REVIEWS:
Post your comments about DJ Encore And Engelina
(reviewed by Kevin Baker)
Yep, dance music. European dance music. You can blame my friend John for this - he's the one who got me listening to some of this stuff. Dance music like this is sometimes unfairly maligned as just being good for the dancefloor, but only for the dancefloor. I disagree, but I disagree with this way of thinking for any music genre as a whole - of course, there IS plenty of dance music only suited for dancing to, but there's also plenty of rock that's only good for headbanging. It IS a two way street, ya know.
That said, I'll get on with the review, much to the eternal delight of the 2 people who will read this because it's JUST a dance music review by Kevin Baker, after all. This is the sort of music that is, I believe, called trance - I'm by no means an expert on the many subgenres of techno/dance music, so I'm just going by comments from Amazon.com reviewers for that classification. The vocals are provided courtesy of Engelina, who has a very sweet, pretty voice - but not in a Sarina Paris sort of way. Nope, Engelina's voice has some character to it....no girly sounds from HER throat! She's a woman, dangit, and she wants to sing some love lyrics that you'll not pay any attention to while you spring break down on Ibiza and try to shag some cute Danish chick you meet at one of the clubs you'll visit. DJ Encore cooks up the music and beats, and they're good. Not that I'm an expert, but there's hardly anything offensive to be found in (most of) the arrangements. Obviously, this is music you're supposed to be dancing to, so the beats are very heavy and obvious. There's a lot of bass action going on, and a wide variety of synths and such provide sometimes earthy, sometimes angelic backing for the vocals.
But, that's not why I like some of the songs on here. Nope, it's the MELODIES. This is some dance music you can SING with if you're like me and have two left feet, and also live in a state where people prefer the two-step or cumbia. But four of these songs, maybe 5, have melodies worth remembering. Among these is the best-known song from here, I See Right Through To You. It has a bit of a darker feeling sound to it, which adds to my enjoyment of said song. High On Life, while much cheerier, has a nice arrangement and a pleasant melody. However, it's You've Got A Way that does it for me. I don't care who you are - this is a good song from a point of view of melody....well, at least the chorus and bridge. The verses are a little bland in the melodic department, but the chorus - good stuff. Of couse, the lyrics here, as everywhere on this album, leave a lot to be desired. Walking In The Sky is probably the best song in the lyrics department, and it's catchy enough.
Really, most of the songs here are decent, but not spectacular - IF you're in the mood for them. This would be a great one for a dance party or something along those lines, but it's not music for reflection. Good, consistent beats and some nice melodies, but not much in the way of substance.
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