Zach Burger is a sophomore audio telecommunications major and writes ‘The Drop’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Zach at zaburger@bsu.edu.
When you're the kind of producer who focuses on electronic dance music but changes up your style, you're either criticized for breaking from your roots or for just not being very good at your new endeavor. In Calvin Harris' album "Motion," there is some of the former but none of the latter.
“Motion” dropped on Oct. 31 as the fourth album in the producer's portfolio, peppered with many other award-winning singles and collaborations, four of which were released within the last year. The album features guest performances by Gwen Stefani (no doubt my personal favorite), Tinashe and Big Sean.
“Inspirational” was the word that came to mind when I heard the album's opener, “Faith,” and it also describes seven or eight other tracks of the album’s 15. Like with much electronic dance music, the chord progressions are familiar and uplifting, not to mention pulsing to get the listeners bouncing.
The production is nothing groundbreaking, as most of the mixes are pretty standard for house music – lots of thick sub-bass, pristine strings and full-bodied vocals that envelop the listening space.
As far as arrangements, each song chiefly consists of one four-bar hook and one main drop. Several songs also have a verse here and there, but the parts to each song are consistently either in full swing or breaking down, whether to end the song or to lead into the drop. It's worth noting these drops are enough to get you jumping even if you're not a jumper – I speak from experience.
The overarching lyrical content of the album tends to lean toward love songs in the way most EDM does: with sensual overtones, breathy female vocals and buttery male vocals. While the vocals aren't quite enough alone to make a hit, Harris takes the “not bad” and makes it “so good” by embodying the feeling his guest artists croon over. “Blame it on the night / Don't blame me,” “We fell in love as the leaves turn brown” and “One day we're going to wake up together” – how else could you place those lyrics (sung by some of the best modern-pop voices) into a song without making the song at least partly dope?
This love-song-turned-dance-music motif appears in the first three tracks of the album (“Faith,” “Under Control” and “Blame”), but by the third, the music breaks away from the completely optimistic, moving into the realm of reminiscent and nostalgic – still on the subject of love, but the context changes.
By track four, “Love Now” featuring All About She, the music morphs into what a Sirius radio station by the name of “Deep Adult” might play. It's not the kind of song you'd be advised to open a show or album with – you must prove your authenticity before tackling something big like this, but Harris managed to do both before the album is a quarter through. The string section in the middle is a personal highlight, quite obviously sequenced (which usually sounds off at best), yet he manages to carefully make it dynamic and full of feeling.
“Slow Acid” is the kind of track that can really tick off fans for breaching the aforementioned, unspoken “I-only-play-what-I-started-playing” contract. However, I applaud Harris for making experimental changes while still adhering to the most important elements of his music style. Highlights of this song include the drone-like repetition of unsettling ambience and acid bass line.
Tracks seven, 14 and 15 all include “crunk” elements heard in southern-hip-hop/trap, with the last track (“Dollar Signs”) being the strongest of the three. It's a powerful ending to the album, not too dark so as to discount all the album's positivity, not too light to discount the more somber moments. Probably my second favorite on the album, immediately after “Overdrive.”
“Overdrive” is the first spot with dubstep influences, and it really comes out of left-field; after so much dance music, it's somewhat odd to hear the iconic brostep samples, yet it fits. The main hook of the song is a sequenced bass guitar, quantized to the point only a computer could play it so perfectly. The beat comes in, introducing the most solid use of trap-music thus far. But immediately after, it dissolves into the beautiful interlude I've come to expect from Harris. The song is surprisingly repetitive, but stands strong.
Overall, the only things which might prevent a listener from liking Calvin Harris' “Motion” are the same things that keep most people from liking this type of music. It's repetitive, incessant at times; song endings are anti-climactic at best; the entire album is set at one tempo – if you can get through that, there is plenty to enjoy on the album.
It ranges the modern-genre gamut, featuring eight guest performers. “Motion” is certainly the kind of album you can laugh to, cry to and, most importantly, dance to.
Rating: 7/10
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