SJ Lewis: AudioLust & HigherLove album review

Play any track from SG Lewissecond album, AudioLust & HigherLove, And you will surprise the place you heard it earlier than. Intention or TGI Fridays? It may need been a curated playlist on Spotify known as “Good Vibes” or “Glad Beats”. I’ve heard that four-on-the-floor drum sample with glowing synths carried out a minimum of a thousand occasions, even if you cannot inform (however it’s in all probability a decade previous). asshole or disclosure Tune). The 28-year-old British producer-songwriter’s healthful mix of disco and dance music appears designed to attain summer season celebration music and the moments when he may unflatteringly mutter, “My life is a film.” Like the remainder of Lewis’ catalog, AudioLust & HigherLove Properly-executed and lots of enjoyable, however the query lingers: What, if something, is so particular about his music?

Regardless of working inside a well-known paradigm, Lewis is greater than an important impressionist. He is produced for Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware, and Elton John, and his solo work seems to be like a successor to RAMAnd A combo of disco, home and clear brag-pop that fuses reside and digital devices. In his first look in 2021, occasionsAnd He captured the spirit of the flamboyant and sultry dance flooring, spinning by way of a set of luscious hooks that hinted that this night time may simply be… the night time. It was schmaltzy and typically ethereal, however Lewis’ pristine and savvy manufacturing made up for a scarcity of conceptual finesse. even so, occasions It usually appeared just like the work of a producer who was nonetheless forming an identification, a fan of Daft Punk and Pharrell Chorus from coloring away from the traces.

AudioLust & HigherLove Larger, brighter and extra assured than occasions, Their highs are increased and their lows are much less delicate. The songs are shiny and shiny, stuffed with vivid cinematic element: side-string vocals, reside orchestral preparations, and kick drums so highly effective they’re pounding by way of an iPhone speaker. “Infatuation” and “One thing About Your Love” spotlight Lewis’ knack for crafting horny, fun-filled pop. It is charming in its fusion of EDM beats with ’80s R&B beats. Each songs characteristic Lewis as lead vocalist, a welcome wrinkle for the artist who preceded him I acknowledge Insecurity in his voice. On some songs, like “One other Life” and “Sadiq,” he is clearly nonetheless nurturing that confidence; His deadpan melodies and the phrase sound like placeholders for a extra assured singer. However then there are the choruses on “Oh Laura” and “Lacking You,” as he broadens his vary and lands on a pair of groovy melodies, proving his capability to single-handedly anchor an arena-sized pop track.

Lewis’ vocals are one of many few novelties AudioLust & HigherLove. The remaining is dense grooves and cabana jams, friction-free and grit-free. By the point “Plain Crusing” will get to greater than midway by way of the album, we’re already intimately accustomed to the phaser-filled intro refrain, stacked riffs, and processed vocals coated in gleefully light gloss. Evoking summer season breezes and romance, Lewis’ writing is as unforgettable as your fourth drink of the night time.

Lewis describes AudioLust & HigherLove As a understandable register in two legal guidelines: “AudioLust is the darker, edgier, mesmerizing, short-lived, vanity-driven model of affection,” he explains in a press launch. β€œThe second half represents a a lot deeper, extra life like, fuller model of affection.” However these themes β€” the lifeblood of mainstream pop – They’re introduced so usually that they’ve little consequence. Tove Lo Have fun in a ‘drip of sweat'[ping] Under Your Chest Naked” on the primary album reduce “Name on Me” and in a while “Vibe Like This” Fortunate Day He admits he “by no means felt an environment like this / Possibly it is definitely worth the danger.” The vibes are good, however the vibe is endlessly replaceable.

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