Hello Stranger

Album Review

If current trends in underground music are any indicator, this album by Berlin (one strike) producer Kaos, with its genre hopping (second strike) and myriad guests (third strike), should be an absolutely abysmal and plodding mess. Which is why it's nice to report that this is not only the best dance album you're likely to hear this year, it's also one of the finest full-length electronic albums ever put to wax, with each song recalling a track you already hold as a dear fave. So what if it's not the most original — Kaos gels his influences together better than most every other producer out there. Kudos, indeed. "Lessons in Love" states its purpose clearly enough with a deep synth melody and tick-tocking hi-hats that scream Mr. Fingers. It's followed by "Feel Like I Feel (Sing Along)" which features an electric piano line that is the spot-on twin of "Is It All Over My Face" and features Matt B. Safer (the Rapture), while the Khan-led "Now and Forever" features a vocal part that just might have been cribbed from the master tapes of disco-era Rolling Stones. And it just doesn't stop. The disco, electro, and acid house themes continue for the remainder of this album that just flies from beginning to end. Critics will complain that Kaos doesn't really have his own sound. But seeing how most electronic artists' sounds get bogged down in the album format, the fact that he can keep you locked in from beginning to end — without the slightest bit of filler — is worthy of endless praise.