Not many people expected Avicii’s debut album to open with an acoustic guitar. But it does. And guess what: It’s not even the only song to do it.
True excels where very few clubhouse/electronic albums do: mixing up the formula. Through the album’s 10 songs, genres range from country/folk, disco soul, rock, pure piano and a full string orchesxtral performance during the closing number. The album leads with “Wake Me Up,” arguably the record’s catchiest offering. Fans of the lead single will rejoice in “Hey Brother,” a virtual copy of “Wake Me Up.” The two singers even sound the same.
Standouts include “Lay Me Down,” a disco-infused number led by American Idol finalist Adam Lambert and the second single “You Make Me.” It sounds very similar to David Guetta’s “Memories,” although it’s still light-years ahead in marketability. A surprise comes in “Dear Boy,” which starts with a standard dance beat, transfers to vocals over piano and progresses to the best breakdown the entire album has.
These deft musical transitions summarize the whole album perfectly. You don’t know what you’re going to get when each song starts. Is this going to be a Mumford & Sons meets Deadmau5 song or a 70s disco jam turned electronic dubstep? The best part of True is its unpredictability, and the fact that it varies so much from most of the electronic music out there catapults it into a record worth spinning.
4.5 out of 5 stars