Calvin Harris – 18 Months (2012)

Calvin Harris is a very successful DJ and artist in the commercial world of music. He has worked on many tunes over his career and has collaborated with many famous musicians. This album is one of his most popular works and made him very successful. Still, does it sound good? Let’s find out.

We kick off with Green Valley, which is an instrumental introduction to the world of Calvin Harris. It has a mixture of electronic sounds, beats, textures, and a female voice repeating “Oh!” It is a very nice introduction to the music on this album. A good start. It goes into the next track.

We go bang into Bounce (feat. Kelis) – Radio Edit which was a huge single track release of the time. It sounds like an awesome dancefloor piece. There are some great sonic textures, some good singing from the guest, and beats galore. It’s a catchy sound and is definitely worth hearing. The build-up in the middle of the song is a killer.

Feel So Close – Radio Edit is a tale of romance, with great track design and melody on it. It makes you wonder exactly what you were doing way back in 2012. It is for those who love timeless party music, although there is an air of melancholy on this track. It is super emotional and absolutely brilliant.

We Found Love (feat. Rihanna) is a great tune featuring the great singing of Rihanna, a success regardless of her appearance on this track. It’s a nice tune along with some great lyrics. The instrumentation is well-chosen by Calvin Harris and is extremely well crafted. Great to hear.

Next is We’ll Be Coming Back (feat. Example) which is a tale of hurt feelings in a relationship, set to a danceable House music backdrop. It is brilliant and a banging listen. So far, this album is outstanding, nothing is at all out of place here. This track is no exception. It has some interesting sounds in the breakdown, then it builds up and goes bang, back into the tune. Great stuff.

Following is Mansion which is an instrumental cut that has a fantastic groove on it. It sounds pretty good. Even for such instrumental cuts, Calvin Harris shines. Good job mate. The Acid sound in the middle of it is a big surprise, and great to dance to.

Iron comes next, with its lead-in melody and banging beats. There is a touch of Dubstep in the middle of this track but is still listenable and danceable all the same. The vocals come in and sing about making it through tough times to achieve and succeed. A good anthemic sounding tune.

I Need Your Love (feat. Ellie Goulding) is yet another club classic with some great vocals by the guest here. It’s a lovely and memorable EDM piece that sings about the special moments a couple shares together. A 21st-century poem, that’s for sure. The chorus is magical. A must listen.

After that listen, we have Drinking From The Bottle (feat. Tinie Tempah) which is a good time sounding piece, which has some good Rapping over the top of it. The chorus is just brilliant and is an alcoholic’s club sort of anthem. A memorable and moving piece, get up and dance to this one if you can. A great tune. Some brilliant sound production techniques are used here, good stuff Calvin Harris.

Next is Sweet Nothing (feat. Florence Welch). This is a lovely sounding piece that sounds like an ode to heartbreak. Still, there are some good EDM textures to hear, and we hear a postmodern Burt Bacharach styled tune for our ears. Good to listen to, all the same. This is very consistent, just like the rest of the recording.

School is a weird sounding intermission between the other tracks. It sounds completely odd, yet is refreshing to hear, among the mainstream EDM music. Strange, yet good.

Here 2 China (feat. Dizzie Rascal) is a good tune featuring the UK Garage Rapper Dizzie Rascal. It’s a powerful piece and statement from the duo at work on this track and points to a wider range of influences from Calvin Harris. Effective and punchy.

We then arrive to Let’s Go (feat. Ne-Yo) which is another Rap influenced sort of piece which is really quite a good listen. It’s more EDM than Rap though and still sounds very good today. It’s an interesting creation from Calvin Harris, good stuff to hear. The music here is incredible.

Next is Awooga. It is a crossover piece that Calvin Harris did with LMFAO on their Sorry For Party Rocking album, minus the vocals (your guess to which track it actually is). Still, very good on its own, however, although LMFAO was relatively short-lived as a duo. Nice to hear though.

Thinking About You (feat. Ayah Marar) is the last track on this recording, but it is not a duff track. It holds together the album, and just like most other tracks on here, is an excellent listen. We end the album nicely here.

For those who have nostalgic club memories, or just wish to hear some postmodern good time music, start here. The music here is excellent, and worth a listen. If you dig EDM and House music as well, this is quintessential for you to have.

Good stuff from Calvin Harris.

8/10