It’s not country, nor it is house. Avicii’s debut album echoes who he has always been. The scale may be larger and collaborations bigger, but True very much relies on his format of using simple uplifting melodies in his tracks. Yet in this simplicity is where beauty lies.
Even the staunchest opponents will be forced to replay through again and again, even if it’s for their own comprehension. First it’s to understand whether the the disarray of singles can even be considered an album. Next, who is Avicii?
Ash Pournouri and Tim Bergling = Avicii
Maybe the con hidden behind the giant glowing head is that Tim Bergling is just the face of Avicii the brand. Between the numerous collaborators, influencers and Avicii’s manager Ash Pournouri getting a credit on every track? It’s difficult to establish where the ideas actually come from. Although True is much more Avicii than Random Access Memories was Daft Punk. To choose this route of thinking however, makes the music secondary to the story. It’s like refusing to eat a burger, if the beef isn’t grass fed.
Sometime as your mind struggles to comprehend everything between the thumping piano chords in “You Make Me” and the acoustic guitar lines in “Heart Upon My Sleeve”, you stop paying attention and start listening. Forgetting what you wanted or the failure that you had hopes for, the songs begin to take on a life of their own. Each finding a place to bury themselves within one’s own consciousness.
The moment may have very well been “Lay Me Down”, the disco pop collaboration between Avicii, Nile Rodgers and Adam Lambert. The funky Rodgers inspired rhythm pulsates through the track, but it’s not what defines “Lay Me Down”. It’s Lambert’s glam rock sound loaded with attitude that steals the song away. Lambert captures your attention early and refuses to let go. It doesn’t matter how similar the melody may be compared to “Wake Me Up”, this track is guaranteed to be win Tim Bergling and company a Grammy.
True isn’t a coming out party. Lyrics are only added to create an additional layer, not create any real depth to the songs. Arguably it’s more like a statement album defining who or what Avicii is. By ignoring the con in front of us and the seemingly disarray, the True is quite enjoyable and refreshing at its best.
8.2 / 10
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