(Single from album, “18 Months")
Calvin Harris always surprises me. At the height of a mainstream music culture engulfed by pointless keyboard/drum machine combos, and equally poor guest vocal efforts, the Scottish DJ clambers out on top to provide the epitome of the musical movement - and its, as always, very good.
Following in the footsteps of danceable, top 10 singles from his first albums, "I Created Disco", this, the fifth single from his newest, "18 Months", a whole two years in the making and marketing, is a suitably fresh effort from Harris, whose previous few singles, especially those from his second album "Ready For The Weekend", have left something to be desired, despite having, for the most part, mega chart success.
The track gets straight to the point. Welch's vocal begins at 0:01 and a classic Harris keyboard preset is the electric jump start to this record. At 0:30, you've already reached that classic electro record 'wind-up'; pitch, speed increase - then the 'drop' of sorts. And Harris, despite using this typical, boring and over-used style, executes it nicely. The musical extravaganza continues the length of the song, making this track, instrumentally, not undeserving of its critical acclaim.
Welch's vocal is smooth and yet aged and rough sounding at the same time. I have a great deal of admiration for the voice of Florence + the Machine, who, I've always felt, sings wonderfully and expresses a great deal through a combination of harmonics and lyrics. This is, primarily, a dance record, and, as such, the lyrics are cheaper than ever. But Flo's voice is great.
Everyone should give this a few listens. One for the first time, one for a dance, and one for the fun of it. This is a fun song - nothing wrong with that...
★★★★
Versions of "Sweet Nothing"
Album/Single Version - 3:33
Extended Mix - 5:54
Tiësto Remix - 5:08
Burns Remix - 4:00
Dirtyloud Remix - 4:02
Qulinez Remix - 6:14