Calvin Harris may not be a common household name, but his songs play on every pop radio station around the country and overseas.
Harris is a Scottish DJ who is known for mixing beats and finding the perfect artist to accommodate the tune. His new album, “18 Months,” was released on Oct. 26, and includes five singles that ranked highly on major charts in the US, the United Kingdom and Scotland.
This is Harris’ third released album, the first being “I Created a Disco,” and the second “Ready for the Weekend.” His work resembles that of David Guetta with fast, electro house beats that find themselves in settings like “The Club at N-Dub.”
Arguably the most popular single, “We Found Love,” is a catchy mix of vocals and calisthenics, and gained fame through the Whitney Houston-like voice of Rihanna. This song shows his uncanny ability to match an artist with the right beat to make it into a top hit. This track contrasts the UK hit “Bounce” which features Kelis, and has a more techno beat and “Let’s Go” which features Ne-Yo and sounds like an Usher song on caffeine.
Each song has its own feel, but Harris consistently gives listeners the party rock type of beats they expect. Other up-and-coming songs on “18 Months” include “Drinking From the Bottle,” featuring Tinie Tempah, and “Sweet Nothings,” featuring Florence Welch, which was the first song on the album to reach No. 1 on the charts in the UK.
This isn’t the kind of album that you’ll buy and spend 50 minutes listening to on your way to Sioux City. It would be extremely overwhelming. Harris appeals to the party goer/dancer with the up-beat songs and well-known features. It’s more of a rock-out-to-Calvin-Harris, throw-in-a-few-songs-and-play-more-Calvin approach.
Harris doesn’t focus on the lyrics, which is evident in the small amount of words used in songs such as “Feel So Close,” but instead, the club-thumping style Harris implements in all his songs is certainly the reason “18 Months” is such a crowd pleaser.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars