Music Review: It’s Album Time

Todd Terje
2/5 Stars

The CD art for Norwegian producer Todd Terje’s debut album “It’s Album Time” finds a cartoon Terje sprawled out on a piano surrounded by daiquiris. Terje’s nu-disco wants us to know that it’s made for the lounge, not the club, and it dares us to find something wrong with that. A few sublime moments aside, there’s plenty wrong with that. “It’s Album Time,” finely produced as it is, is nothing more than an hour’s worth of high quality cheese.

“It’s Album Time” comes out in a period where disco music has taken the pop charts by storm for the past year and a half. Terje comes from a different school of thought than other artists like Daft Punk, Pharrell and Tensnake. Those artists create pure sugar-rushes of songs, characterized by ear-wormy hooks and catchy choruses. Terje is all about build and release. His songs all occupy the same mid-tempo groove, with minimal vocals, lush strings and thumping pianos guiding each track toward its climax. Frankly, these songs are borderline indistinguishable from one another.

One must commend Terje for his commitment to his lounge-lizard aesthetic, as “It’s Album Time” is largely a cohesive album with each song building naturally into the next. Unfortunately, moments that truly wow the listener are few and far between. “It’s Album Time” oddly sounds like a video game soundtrack. Tracks like ‘Leisure Suit Preben’ and ‘Swing Star (Part 1)’ would fit right in on “Pokémon” or “Super Mario Galaxy,” respectively, and it’s tough not to imagine battling a Gym Leader while listening to them. In total, the album’s less memorable tracks are merely that—forgettable, uninspired and dull.

There are precisely three moments where “It’s Album Time” does not feel like a chore to listen to. A collaboration with Bryan Ferry on Robert Palmer’s ‘Johnny and Mary’ is the only track that slows down the pace and has a lead singer. It’s a stunning cover. Ferry is as expressive and engaging a singer as ever, and Terje’s production highlights the performance in an ethereal and dramatic way. The record’s last two tracks—‘Oh Joy’ and 2012 hit ‘Inspector Norse’—are the only truly catchy and innovative disco tunes on display.

However, these great songs can’t make up for the dearth of creativity that plagues “It’s Album Time.” It’s utterly baffling that an album this formless and indistinct took ten years to produce, and it’s a real shame that Terje hasn’t put his best foot forward on his proper debut. Ultimately, Terje forgets that disco can and should be fun and exciting. Go elsewhere if you want to dance.