Stories
Avicii
(Island)
Two stars
Avicii, the Swedish DJ, producer and mega-hit maker, serves up his second major studio album, Stories, which arrives feeling like a move toward minimalism within an electronic dance music genre predicated on bigger and bolder sounds. If this is a safe route, he might have avoided it. Avicii – real name Tim Bergling – has seen fit to largely eschew the by-the-book crescendos that have become commonplace on hit-seeking EDM tracks. He implores the listeners to hear individual instruments, piano and guitar, and listen for the story on Stories. It's an admirable artistic attempt – but falls mostly flat as the album lacks the punch of a signature song. Stories gets close to the mark with Broken Arrows, featuring stellar vocals from country star Zac Brown. Even better is True Believer, featuring Coldplay's Chris Martin. Both tracks are solid and will surely benefit further from lush remixes to come. Unfortunately, however, what we get on Stories just isn't enough. The tracks aren't crafty enough to be experimental and are too plodding to get the blood pumping.
