Review Summary: An artistic disappointment, if not worse.
Out of all the garbage mainstream EDM that I've heard to date, the one artist that I've despised the most is none other than Zedd. At first, he piqued my interest a few years back with "Spectrum", the catalyst into digging further into the genre which I didn't have much of an incentive towards. My excitement didn't last long afterwards, with his debut album Clarity being nothing more than generic, uninspired dance music that didn't offer much thrills. With his new album, the artful True Colors, the disappointment I was left with after his previous release didn't subside - only growing after his latest release.
Cutting to the chase, True Colors starts off on an otherwise decent note with the chilling, interstellar "Addicted To A Memory" with its lush synths and mechanical bass lines - then leading on with the dynamic "I Just Want You To Know" featuring Selena Gomez. This is the kind of Zedd I waited for after "Spectrum" and "Find You". It is after that where True Colors transforms from a painting that has its paints all in the right place to a artistic mess, my anticipation all but gone. The bulk of the record contains the same boring chord progressions, climatic drops, and average vocal collaborations that smothered Clarity, and then some. Zedd even tries to make a venture into dubstep with the buzzing "Bumble Bee", featuring a build-up and industrial climax that is as terrible as the name suggests.
If that hadn't caught your attention already, the replay value on True Colors is unsurprisingly low - with the bulk of the record destined to be in musical hell or stuck in frozen limbo on your iPod. In an attempt to go 'out of the box', Zedd collaborates with Jon Bellion and rapper Logic. The results are sub-par, with Bellion's vocals coming out as the best in the mystical "Beautiful Now" - while Logic's appearance in the YOLO-influenced, X Ambassadors-featured "Transmission" only solidifies his selling out to the mainstream. Remember when he rapped about 'fighting them' in "Set The Tone"? Talk about sheer hypocrisy, and he didn't even try to defend himself with a decent performance in the limited time he's featured, regurgitating his whole Under Pressure agenda.
While the middle part of the record is nothing short of terrible and shameful, True Colors catches some fire at the end, minus Zedd's poor dubstep attempt - featuring some classic nostalgic trance like the mind-inducing "Papercut" with its thumping bass and flashy synths brimming with its piano-driven melody. While not particularly interesting, it does add more of a modern dance feel to it in the end, it does come out as the best song off the record - a testament to how unimpressive the record is.
With already a plethora of EDM releases in 2015, Zedd's latest release comes in as the worst release of its kind so far. The album lacked consistency with its solid beginnings and then stumbling upon a middle section that's easily forgettable, completed with the package that had clouded Clarity - finishing off the same way it began. The production is a roller coaster - going from terrific, to terrible, to okay once more. A highly inconsistent record, and easily Zedd's worst release to date. As much as I've despised the majority of the 'pop-EDM' material that's dropped, maybe he should've stuck to that formula because while it isn't at all impressive - it is infinitely better than the unusual, wacky attempt to break away from the pack that he's failed to achieve. Stick to bubbly 'pop-EDM' material and working with Ariana Grande man, its working out just fine for you.
