Kygo Sticks to a Winning Formula With ‘Golden Hour’

Adi Mehta

Norwegian producer Kygo, pioneer of the tropical house sound, stumbled upon a working formula, and stuck to it. He creates pop songs with EDM stylings, characterized by piano refrains and marimba, along with bass drops and all the tricks of the trade. He had only released two singles when Avicii and Chris Martin sought him out to remix Coldplay’s “Midnight” in 2014. One thing led to another, and Kygo became a major name, performing at such high profile events as the 2016 Olympics closing ceremony. With an accessible sound that distills dance music into the most radio friendly tunes, Kygo recruits colorful singers from disparate genres, and allows their personalities to guide his creations. For his latest album, “Golden Hour,” he sticks to the same routine, slightly expanding his repertoire with new spins on the sound.  

“The Truth” brings things to a bright and buoyant start, introducing the template that Kygo proceeds to tweak slightly throughout the album. Valerie Broussard sings what would essentially be a piano ballad, except hijacked by an overly enthusiastic DJ who goads you to the dancefloor. Next, “Lose Somebody” recruits OneRepublic for a minimal pop song. Midway, singer Ryan Tedder lets loose in an ascending melody that cues the entry of other voices, then erupts into full band fare with pitch-shifted vocals and other EDM signifiers beefing up the sound. With his intonations in the climactic line, Tedder seems to borrow liberally from Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody.” Jamie N Commons lends his melismatic crooning to “Feels Like Forever,” singing in sweaty, spirited spurts in rhythm with Kygo’s standard pulsating beat work. The usual builds and drops give way to outpourings of gospel-like zeal, a novel combination of sensibilities. Zak Abel takes the spotlight on “Freedom,” his commanding voice building to a chorus in which Kygo takes over, mutating the titular word to a mobilizing, handclap-heavy stomp with buzzing bass and gleeful piano chords. On “Beautiful,” Sandro Cavazza sings over acoustic guitar, sonorous and soaring, then tries his hand at some forced falsetto business that gets a bit silly. A twee melody seconds the gesture, and soon, Cavazza is belting, “Am I beautiful?” at the moon and stars as Kygo fills up a dancefloor. The song might have perhaps sounded a bit more natural with a female singer.

On “To Die For,” St. Lundi channels various star singers at different moments, switching in a flash from Chris Martin to alien vibrato. Kygo crafts the singer into a disorienting, spliced loop for the instrumental chorus, that pours back into the powerful vocal in a cathartic release. German singer Kim Petra wails, winces, and works up a storm as a backing guitar runs commentary on her whims on “Broken Glass.” The refrain of “Let’s keep dancing on the broken glass” is a lyrical standout, and Petras howls it with a ferocity fit for the sentiment, as Kygo plods on in restrained jubilation. “How Would I Know,” featuring Oh Wonder, is a standout track that trades some of the everpresent bombast for a bit more texture. Singers Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West go at it together, their breathy utterances at opposite registers imparting a new intimacy, while fuzzy guitars put a new understated spin on Kygo’s usual moves. Australia’s Dreamlab contributes endearing vocals to “Could You Love Me,” possibly the cheeriest song yet. Kygo’s trademark piano stabs lead into synth melodies that simultaneously echo steel drums and video games.

Next on vocal duties is the legendary Whitney Houston, where Kygo remixes with his usual treatment, Houston’s 1990 cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love.” Since Houston’s beaming, histrionic vocals are the type that Kygo’s featured singers generally aim for, this song could easily pass for another original. Kygo comes in with the right touches at just the right moments, managing to reinvent a classic song in the most natural way imaginable. Sasha Sloan brings a considerable departure on “I’ll Wait,” as the only feature other than Oh Wonder to tone down the theatrics. There’s a certain primal appeal to her soft and measured singing, which she somehow manages to keep at bay even after the animated antics of Kygo’s bass drops. Sam Tinnesz continues in this vein, lending his expressive voice to “Don’t Give Up On Love.” A barebones acoustic guitar background builds into another chorus of treated vocal snippets that sounds like a party contained and held at a distance. Patrick Droney and Petey bring a rustic, soulful sound to a spacious arrangement on “Say You Will,” singing throwaway poetry over whizzing washes and subdued fist-bumping fare. Joe Janiak starts up close and returns, upon the chorus, to the usual energy and spectacle. Declarations like “I’ll follow you” proclaimed with theatrical zeal, are a perfect conduit for Kygo’s joyous sonics, here in all their full grandeur. 

”LIke It Is” adapts the template to hip-hop, courtesy of Tyga, who drops a verse over a standard Kygo production. Elsewhere, Swedish singer Zara Larsson handles vocal duties with a refreshingly unaffected straightforwardness fitting with her central claim, “I’m just telling it like it is.” Zac Brown sings atop an insistent beat on “Someday.” His country pop stylings sound less natural in the EDM environment than, say, “Higher Ground,” and it’s not because of stylistic incompatibility as much as a dearth of craft, although the chorus of Brown multi-tracked in a spirited singalong makes for a standout moment. Rhys Lewis tries his hand at a similar sound on “Hurting,” building from an emotive lone vocal to a rich, layered chorus. Kygo restrains himself this time around, coyly tinkering with knobs in the background, neither offending nor enticing. Finally, Haux rounds off the affair, lending his fluttering vocal to “Only Us.” The elegant closer is a stark outlier until the final third, in which Kygo’s trademark piano comes in and cues the usual maneuvers for a final triumph.

Throughout “Golden Hour,” Kygo builds his drops, chops his samples, and throws caution to the wind. He caters his productions to each particular vocalist, and lets the songs take shape around the singing. One is compelled to credit him for the adaptability of the sound. On the other hand, there’s nothing too clever or particularly compelling about what he is doing. The sound is adaptable because it’s generic and played out. Kygo is so used to rehashing it that he can effortlessly turn out tunes that fit the mold impeccably. Sometimes, however, that isn’t quite enough. There is an impressive, international selection of talented singers who carry the album. At his best, Kygo channels the singers’ idiosyncratic spirits into seamless sonic extensions. At his worst, he offers flimsy cutouts, which, if misshapen, can at least be relied on to come without any edge. These are pop songs envisioned as dance music, and presented as pop songs again. The album stands out for its mix of dynamics and the calibre of singers on display. Ultimately, it’s an entertaining display of business as usual, as Kygo takes his winning sound a little bit further.

“Golden Hour” is available May 29 on Apple Music.