You may be asking yourself, “Who is this Calvin Harris guy?” But once you hear some of his songs, you’ll know exactly who he is. Harris is a DJ, singer and songwriter who started back in 2007 and has slowly made his way to fame. But he couldn’t have done it without the help of some big stars singing hooks on his dance-y pop tunes. His new album, “18 Months,” just hit stores Oct. 30.
The album starts out with a couple of songs you have most likely never heard before. “Bounce (feat. Kelis)” is a very self-explanatory break-up anthem. The song uses lyrics like: “When the weekend comes I know I’ll feel alive/You will be the last thing on my mind/No regrets/Do you know what that means.” There’s a constant beat in the song that’s never ending or changing. I understand why Harris did not release this as one of his top charter singles: after about a minute, you can predict the rest of the song.
We move on to one of my (and probably that of most of the radio listeners) favorite Calvin tunes: “We Found Love,” sung smoothly and sweetly by none other than the pop rebel herself, Rihanna. For some reason, this song has a magical feel to it that makes you keep listening. The chorus to this song is repetitive but the lyrics never seem to lose their meaning. The whole song has serenity-filled words that most of the population already knows: ”Shine a light through an open door/Love and life I will divide/Turn away cause I need you more/Feel the heartbeat in my mind.” According to MTV.com, “We Found Love” gave Rihanna her eleventh no. 1 hit and finally gave Calvin Harris some newfound shine.
As we move through the CD, we come to “Sweet Nothing,” sung by Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence and the Machine (“Dog Days Are Over”). Welch’s unique, quivering vibrato pierces your ears with beautifully written lyrics like, “So I’ll put faith in something I know/I’m living on such sweet nothing/But I’m tired of hope with nothing to hold/I’m living on such sweet nothing.” Calvin Harris does a smart thing with this song: he brings it to life by changing the beats abundantly, keeping a beautiful melody and giving it a perfect dance drop at the exact climax of the song. This song is one of Calvin’s finest.
Near the end of the album, we have “Let’s Go” featuring Ne-Yo. The smooth R&B soulster starts out singing, “Make no excuses now/I’m talking here and now/Let’s go/Your time is running out…” Add in some alternating chords and a perfectly timed drop and you’ve made a radio hit. This song has a very big dance beat; you can’t help but start busting a move when you hear the pounding chords and never-ending clapping beats. It’s also a perfect single to release to show off Harris’ expertise at his genre of “dance/pop.”
My overall thoughts on “18 Months,” however, are mixed. Calvin Harris does a phenomenal job on picking his singles, but his album seems to be lacking the so-called “magic” those singles have. I expected a lot more from this album, and was sad to realize the singles were apparently all that I needed from “18 Months.” Maybe after a few more listens, I could find a few more hits hidden in here. This album is good but I had higher expectations from Calvin Harris; I know he can and will do better.
3 out of 5 Dolphins
