If you’ve waited five years for Calvin Harris to release the sequel album to his 2017 hit, then you may be very disappointed with what you’re about to hear.
Calvin Harris’ sixth studio album comes to us in the form of Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2. After releasing Vol. 1 in 2017 to incredible success both financially and reception-wise, Calvin Harris is finally back. He is clearly attempting to recreate the success he had with the last album considering he has gathered some of the biggest names in the music industry together here. But was the wait worth it and does he deliver anything worthwhile here?
Vol. 2 Tracklist
It may not shock you to find out that this album is of the dance-pop nature. Harris’ signature funky beats make an appearance here. However, track after track the one thing that stands out the most is just how tired this formula has become. While the release of Vol .1 in 2017 worked well, now in 2022 it seems like the world has moved on a little bit from the need for the basic DJ sound.
The first real track New Money with 21 Savage is a huge miss immediately. Forgettable production and a very weak vocal performance set the album up for a rough start. Then, there’s no denying that Dua Lipa and Young Thug deliver on the previously-released single Potion but some of the lyrics are cringe-worthy and the beat is nothing special.
Woman of the Year and Obsessed feature five different artists between the two songs, and not a single inspired performance among them. They’re not bad songs just once again simply not the type of music that will stick with you even hours later. Though finally, New to You has an interesting beat and catchy lyrics. We had to wait for six tracks to get to something worth paying attention to but this song’s mood is worth it.
One common theme unfortunately is that Calvin Harris is playing it very safe all throughout the album. This is nowhere more obvious than in Ready Or Not with Busta Rhymes. Stay With Me parts 1 and 2 are a decent attempt at making hits but not much else. From here on out though the album takes a deep dive into boredom. Nothing more stands out among the tracklist. This is quite a negative considering that there are five more songs left to crawl your way through. If nothing else, this album will surely test your boredom and patience levels.
Vol. 2 Reception
Critics’ reviews so far have been mixed, certainly not as good as Vol. 1’s reviews were. The laid-back energy levels are being criticized for being ‘low-effort’ for good reason. On the other hand, if you’ve been struggling to sleep recently you might want to put this album on and see if it works. Chances are you’ll be the single most grateful person for this album since most people just seem entirely ambivalent about it.
There’s nothing to hold on to here. One or two tracks may play on the radio for the summer but generally speaking no one will care this album came out in a couple of months. A hollow attempt at making summer music but forgetting you also need to try and not just phone it in.
Calvin Harris has to realize that he needs to switch things up a bit if he wants to get back the kind of relevance he once had but seems to have fully lost by now. Yet another disappointing comeback from a big artist having taken a huge break.
Photo: Cubankite/Shutterstock
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