Could Try Harder (Evacuate The Dancefloor - Cascada)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Evacuate The Dancefloor - Cascada
Date:	21/07/09 (199 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A smattering of good pop/dance tunes...

Disadvantages: ....amidst a sea of 'heard it all before'

A review of the UK release of Cascada's album Evacuate The Dancefloor that was released in June 2009. Track listing and content of the download version is currently the same as the physical release.

It might surprise the uninitiated to know that this is actually Cascada's third studio album. Originally hitting the dance scene in 2006, the group (yes, it is a group, not just a solo singer) has surprised most of the critics by maintaining the sort of longevity rarely seen within the dance music circuit. After the single releases from the last album seemed to go nowhere, most listeners believed that Cascada had gone down the dumper, but here they are again, complete with a number one single and another top ten album. So has anything changed?

Well, for starters, the line-up is entirely the same as before. The lead vocalist is still German born Natalie Horner, who displays a perfect English accent due to her British parenting. Horner works with a duo of German producers, Manian (who has a reasonable track record in Euro Trance on his own) and Yanou (who worked with DJ Sammy on the enormous Bryan Adams cover Heaven). But it's not just the group members that remain exactly the same. Overall the sound of Evacuate the Dancefloor is almost entirely the same as that of Perfect Day and, indeed, of Everytime We Touch, the two albums that came before.

Ironically, it's the title track that displays the most creativity here and it's probably not an enormous surprise that the song has become so commercially successful. The slightly slower tempo (only slightly mind) and slightly different arrangement make this sound like something we've not heard before and the inclusion of a rap breakdown in the middle (albeit the tamest that money could buy) actually makes this sound like something relatively fresh. But if you're expecting an album chock full of jolly anthems like ETD, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

Cascada generally work to a reasonably consistent set of formulae, with maybe three of four varying ingredients to distinguish one song from the next. Most of the songs begin with a twinkly, drifty, synthesised little vocal that rapidly leads into a stomping, high energy beat. These beats go in one of two fairly superficial directions - a steady thump thump or a slightly faster, more frantic thump, thump thump. To cap it all off, if you're lucky you'll get one of those trancey, synthesised breakdowns where everyone whips their T shirts off and larks around. And that is pretty much the secret to Cascada's success. Each of these different beats is generally layered with either a bitter sweet vocal (about having loved and lost) or a super happy vocal (about having just found love) and there's nothing more edgy to it than that. To Cascada's minimal credit, Evacuate The Dancefloor doesn't feature any cover versions at all. To further their credit a little more, this time, they have actually tried a few new things, with varying degrees of success.

The title track aside, there are two standout tracks on the album that have by far the most appeal. They come from the thump thump group rather than the thump, thump thump one. Everytime I Hear Your Name has a lovely vocal (Horner has an unquestionably pleasant voice, smooth, deep and summery, if such a thing were to exist) and Everytime seems to show this to its best (albeit with the help of a synthesiser). Why You Had To Leave (another thump thump tune) is slightly moodier and heavier than the rest of the album, and Horner's voice is again at its best. Why You Had To Leave is probably the catchiest song on the whole album and easily the most instantaneous. Neither track boasts the addition of a rap, with Evacuate The Dancefloor reserving such rights, meaning it's still the best thing on here (although there's a Rob Mayth remix doing the rounds that is to be avoided, as the rap is pretty much stripped out).

Much of the rest of the album is really rather forgettable. Ready Or Not is unquestionably formulaic (classic Cascada thump thump thump) and actually makes me dizzy. Dangerous (the second single) is almost exactly the same and What About Me isn't much different. Breathless is rather like a combination of Cascada and Kelly Clarkson (complete with hands clapping and tambourines jangling.) In fairness, Fever is a little bit different. It's slightly slower and more raucous and has a whiff of Kylie about it. It's also rubbish. Hold Your Hands Up is 'nice'. It's slower again and has a sort of summery guitar vibe about it that doesn't sound much like Cascada at all. It's a reasonable enough song but, realistically, it's not what you buy a Cascada album for. There's also a completely horrible ballad (yes, a ballad) called Draw The Line. In fairness, Horner's voice is more than capable of working with the material but it's the sort of cringe-inducing, piano-driven pap that would make your dog howl. It's another one of Yanou's Candlelight mixes - he did one of Everytime We Touch and DJ Sammy's Heaven and I still remain convinced they're anything more than an unwanted indulgence.

And that's pretty much it. Cascada were never the sort of group to shift huge volumes of albums when all is said and done. This is music to get pissed and dance to, not really to sit and home and absorb thoughtfully, so any sale is a lucky sale. This aside, Perfect Day was a much better album. The combination of original material and cover versions worked for a much better collection and gave the album far more longevity than Evacuate is likely to have. This is a jolly enough collection but almost without exception, it's instantly forgettable and there's no real indication that this took any real time or energy, evidenced by the fact that this is the third album in as many years. If Woolworths still existed, this would be destined for the bargain bin within weeks.

Not recommended

Track Listing
1 Evacuate The Dancefloor
2 Hold On
3 Every Time I Hear Your Name
4 Ready or Not
5 Fever
6 Hold Your Hands Up
7 Breathless
8 Dangerous
9 Why You Had To Leave
10 What About Me
11 Draw The Line (Yanou's Candlelight Mix)

Summary: Third studio album from the German Eurotrance/pop group