Review Summary: As an album on the pop-ier end of the electronic music spectrum, ‘Everytime We Touch’ does well to serve up equal parts sing-along melody and club-friendly attack, as much a post-breakup album as it is a pre-club player.
Yes, it’s more Euro than designer stubble, yes, most of the tracks are covers, sure, it’s over-produced, it’s ‘commercial’, but you know what? Stick on the title track (or in fact any of the other dance-floor anthems featured) and prepare to be transported to a musical plane of high-energy happiness. I am of course talking about Cascada’s 2007 debut long-player ‘Everytime We Touch’.
The title track kicks off proceedings, showcasing sultry singer Natalie Horler’s dynamic and passionate range and the hands-in-the-air-Berlin production of Yanou and DJ Manian. I’d even go so far as to attest one needs to pause and wipe the sweat from their fake-tanned brow before soldiering on through this German juggernaut, such is the impact of this synth-induced euphoria. Ready? Then I’ll continue. ‘How Do You Do’ takes it down a notch, but only comparatively, Horler’s vox forcing you into a false sense of security before lurching one into another dance floor frenzy. ‘Bad Boy’ is another stomper, and one is hard pressed not to sing along (the lyrics are hardly Shakespearean, although that’s part of the blissful simplicity of Eurodance). Another salvo is fired in the form of ‘Miracle’, and if you don’t at least have the URGE to dance it’s highly doubtable that you are in possession of any kind of soul. ‘Another You’ follows, a sweet R&B inflected ballad that allows for a breather and some sentiment amongst the endless four-to-the-floor kick-drum barrage. Lyrically it deals with romance and the pressures of relationships, as does the entirety of the album, and this makes for both a great heartbreak track and slow-dance number.
A personal highlight of the album, ‘Ready For Love’ follows, a fist-in-the-air odyssey that reminds one that ‘commercial’ appeal need not get in the way of a banging good tune. ‘Can’t Stop the Rain’ follows in a similar vein and as such it should go without saying that this is not an album to sit down for, at least not for long. You can practically hear the strobes and lasers flashing when the trance breakdown kicks in. Next is an adaption of Kim Wilde’s ‘Kids in America’, nothing too groundbreaking, it follows the original in a Eurodance style yet it’s catchy nonetheless. ‘A Neverending Dream’ continues with romantic themes and hard-trance sections, whilst yet another cover, an R&B appropriation of Savage Garden’s ‘Truly Madly Deeply’ follows. ‘One More Night’ once again racks up the intensity, although tedium (or exhaustion more likely) kicks in by the time ‘Wouldn’t it be Good’ kicks in. ‘Love Again’ however is the album’s saving grace, epic, grandiose and saccharine enough to tug the heartstrings, it makes for a perfect closer to a perfect album, before the ‘candlelight’ (acoustic) version of ‘Everytime We Touch’ finishes up.
As an album on the pop-ier end of the electronic music spectrum, ‘Everytime We Touch’ does well to serve up equal parts sing-along melody and club-friendly attack, as much a post-breakup album as it is a pre-club player. One to get you on your feet in more ways than one.
Stand out tracks; ‘Everytime We Touch’, ‘Bad Boy’, Miracle’, ‘Ready For Love’
