Atmosphere
Kaskade (a.k.a. Ryan Raddon, DJ-producer) is a 42-year-old dance-music veteran in an EDM moment rampant with raging teenage converts, and a practicing Mormon in a traditionally drug-fueled scene. No wonder the music on his eighth album would try to incorporate opposites, fusing big gulps of arena-ready whoosh (dude headlined the Staples Center) with more refined textures that reflect his roots in San Francisco’s deep house scene. The problem is that he brings the same vague, feathery touch to everything he does – be it the cocktail-hour marimba tinkle on “Take Your Mind Off” or gas-giant ballads (like the title track) that reduce spiritual ecstasy to one hell of a night job.