Reviews
Cascada
|
Released: 5th March 2007.
Despite often being branded as ultimately cheesy, German dance act Cascada score hit after hit with their cheerful Euro-dance tunes. The debut album "Everytime We Touch" has already spawned four singles in various territories with a fifth, "A Never Ending Dream", on the way.
The album includes a number of covers of songs by Roxette (the single "How Do You Do"), Kim Wilde ("Kids In America"), Nik Kershaw ("Wouldn't It Be Good") and Maggie Reilly (the US hit single "Everytime We Touch"), but also a number of compositions by producers Yann "Yanou" Peifer and Manuel "DJ Manian" Reuter, such as the most recent UK single "Miracle".
Singer Nathalie Horler's voice lends itself just as well to the upbeat dance tunes as to the beautiful ballad "Another You" or the candlelight version of "Everytime We Touch".
For everyone who's not put off by the "cheesy" label, this can be a thoroughly enjoyable album.
Who would have thought the girl whose music was blasted through car stereos all last summer would end up with a platinum-selling album, and three top ten hits under her belt? Cascada - aka Natalie Horler - and backed by producers Yanou and DJ Manian, has not only achieved the rare feat of having consistent chart success (usually unheard of for a dance act), but she's also notched up a top 10 US hit single with the title track, "Everytime We Touch".
The style of the album is pretty formulaic, with the majority of the tracks all in the same vein. But it works for Cascada - the music is guaranteed to fill an empty dancefloor. Despite this, some diversity is shown in the stunning stripped-down ballad "Another You", and slowed-down versions of "Everytime We Touch" and "Truly Madly Deeply".
Some may be put off by the number of cover versions on the album, which range from Savage Garden ("Truly Madly Deeply") to Roxette ("How Do You Do"), but with Cascada's powerful vocals she pulls them off and gives them a modern twist. One of the album's highlights is a cover of Kim Wilde's "Kids In America" which is destined to be a single, but there are plenty of original tracks, "Bad Boy" and "Ready For Love" in particular, which will please dance and pop fans alike.
Many people associate Cascada with the "chav" population of today, but if you love good, solid dance music with fantastic vocals, "Everytime We Touch" is the album of the year.
(Martin P)
