Music Review: Steve Angello solid on 'Wild Youth'

Steve Angello, "Wild Youth" (Size)

Steve Angello, the DJ-producer and one-third of the former EDM supergroup Swedish House Mafia, is out with his second solo album "Wild Youth." It's a consistent if less-than-daring release pinning its hopes on a strong roster of male guest vocals.

If there was ever an EDM thematic distant cousin to Pink Floyd's "The Wall," this might be it. Songs about youngsters being brave and striking out on their own against the world clamoring to restrain them is the common refrain here.

"Children of the Wild," featuring Mako, is a solid track to that effect, and it's followed by the fun and bouncy "Last Dance," with Franz Novotny. Angello stays within himself in the production sense and eschews the brash edges that have come to define the current direction of EDM. He's more of a smooth operator here, just as he was in his Swedish House Mafia days alongside Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso.

The best track among them is "Remember," featuring the Presets." Hopefully someone will remix this five-minute gem into a 10-minute marathon track so we can all give the dance floor a good run. It takes a while to heat up, but once it does, it is on fire.

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