Don Diablo - FUTURE

Don Diablo
FUTURE
2018
Spotify

Don Diablo is flipping the vibe of music in 2018. Where 2017 and the end of 2016 was populated with dour views of where our world was going and bleak ideas Don Diablo wants to present a better more positive FUTURE. It's easy to feel hesitant about this record because at first brush it feels like Don is leaving Future House behind for a bigger room filling version of EDM, but it's more than that. There are a few times on this massive 16 track record that He slips into some big room tendencies, like some of the more blatant drops and l;yrical content, but He also does enough to make the album feel like it is really connecting. That was the thing with Above & Beyond's most recent record, it felt like THEY didn't care about the music but knew it would work, It's the complete opposite for Don Diablo. The "future" moniker doesn't feel like He is referencing a future sound or some kind of progression in House Music, but more trying to find some brightness on the Horizon. Like Paramore was trying to smile through the pain on "After Laughter" Don Diablo is trying to surround it with dance music and give it less power. A real standout is "Take Her Place" with it's super slick production and A R I Z O N A's vocals absolutely soar. The track doesn;t have the most progressive of messages, but it fucking cooks man. "Head Up" is a future house banger that glitches and worms it's way straight onto every dance floor feeling absolutely massive in it's delivery.

"Found You" has a similar style to is so razor sharp for any rave or festival coming up and it makes you excited for what Don D. is going to perform next. "Reflections" ditches most of thevocals which is a welcome break from the more EDM leanings of this record and focuses more on the techno side of things. The infamous "woomp woomp woomp" are here and it really sounds great. Don Diablo also made it point to ensure his features and co-producers were given credit on streaming services where needed, something that doesn't happen nearly enough these days. The record is not without it's flaws, "Don't Let Go" is generic and predictable almost Tropical House and it feels like one or two tracks too long. The later tracks start to feel like grasping a bit and "People Say" which hovers around a dub-step sound just kind of falls flat. However these can't take away from what is otherwise a pretty stellar album with a ton of promise to it. I've been worried about electronic music for a bit now but it seems like Don Diablo right be on the right track to save it. We shall see.

8.0 out of 10