthetics with alluring vocal performances throughout this assortment of emo-heavy beats is to go for. Recommended a listen for a late-night vibing sesh.
Bassjackers – Say What U Want
Slap me instead/100
This is what is needed to be said: “Say What U Want” is another Slap House attempt among gazillion others out there. Do what you like with this info.
As might you have guessed from the rough jibe I made above, yes, the Big Room icons have turned their attention towards Slap House. “Say What U Want” begins optimistically with a 90s Korg organ aiding a pitched down vocal. Skipped a bit further and there it was, in all its mighty; rattling low-end and a thin kick-drum, even worse, in a slower pace. Okay, nothing much left to be said. Also, rating is 48.
Blasterjaxx – Our World (ft. Daniele Sorrentino)
82/100
Blasterjaxx scores heavy with their signature sound in “Our World”, a vocal Big Room production plenty capable as a party-starter.
This particular banger might get reviewed in details later by one of my colleague, still worth mentioning. Look, I haven’t heard tonal kicks and aggressively-put saw synths for quite a while now, as I used to before. So imagine my surprise when I started head-nodding approvingly to “Our World” from the Dutch top-honchos Blasterjaxx, featuring an uplifting vocal delivery from Daniele Sorrentino.
The recipe standard that is loved by the Maxximize fans is met aplenty here- anthemic feels in the breakdown with reverb-soaked supersaws (reminded me of “Faith”), complimented well by a percussive, in alternation with trademark Blasterjaxx lead-sound sort of dirty-drop. Awesome, innit?
Dirtyphonics – Gasoline
81/100
Uprising pair Dirtyphonics have meddled with metal and Dubstep, whose outcome is “Gasoline”. A lot of wubs and guitar-shrieks here.
Deciding on the duty of including an upcoming name every weekly roundup, I have decided to feature Dirtyphonics here. The French have a keen sense of bass, and perhaps best displayed with “Gasoline”. Aforementioned Parisian duo mix-mashed a grunge-full, dark metal guitar-shredding sound with hungry-growling Dubstep synths. Forgot your coffee in a rush, eh? No problem, Gasoline will spice up your temperament for remainder of the day.
What do you think?
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