Album review: Kygo – Kids in Love

It has been quite the story for Kygo, the Nordic star, who was once producing out of his bedroom and is now among poster-boys of the worldwide electronic music scene. From delivering to the scene with a sumptuous remix for Ed Sheeran‘s ‘I See Fire‘,  the producer’s prominence has grown in rapid succession towards becoming the talented taste-maker that he is today. Backed by a catalogue of his own exceptional music and over one billion Spotify streams, Kygo is undoubtedly making waves across the global electronic music scene.

Fresh from the release of his outstanding Stargazing EP, the Norwegian is back with his second full-length album ‘Kids in Love’. The album is simply a masterpiece with the producer delivering perfection as usual. Earlier in October, Kygo released the title track from the album featuring The Night Game and saw it making its way around music platforms with huge success. The track served as a catalyst for what Kygo had in store for his fans.

The ‘Kids in Love’ album features an eight-track line-up that showcases Kygo’s signature tropical house sound that he has become synonymous with. ‘Kids in Love’ is rich in terms of vocal input with lead vocalists including English musician John Newman on melody driven production ‘Never Let You Go’. Track seven of the album follows suit from ‘Never Let You Go’ harboring blissful vocals from Grammy-nominated and platinum-selling British singer JHart. Titled ‘Permanent’, the track’s smooth melody and subtle beat is the perfect way to regress into those relaxing vibes. It is touted to be a playlist mainstay for most listeners.

Imagine yourself driving off into the sunset, then cue track number two – ‘Sunrise’. Perfectly made for those unwinding adventurous journeys to the unknown, Kygo leaves you filled with a sense of discovery in this beautiful production having recruited the talented Jason Walker for the vocals on this one. Walker’s harmonious vocals effortlessly portray the beautiful thought in the lyrics such as “Meet me at the sunrise, at the sunrise, I can get you so high, so high” and “Burning up the daylight, in the daylight, meet me at the sunrise, sunrise”.

A stand out track on ‘Kids in Love’ is ‘Stranger Things’ where Kygo teams up with American pop rock band OneRepublic. Having recently released their impeccable single ‘Rich Love‘ with Norweigan EDM producers Seeb and seeing the production topping over 100 million plays on Spotify, its no doubt that ‘Stranger Things’ is one of the finest tracks on the album. An acutely soft beat delivers a breathtaking melody that really captures Kygo’s evolving sound. Certainly expect ‘Stranger Things’ to see huge chart success.

One track to look out for is ‘Riding Shotgun‘, the only track to feature female lead vocals from Oliver Nelson and Bonnie McKee. A bouncy and funky pop hit from the onset ‘Riding Shotgun’ still has all the Kygo production values blistering throughout. ‘With You’  – the fifth track from the album – shifts the focus from the funky beat-work to one that is more chill and down-tempo. Wrabel works his wondrous vocals on the production and adds to the strong features on the album as a whole. Closing curtains for the album is the magnificent track titled ‘I See You’. This intimate track is laced with the sounds of the early Kygo productions as the tropical beats shine through to the forefront of the track. Billy Raffoul rounds up the vocals for this piece.

‘Kids in Love’ is an apt sophomore album for Kygo – its joining threads for his old style and his new found penchant for collaborations with rising as well as established vocalists. Kygo’s talent and attention to details ring through each track of this simply thrilling full-length album. The 26-year-old is a juggernaut of electronic music but is evident that with the output he has put out that the show is not about to stop.

Listen to ‘Kids in Love’ below.