Music
Automatic
Progressive house producer Kaskade loses direction
Progressive house trailblazer Kaskade‘s past material has been marked by soaring cosmic highs fit for both euphoric club nights and blissed-out mornings. On his ninth studio LP, though, he ditches the atmospheric sound that defined his career (and distanced him from other EDM stars), opting instead for an uneasy, scattered venture into conventional electronic dance-pop with little substance. The highlights on Automatic come from the impressive vocalists that guest-star, including Estelle, Ilsey and Tamra Keenan. Still, they’re not enough to distract from the nagging feeling that Kaskade’s once-vibrant artistry has drifted off course.