One of the most-anticipated dance/electronic albums of the year has finally landed. Crystal Fighters have been getting attention worldwide, due largely to their hit single “I Love London” and also because of their unique sound that sees them mix traditional folk music from the Basque region with modern dance/electronica… which surprisingly sounds brilliant, making Star Of Love one of the must haves of 2011.
The album kicks off with the tribal sounding “Solar System” and is quickly followed by the Sam Sparro-esque “Xtatic Truth” which despite the fact of having repetitive lyrics is as catchy-as-all-hell. The strange lyrical stylings of “I Do This Everyday” start off sounding really annoying but do grow on you. The vocals as so electronic that if you hate electronic music than you are best to keep well clear.
“Champion Sound” sees Crystal Fighters call on a Latin/tropical sound and that same sound continues with Plage which is catchy enough to be the next single. The choir vocals on “In The Summer” make it some brilliant sounding electronica while “At Home” is one of the sweetest songs ever recorded.
Big single “I Love London” has been heard in clubs all around the world while “Swallow” seems to mix all the sounds of the album into one track. It makes use of flamenco, hip-hop, smooth vocals, and tropical sounds with a strong electronica feel and ends up being one hell of a track.
“With You” sees Crystal Fighters sound a lot like Deep Forrest while the smooth “Follow” is well worth another listen. The special edition also features acoustic versions of “At Home”, “Plage”, “Champion Sound” and “Follow”, as well as the Spanish version “Xtatic Truth”. Each track sounds dramatically different to the original version and certainly deserves to be included on the album… they aren’t just tacked on for fun.
The unique sound of Crystal Fighters really makes “Star Of Love” the perfect album for anyone that loves their music to be a little different.
