For this latest single, the Swede has employed the (uncredited) vocal talents of Robbie Williams. We really enjoyed The Nights when we heard it. The Days? Well, we're not so sure. Read on to find out why.
All the components are there for this to be a classic Avicii track - the well known/loved vocals of Britain's cheesiest entertainer (well, cheesiest under 80 anyway) and the euphoric pop prowess of one of the world's fastest ascending producers should be a match made in EDM heaven. And indeed, The Days is not a bad track.
But it's not great. The main problem, as far as I can see, is that Avicii's quest to encompass new styles with EDM has gone a step too far this time. It's essentially a generic pop track, and until the last minute or so, it's tricky to see anything in the way of the electronic music we grew to love from the producer. Avicii's secret to success has always been to take a style (Country music, for example), and seamlessly marry it with his own unique brand of EDM. The problem is, on this occasion the latter is almost entirely absent.
Robbie's vocals are okay. But they're not instantly memorable. And some of the lyrics are extremely poor. But the singer does his best to set the track alight, and is partially successful. Structurally, the track also feels quite messy, and it's unsure what it wants to be. There's no distinct drop, to speak of. That, in itself, is not an issue - I would never criticise a track for that. But what is slightly puzzling, is the way that the track just sort of kicks off half way through each chorus. It seems to come out of nowhere, and makes everything feel a bit unbalanced.
And then, at the end of the track, there a very long solo synth section, the sort you'd expect from Avicii... but you wouldn't expect it to just be tacked onto the end, and it's not particularly memorable either. The synth is borrowed from Lay Me Down, one of his best tracks on debut album True, but here it feels out of place.
The Days will undoubtedly sell a crap-ton of copies. And it's not a bad track, so I don't begrudge Avicii it. But perhaps in his quest to further his style more and more, he needs to also learn that it's okay to retain what people came to love in the first place.
The Octopus' Rating: 5.5/8
Release Details:
Name: The Days
Artist: Avicii, Robbie Williams (Uncredited Vocals)
Label: PRMD
Release Date: UK - 23 November; Rest of World - OUT NOW
Purchase: Available now internationally on Beatport; Pre-order on iTunes (Released 23 November)
...yeah, we don't know why the release dates are so complicated either. Basically, if you're in the UK and you don't want to wait until November, buy it on Beatport.
Writer, musician, and all-round top guy. I set up Excited Octopus. Currently, I'm on a one man team. It gets lonely sometimes. But I don't mind, because I love you all.
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