To be honest, I never really listened to/liked Tiesto. Maybe it was that some of his tracks were too trancy or technoish(?) for me. For whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it, that was until I heard his amazin’ remix of “Not Falling Apart” by Maroon 5. It totally changed my feeling about Tiesto and his work. I like pop music, there is no doubt about that, and for once, I heard a “club” track that I knew could transcend the club and take its rightful place in the pop charts. Luckily for me, his new album Kaleidoscope continues that sound.
The Good
There is no doubt that the tracks on the album are broken up into 2 categories, songs that have vocalists and songs that are straight instrumentals, both which have their respective feels. Any track on Kaleidoscope that contains vocals really got me moving. The way the club beats work behind the respective artist is stellar. Each track is catchy and keeps you wanting more. These tracks are pure pop with the right amount of dance.
The one track that did it for me, and also the one I will probably play many times over in the coming weeks was “Who Wants to Be Alone” featuring Nelly Furtado. From the very first downbeat of the track, you can’t not help but love the song. It has this dark overtone and Nelly Furtado nails it. Her beautiful, but edgy vocals really compliment the sharp distinct sounds Tiesto has added to accompany her. The hook is ridiculous and screams #1 single (they are probably saving it for the 2nd single as the track with Sneaky Sound System is the 1st single).
Other highlights include “Knock You Out” featuring the stunning Emily Haines from Metric which sounds like a metric song that has been remixed. Also “Escape Me” and “It’s Not the Things You Say” are worth listening to.
The Bad
The tracks that did not have any vocals were too trancy for me. It became very clear that tracks with vocals, and tracks with not, play out differently. I had a totally different vibe from non-vocal ones which made me want to skip to the next track.
In the End, I was very pleased with Kaleidoscope. The sounds he has crafted on this new album are much different from his older stuff, and that’s probably why he deiced to start his own label Musical Freedom, after parting ways with Black Hole to release this album. Overall this album get my seal of approval, 4 our 5 stars
Kaleidoscope will be released on October 6th 2009
enjoY!
Tracklisting
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1. Kaleidoscope [ft. Jónsi]
2. Escape Me [ft. CC Sheffield]
3. You Are My Diamond [ft. Kianna]
4. I Will Be Here [ft. Sneaky Sound System]
5. I Am Strong [ft. Priscilla Ahn]
6. Here on Earth [ft. Cary Brothers]
7. Always Near
8. It’s Not the Things You Say [ft. Kele Okereke]
9. Fresh Fruit
10. Century [ft. Calvin Harris]
11. Feel It in My Bones [ft. Tegan and Sara]
12. Who Wants to Be Alone [ft. Nelly Furtado]
13. LA Ride
14. Bend It Like You Don’t Care
15. Knock You Out [ft. Emily Haines]
16. Louder Than Boom
17. Surrounded by Light