Avicii – True (2013)

Feel good EDM/pop – that’s what this album’s all about, and that’s what it delivers.

It opens with the top hit ‘Wake Me Up’, the country-style track everyone knows by now from popular radio play.  This a kind of summary for most of the album but not in a repetitive, bad way.   After the hit track the album picks up slowly, first exploring its folksy-eccentric side to full effect. There’s a great balance between true oddball and commercial dance sound.  True is going to make revelers dance and giggle while pretending to line-dance at times in the second and third tracks, ‘Hey Brother’ and ‘Addicted To You.’

Avicii is from the same school as Daft Punk, but in comparison Avicii has a much friendlier sound.  Think acoustic guitar layers more often than heavy twisted bass synths.  But don’t worry rockers, they’re still there, and Avicii builds up to full weight halfway through the album.

There are some other added spices besides the folk I’ve mentioned, and the tinge of line dancing tracks like ‘Shame On Me’ open with brass swing.  There are also a couple of bluesy guitar riffs with black American voices that give it a blues flavour.  I wish the swing extended throughout ‘Shame on Me’.  Better luck next time.

I was swept up with ‘Hope There’s Someone (feat. Linnea Henriksson)’.  It is utterly beautiful and emotive, and aches with a sadness that sets it apart from the rest of the upbeat album, with the exception of ‘Heart Upon My Sleeve’, which follows and shows a surprising dark and hard alternative rock twist.

For a commercial dance album, True shows a huge depth and scope emotionally, musically and stylistically.  Despite being someone with alternative leanings, I’d buy this album for the feel-good dance vibes, as well as its surprising expression and hard rock.