Dylan Tauber – Electric Love

Dylan Tauber – Electric Love – EP Review

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

So…okay…how do I put this?

I’ll start by saying that being objective can take some extraordinary effort sometimes.  I’ve enjoyed the bulk of Dylan Tauber’s catalog over time, because the dude is a naturally gifted talent at creating digital tunes.  The quality he puts into his production and the attention to detail he puts into the clarity of his sound has always been nothing short of remarkable, and that remains to be the case on this two-song set he’s called Electric Love, featuring the vocals of Vivian West.  It’d be hard not to appreciate what he does when it comes right down to it, because the professionalism is always present and accounted for.

Having said that, as I like to remind ya from time to time, we don’t really have all that much of a choice when it comes to what we connect with…we like what we like, and we love what we love, and we don’t get as much flexibility with our own personal taste as individuals as much as we might like to have.  For myself personally, as a fan that has listened to Dylan’s music for the past four years or so, I know exactly what I like to hear most from the guy…and this time around, well…let’s just say these aren’t those tunes.  That’s okay though!  Last I checked he’s making music for YOU, the people all around the world, not just little ol’ me sitting here in a corner of Canada…so it’s not my opinion that really matters.  I’m still going to tell you they’re good, because that IS the objective reality of the situation here…I don’t think you’re ever going to find music by Tauber that’s anything less than completely professional.  Maybe if I was twenty years younger than I am, or out on the dance floors of Ibiza, I might feel more attached to what he’s got here this time around, but as it stands, I’d say my main concern is that there’s not a whole lot here that I’d consider to be memorable, so much as they’re basically what you’d expect to find in the EDM genre.

So…I mean…if you’ve been following along with our pages as of late, you know I’ve run into this problem more than normal as of late – I like all the pieces that are involved, but I’m just not feeling the final results.  Take it all with a grain of salt if you like, it’s not just Tauber’s tunes, I can point to several examples of where I’ve felt like this lately, so maybe it’s me and not the music I’ve been listening to.  I’ll have to run that by my therapist.  I’ll have to get a therapist first, but when I do, we’ll talk about all this I’m sure.  Anyhow.  That is legitimately the case here once again.  Like I’ve already mentioned, it’s practically impossible not to appreciate the skill and craft that Dylan brings to his music.  He’s accompanied by an absolutely stellar singer in Vivian West, so that’s another huge positive here.  When it comes to the fundamentals, they’re all locked down tight…structure, production, dynamics…all that stuff is good, if not arguably great and especially for those out there that are really into this style of music.  Which technically, I am – I like something in pretty much every kind of music under the sun, so what the heck was it that stopped me from liking “Future With You” as much as I felt like I should have?  There were a couple things I guess.  I didn’t love the way Tauber chopped up the vocals into syllables and let them out in stuttered shots at times…it felt a little reductive if I’m being entirely honest with you, like it reduced Vivian’s voice into what we’d classically consider to be similar to baby talk…and yeah, I’ve got a hard time getting behind that.  Thankfully, it’s not the whole song, so it’s not too detrimental to the majority of “Future With You,” but it was still a noticeable obstacle that was tough to navigate around.  Lyrically, in general, I had a hard time loving that aspect too.  Ultimately, with the upbeat dance-mode this track is in, I get that Tauber and West wouldn’t have wanted to get too deep on a track like this, but by the same token, this all felt so surface level that it was actually really damn hard to get into.  And the ending?  Dylan?  Dylan…what are we doing here brother?  Something seems amiss…that usual attention to detail seemed to go out the window for the last fifteen seconds or so as an unwelcome texture of distortion seems to creep in unnecessarily at the very end, and then it just like, completely cuts off?  What gives Tauber?  If there was a natural flow into the next track, maybe I’d get it…like, you know how you can get two tunes that were supposed to roll right into each other and separating them for a CD or into individual tracks can cause that bit of a hiccup?  This was like a loud burp compared to that, and I’m just not sure I get why it would have been overlooked when this dude hardly overlooks anything, ever.  Obviously the very last seconds of any song aren’t going to be a major deal to most listeners, but when you’ve become accustomed to a certain level of professionalism from an artist or band you listen to, it can feel downright strange when something like that gets overlooked.  Let the record show that the real flipside to this whole coin is that we’re dissecting fragments of a song…yeah, maybe it doesn’t have my favorite lyrics or even a hook that’s all that memorable, but the majority of “Future With You” is intact, and if you’re looking for quality EDM sound to dance along with and not think about too much, this is it.

Of the two songs, I don’t know that I really have much of a preference when it comes right down to it.  I like the resilient spirit that’s on display on “Electric Love” in the lyrics, even if the bulk of its words have been thoroughly used throughout the course of music’s history.  It doesn’t have that same stuttered pattern of syllables, and it is polished right to the very end, so I suppose this second track has the edge if I’m forced to choose.  The stars of the show remain exactly that – like…Tauber’s as outstanding as he always is, and Vivian is quite likely not from the same planet the rest of us are…she’s superhuman, to say the least.  Hearing her hit the demands of the biggest notes on “Electric Love” and the song’s main hooks is something else I tell ya…it’s like…not only are the notes themselves completely impressive, but hearing how bold and perfected her vocals are leaves you with no choice but to assume that she could still go even bigger if she wanted or needed to.  You know what I mean?  Sometimes you hear someone hit something with such an extraordinary level of confidence, precision, and tone that you know they could even go levels beyond what you’re actually hearing from them, even when they leave you wanting for nothing more in their performance like West does here.  She got every ounce of the potential there was in her vocals throughout “Electric Love,” and she did a phenomenal job on “Future With You” as well – the main issue isn’t anything to do with the stars of the show so much as the source material they’re working with.  Basically, I think there’s a combination of these two incredible artists that could very well be completely mind-blowing, but I don’t think that these two songs reveal that extraordinary potential as much as I was hoping they would.  Like, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that they don’t show us at least a glimpse of something special, but for the talents these two possess, I’d want them to come up with an undeniably memorable moment in time, or tunes that are a little less typical on the inside of the EDM genre.  You know me, always demanding greatness from those I know are capable of it…what can I say?  I’m always happy to play the villain in a situation like that if I have to.  My gut tells me they’ve sailed right through this stage of proving they can make good songs, but hell yeah, I want greatness out of BOTH of these two, because that is the caliber of artists they truly are.  As it stands, I don’t mind “Electric Love,” and its biggest moments are monumentally impressive, so that feels like the best positive to take away from listening to it.  I think the main hooks are probably more memorable than what we heard on “Future With You,” but I’d still say there’s more work to be done in that regard as well.  What I would definitely want to hear is these two continuing to collaborate together…the more they become familiar with each other and what they can do, the more they can play to their strengths and design some tunes that are absolutely unforgettable.  That’s what their talents deserve, and what I know they’re capable of.

Find out more about Dylan Tauber from his official website at:  https://www.dylantauber.com

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