There isn’t that much that is bad to say over the course of the album, yet the downside is that there isn’t anything that you can praise it for.

CD Review

Artist: Kaskade

Album: Fire & Ice

Label: Ultra Music

Release Date: November 21^st, 2011

Reviewed By Alex Hutt

Kaskade has dubbed Fire & Ice a representation of “the last ten years” of his career, but the track list for his seventh studio album would suggest he’s experimenting a bit more than usual. A double album, Fire & Ice contains 2 different versions of 10 tracks, the original one the Fire CD and a slower, stripped down mix on the Ice side. There is a generous amount of genre mixing here, even though the songs mostly fall under the umbrella of electronic and/or house. There isn’t that much that is bad to say over the course of the album, yet the downside is that there isn’t anything that you can praise it for.

It kicks off with “Eyes,” which was a popular single on the Dance charts even before the album was released. It has a nice melody and the vocals by Mindy Gledhill are enjoyable (she genuinely has a good voice in her singer-songwriter solo work), but it’s nothing new though. It’s another club standard. The ICE mix comes off more as background music, and it serves its function as such, but isn’t too noticeable.

Next up is the second single “Turn It Down,” featuring Rebecca and Fiona. Both DJ’s from Sweden (and label mates of Kaskade) who now make electro-pop, their presence in this song is minimally disengaging due to the use of the filter put over the vocals. The ICE mix has a surprise interlude that seems out of place in an otherwise chill-out collection, but it doesn’t seem too different from the rest.

“Lessons In Love” is probably the next successful club single, particularly because of the inclusion of Neon Trees. It’s a song that demands you to dance to it, in stark contrast to its own ICE mix. The ICE version feels like something you would hear in a chic but pretentious cocktail bar with miniscule appetizers. None of the lyrics from Fire make the transition, so there is no connection between the two songs. The first time through the record I completely missed this song, and actually had to go back and find it in the track listing. “Lick It” (feat. the immensely popular Skrillex) falls much into the same vein on Ice, as the lyric and beat are absentees, and instead we get something that sounds like a luxury car commercial.

After the song “Llove” with frequent collaborator Haley (seen before on “Move For Me” and “Don’t Stop Dancing”), comes “Let Me Go,” with another recurring guest Marcus Bently (“Stars Align”). The music is at odds with the beat here and this is only compounded by the out of sync lyrics. The verses “when I looked at myself/I said what the hell/and I thought you were gone/but I knew you were too good/” and “you were looking at me like you knew I was weak/ but the harder I tried/ the more I let you win” continually have Bently stretching the lines to fit the music, making it sound unnatural and discordant. It makes the song much weaker in the process, prompting you to reach for the skip button.

“Waste Love” is not the best of the bunch, but it the most interesting, as it includes a composition made up or guitar and strings, and the jazzy vocals by Danish group Quadron makes this a standout. The vibe is completely different from the rest of the album, and is on about equal footing for the ICE mix. There’s a measure of charm in this one, and it’s great to see the variation that Kaskade tinkers with.

The title track “ICE” with Dan Black and Dada Life features the most uptempo beat of the double album and is a great club track. The energy of the track is infectious, even on the ICE version, though it may be slowed down. The remix by Dada Life (two Swedish DJ’s) fits right in with the rest of the album, and Dan Black’s vocals are mid-road but still a plus (on a side note, the BBC hilariously dubbed Black’s music “wonky pop.”)

Both albums then finish off with “How Long” (with Late Night Alumni, another of Kaskade’s projects) and “Room For Happiness” (with Skylar Grey) which are both forgettable. On both sides they feel like background lounge music, as we are back in that cocktail bar again. Whenever Kaskade isn’t in that car ad, or sipping a cocktail, Fire & Ice is a good effort by the DJ, with some notable variation in musical structure, even if you won’t love or hate the majority of the track list.

Best:

Fire: “Ice”

Ice: “Waste Love”

Worst:

Fire: “Let Me Go”

Ice: “Lessons In Love”

Track Listing:

1. Eyes (feat. Mindy Gledhill)

2. Turn It Down (feat. Rebecca and Fiona)

3. Lessons In Love (feat. Neon Trees)

4. Lick It (feat. Skrillex)

5. Llove (feat. Haley)

6. Let Me Go (feat. Marcus Bently)

7. Waste Love (feat. Quadron)

8. ICE (feat. Dan Black & Dada Life)

9. How Long (feat. Inpetto & Late Night Alumni)

10. Room For Happiness (feat. Skylar Grey)

Each track has an (ICE Mix) on the second CD.

Written by :

alessandro