The Daily Spin, March 3
Kygo | Cloud Nine
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023. Happy March!
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: Cloud Nine (2016)
Artist: Kygo
Link:
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When I was first really getting into music on my own and making listening a regular part of my day, Kygo was one of the first artists that I fell in love with - his poppy brand of tropical house is perfectly placed, every drop hitting where it needs to, every vocalist aligned brilliantly with the song they’re featuring on. It’s so arranged, almost to a fault. I was on the Stole the ShowÂ
Indeed, in the years since I first enjoyed this album and Kygo’s music, my enjoyment has fallen off - last year, I listened to Kygo just 12 times - and yet that was 50% better than 2021. As I’ve grown and continued to develop my taste, I’ve come to realize that the overt polish applicable to basically every song in Kygo’s catalog isn’t what I want from my music.
There’s something enjoyable to rough edges, and at the end of the day, tropical house doesn’t necessarily afford that. Even the emotive moments in this album feel a little fabricated - sure, Tom Odell wails heavy on ‘Fiction’, and John Legend croons as only he can on ‘Happy Birthday’ - but, when it comes to it… well, there’s not much else to say, is there. It feels contrived, like there’s nothing really there.
The album has bright spots - it’s easy to see how the Norwegian producer ascended into stardom, and coming back to this album gave me flashes of that excitement I used to feel when he would put out music, but it’s not the same anymore. Time goes on, I’m not getting any younger, and the effortless gliding of a elation-tinged album doesn’t resonate the same way it used to.Â
Rating: 7.4/10
Best Tracks: Stole the Show; Nothing Left; Carry Me
Worst Tracks: Happy Birthday; Raging; Fiction