Play any song from SG Lewissecond album, AudioLust & HigherLove, And you’ll wonder where you heard it before. Aim or TGI Fridays? It might have been a curated playlist on Spotify called “Good Vibes” or “Happy Beats”. I’ve heard that four-on-the-floor drum pattern with sparkling synths performed at least a thousand times, even if you can’t tell (but it’s probably a decade old). asshole or disclosure Song). The 28-year-old British producer-songwriter’s wholesome blend of disco and dance music seems designed to score summer party music and the moments when he might unflatteringly mutter, “My life is a movie.” Like the rest of Lewis’ catalog, AudioLust & HigherLove Well-executed and a lot of fun, but the question lingers: What, if anything, is so special about his music?
Despite working within a familiar paradigm, Lewis is more than a great impressionist. He’s produced for Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware, and Elton John, and his solo work looks like a successor to RAMAnd A combo of disco, house and clean brag-pop that fuses live and electronic instruments. In his first appearance in 2021, timesAnd He captured the spirit of the flamboyant and sultry dance floor, spinning through a set of luscious hooks that hinted that this night might just be… the night. It was schmaltzy and sometimes airy, but Lewis’ pristine and savvy production made up for a lack of conceptual finesse. even so, times It often seemed like the work of a producer who was still forming an identity, a fan of Daft Punk and Pharrell Refrain from coloring away from the lines.
AudioLust & HigherLove Bigger, brighter and more confident than times, Their highs are higher and their lows are less subtle. The songs are glossy and glossy, full of vivid cinematic detail: side-string vocals, live orchestral arrangements, and kick drums so powerful they’re pounding through an iPhone speaker. “Infatuation” and “Something About Your Love” highlight Lewis’ knack for crafting sexy, fun-filled pop. It’s charming in its fusion of EDM beats with ’80s R&B beats. Both songs feature Lewis as lead vocalist, a welcome wrinkle for the artist who preceded him I acknowledge Lack of confidence in his voice. On some songs, like “Another Life” and “Sadiq,” he’s clearly still nurturing that confidence; His deadpan melodies and the word sound like placeholders for a more confident singer. But then there are the choruses on “Oh Laura” and “Missing You,” as he broadens his range and lands on a pair of groovy melodies, proving his ability to single-handedly anchor an arena-sized pop song.
Lewis’ vocals are one of the few novelties AudioLust & HigherLove. The rest is dense grooves and cabana jams, friction-free and grit-free. By the time “Plain Sailing” gets to more than halfway through the album, we’re already intimately familiar with the phaser-filled intro chorus, stacked riffs, and processed vocals covered in gleefully faded gloss. Evoking summer breezes and romance, Lewis’ writing is as unforgettable as your fourth drink of the night.
Lewis describes AudioLust & HigherLove As a comprehensible register in two laws: “AudioLust is the darker, edgier, mesmerizing, short-lived, vanity-driven version of love,” he explains in a press release. “The second half represents a much deeper, more realistic, fuller version of love.” But these themes — the lifeblood of mainstream pop – They are presented so generally that they have little consequence. Tove Lo Celebrate in a ‘drip of sweat'[ping] Below Your Chest Bare” on the first album cut “Call on Me” and later on “Vibe Like This” Lucky Day He admits he “never felt an atmosphere like this / Maybe it’s worth the risk.” The vibes are nice, but the vibe is endlessly replaceable.