Avicii’s new album promises to push boundaries


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Anticipation for Avicii’s new album has been rising among EDM lovers as its Oct. 2 release date quickly approaches. Since the Swedish DJ’s first album, True, had its debut at No. 5 on the charts in 2013, Tim Bergling — under the stage name Avicii — has spent the last two years touring and generating excitement among fans for his new album, Stories.

True was an album that in many ways shocked the music world. EDM was just starting to become more popular upon the release of Avicii’s single, “Levels.” Many fans had mixed reviews for True upon its initial release, as many of its songs strayed from typical electronic music. However, the album did extremely well universally and had many hits, including “Hey Brother,” “Wake Me Up” and “Addicted to You.” In many ways, Avicii’s decision to create a unique album such as True was a great decision, as it attracted many people who do not typically listen to EDM. The album consists of songs that touch on a variety of genres, from electro-infused house music to folk music.

Though True was undoubtedly a success, Bergling has decided to take a different approach to the upcoming album.  The sophomore album will stay true to his EDM roots with a bit of a twist from his previous songs. As he said in a Rolling Stone interview, Stories is expected to be “a lot more song-oriented” than his last album, which is surprising to the many  who considered his first album very song-oriented already. Bergling said he attempted to reach this vision in True, he feels that his goal of “getting electronic music in a song format” will be more successful in Stories. In order to achieve his goal of creating electronic yet meaningful songs, he has collaborated with several hit musicians from Bon Jovi to Chris Martin. Bergling is sure to have several chart-toppers.

If his collaborations aren’t enough to get the album some attention, the recent singles from it definitely will be. “Waiting for Love” was released early this summer and absolutely lives up to the EDM and lyrical blend that Bergling is going for. The song is the collaboration between Avicii and Martin Garrix, a 19-year-old Dutch DJ, and is perfectly paired with the vocals of John Legend. Especially after performing the song together at Ultra Music Festival, Garrix and Avicii’s song made for a perfect summer hit. Having created 70 songs for the album, the 14 songs he chose for Stories are sure to meet expectations.

Two other songs have been released from the album, titled “For A Better Day” and “Pure Grinding.”  The two were released just days ago as a two-track extended play, “Pure Grinding / For A Better Day,” and unquestionably support the fact that this album will not be a repeat of his last one. Avicii said that he “had a lot more freedom to explore new sounds on Stories,” and you can hear it by listening to “Pure Grinding” for the first time. Though his beats are deeply resonate, the song has a jazzy undertone that makes the song very unique from his previous releases. The slow start in “For A Better Day” uses piano to create a more lyric-focused song but maintains an electronic rhythm that comes in the chorus.

Different doesn’t necessarily mean better, but in Avicii’s case, Stories seems to be on the right track to getting the attention he hopes to receive. For those looking to see some of his new hits live any time soon, the only place to go is Las Vegas, where he has four set concert dates between now and October. Avicii has yet to release tour dates for 2016, but a world tour seems like it could be on the horizon.

After having to cancel his tour last year due to health concerns, fans are even more excited to see him live. Though the tour’s abandonment was disappointing  for all who planned to go, it just gave Bergling even more time to spend on this highly anticipated second album.