Kygo - Cloud Nine
6/10
Norwegian producer, songwriter and DJ Kygo has grabbed the attention of listeners with a string of catchy releases since Firestone back in 2014. His debut album is a vibrant fusion of swirling synths, euphoric piano melodies and dancing flutes. He’s also managed to summon an army of top vocalists to lend their velvet tones to an admirable first album.
Radio favourites Stole the Show, Nothing Left and Stay all feature on Cloud Nine, each a product of Kygo’s winning recipe: soft percussion, warm melodies and crooning vocals of the kind you hear on your drive to work and can’t stop singing all day. Raging makes use of a Ben Howard-esque guitar riff and twinkling pianos, with Kodaline frontman Steve Garrigan’s voice building the song to a rich crescendo.
The album works best when it pushes Kygo’s sound in new directions, exemplified by I’m in Love. James Vincent McMorrow sings a haunting lyric over echoing synths and minimal drums, the track has a chilled indie vibe and puts Kygo out there as a young producer with an ear for quality. For What It’s Worth is a heartfelt duet with vocals from Australian brother-sister duo Angus and Julia Stone. This strikes a more serious tone than Kygo’s signature warm and fuzzy tropical house and hints at his developing ability to branch out from catchy chart-toppers. On the other end of the scale, Happy Birthday featuring John Legend is a little too sickly sweet and just a bit too samey.
Kygo has his style and it’s a winner, but he’s got to resist the urge to fall into routine. Cloud Nine isn’t perfect, but it does have some lovely tracks and indicates a big career to come. It’s definitely one for the summer though, so light the barbys, grab a fruit cider and relax with Kygo’s luscious tunes in the background.
6/10
