French DJ/Producer/Destroyer of music David Guetta has stated that his latest (sixth) album ‘Listen’ is his most personal to date, constructed from actual acoustic songs rather than just beats. As the title suggests, he’s demanding we actually listen this time – not with our feet, but with our ears.
Not that you could tell much of that by listening. Mostly, this is the same old polished EDM that
you’ve either come to love or loathe. What I did for Love and Listen both start as piano-led ballads
but Guetta soon slaps his trademark donk across them. And some songs even contain, shock horror, A
GUITAR. Yet each and every song
disintegrates into ravey synths with a beat that’s permanently stuck four to
the floor. It’s simply laughable how
many songwriters it’s taken per song to come up with this.
BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT.
As you’d expect, there are countless collaborators and
featured vocalists: from the obvious (Sia, Ryan Tedder), to the plain dull
(Emeli Sandé, The Script), to the bizarre (Ladysmith Black Mambazo). There’s certainly a broad global flavour to ‘Listen’
– Lift me up pairs the aforementioned
African group with Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz; No Money no Love brings together hip hop artists from Sweden and
the UK (Elliphant and Ms. Dynamite – the former a rising star, the latter resuscitating
her dying career); and other songs bring together artists from the US, the UK and
across Europe.
Yet none of these collaborators are able to push Guetta out
of his comfort zone. It’s telling that
he wrote most of the album himself first before inviting singers to ‘listen’;
they arrived too late to make their own mark and deviate from Guetta’s
formula. That his formula is so
repetitively formulaic is almost impressive, but it leads to a monotonous album
of, you guessed it…
BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT.
Only Nicki Minaj is able to break the mould on Hey Mama, with its hard-hitting beat
that deviates from the usual pattern and rapped verses. Finally a collaboration that feels equal,
even if it’s far from the best work from either artist.
The odd track is certainly palatable (this is no Calvin Harris album). At the very least
Guetta knows how to write a hook.
Previous single Lovers on the Sun
has a welcome country vibe (courtesy of Avicii); current single Dangerous has a dangerously funky
bassline; the African air of Lift me up
adds a lightness of touch to Guetta’s typical euphoria; and both John Legend
and Sia provide excellent vocals on Listen
and Bang my Head respectively.
Dancing is expected, then, but in Sia’s words actually
listening to ‘Listen’ may well cause you to bang your head against a wall.
BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT.
2/5
Gizzle’s Choice:
* Dangerous
* Lovers on the Sun
* Lift me up
Listen: ‘Listen’ is available now.
