American electronic duo Odesza occupy an odd space in the future bass lineage. While their sound has arguably been fairly essential to the establishment of the EDM off-shoot, they’ve become less prolific to the genre than the likes of, say, Flume or Bonobo. A reason for this is likely Odesza’s transition into a top rated EDM act; due in part to EDM’s own evolution toward the sound of Odesza as the new standard. In lieu of this, it felt that the music had become part and parcel of what was shaping up to be a much larger whole: Odesza, the brand. Members Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills have developed Odesza’s recent live shows to echo this shift, and as they have evolved from hip stoner act to Ultra Main Stage headliners, becoming gaudier and larger, the music has become a supporting act to the overall spectacle.
Their latest album, The Last Goodbye, attests to this in many ways. As their first full LP under the Odesza name in five years, the album is remarkably lacklustre. In fact, it’s easy to assume that The Last Goodbye only exists in service of their upcoming major tour, its music designed around a show rather than the other way around. This is particularly frustrating when it feels like Odesza are approaching innovative territory: the tribal two-step of Behind The Sun has the potential to be epic, but washes itself out far too quickly and lapses into familiar tropes. Similarly, North Garden is on the cusp of something really interesting, but buckles under overwrought sentiment and tricks we’ve all heard before. Both these tracks aim for the grandiose, but falter to achieve any real sense of release. Which is a problem, considering that catharsis is a central theme to The Last Goodbye.
Download and stream The Last Goodbye here
The album opens with a new age guided-mediation-cum-monologue spoken by Julianna Barwick who dares you to find “this version of you” that you’ve always dreamed of, against solemn piano chords and soundbytes of children laughing. It comes off like a trailer for a Terrence Malick film, or more accurately an insurance advertisement, but it proposes The Last Goodbye’s intent: for you to imagine the ultimate version of yourself by letting the music here set you free. Sometimes, they come close. The title track in particular is easily The Last Goodbye’s crown jewel, a simmering house cut crafted around a rather well sampled Bettye LaVette, who is also credited as featured artist on the track. Odesza build a humid, lush climate around LaVette’s powerhouse diva vocals, accented with licks of funk bass guitar and just the right amount of new age spaciness to feel euphoric rather than gimmicky. There’s also some promise in Equal, with its instant earworm hook and buzzy eurodance synths. Mostly, The Last Goodbye feels a bit empty. It’s less an album and more a collection of cues; shells of songs waiting to be filled by smoke and stage lights, made complete.
Watch the music video for the title track from The Last Goodbye below.
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