Swedish DJ
Avicii is a strange case. In 2011, he broke through with "Levels," a bleepy and bright bit of EDM that could have been his signature hit, but then his 2013 album,
True, was a country-pop and folk-inspired affair that thrilled his fans with its inventiveness, but left others as cold as a meandering
Mumford & Sons remix effort. Two years later, his LP
Stories is another genre-busting affair that fits in better with mainstream radio than it does the club, but everything iffy about
True has been perfected here, as the producer revisits the song-oriented album and lets the outside genres freely come and go. Country-pop is back in EDM remix form when "Broken Arrows" offers a spirited
Zac Brown song with
Avicii pumping it higher during the whirlwind bridge, but "Pure Grinding" is a highlight that would have never fit on
True, and it lives up to its claim to be "funktronica" with double-dutch lyrics and '70s electro in support. "Touch Me" is a bell-bottomed delight that owes a debt to the disco movement, specifically
Chic, and if the strange "City Lights" is the album's most arguable track, fans of
Meco and
Giorgio Moroder could argue it's spot-on with its robot vocals and tiny melody. "Talk to Myself," with
Sterling Fox, steps into the '80s with a modern version of
Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride," and the rest of the prime moments come from the mainstream pop side of the spectrum, with the
Martin Garrix and Simon Aldred (
Cherry Ghost) feature "Waiting for Love" leading the pack. "Can't Catch Me," with
Matisyahu and
Wyclef Jean, is reggae, but the kind that
Michael Franti and Radio Margaritaville can agree on, while "For a Better Day" is the same kind of electro and soul that
Moby took to the top of the charts. Complaints that this isn't a dance album and doesn't sound like "Levels" may still be filed, but they're better applied to
True. The pleasing, alive, and diverse
Stories is a fine reason to think of
Avicii as a producer of attractive music, with EDM, pop, and all other genres on a sliding scale. ~ David Jeffries