Alesso’s “Anthem” Might Reflect The What Is To Come With His Upcoming Releases

With Alesso’s notorious 2015 success with “Heroes (We Could Be)” as well as the release of his debut full-length album, Forever, it is only natural to wonder what is next for the fast rising EDM maven. It was announced in November of 2015 that Alesso would be releasing new music, merch, and touring less to give the fans what they want; and as we all know, what we want is definitely some new hits. “Anthem,” also released in 2015, is currently the only sign from Alesso on the EDM playground, and while it definitely isn’t a disappointment, it seems that the touring life has kept Alesso busy enough to keep “Anthem” as our only idea and head-scratcher that will give fans hints of what to expect.

Approaching the month of April, this fact may be disconcerting to the audiences who just want more, but Alesso, like everyone else is a human being. We at Relentless Beats could give our best journalistic guess in thinking he’s probably pretty exhausted with everything that has kept him busy in the past year. In hope for the future of his music catalog, all we can do at the moment is speculate from his most recent efforts of what is to come. “Anthem,” not associated with any specific album at the moment definitely harks back to his days under the mighty bass-wing of Ingrosso from Swedish House Mafia.

Tuning into “Anthem“, one mantra is repeated over the course of the song: “Why you sittin’ down, you should be dancing, dancing!” Bawdily announcing that “this is the anthem,” there are times when “Anthem” doesn’t feel as anthemic as it should. That is not to say that Alesso is slacking, for “Anthem” indeed makes use of heavy synth melded with a rubber-sounding backbeat that seems to be preparing for a breakdown, but oddly enough, this breakdown never occurs. The bassline skirts the plank of having almost no bassline at all, which gives us a reason that these future EPs might reflect a style going back to his own roots, but creating something more melodic.

What might be confusing for some listeners is that, traditionally anthems are supposed be simple, tribal, and almost easy to remember, and while the lyrics definitely do get stuck in your head after about 20 seconds into the track, there seems to be some kind of missing bass element to the track that makes your foot want to do something, but tap definitely isn’t the word. It is very easy to imagine good folks getting down to this at a festival or club, but the lack of bass in “Anthem” makes the higher frequencies sound a little messy as the track progresses.

The beauty in “Anthem” definitely is reflected in its flaws. That is not to say that people enjoy tracks that only obey normalcy and clean production, but there is an odd element in the song that sounds clean as a whistle, but the grittiness is found very quickly once you expect the track to drop. To say the track does not “drop” as it has been stated throughout the article is misleading, for there are many moments when it indeed flips into that backbeat mentioned above; unfortunately, just like a disappointing trip to your favorite restaurant, the lack of bass in the track really takes away from what really could be a series of interesting drops and composition.

So what do we have to look forward to the EP so far? It is safe to say that the while the bass is almost nonexistent in “Anthem,” it would be extremely out of character for Alesso to have little bass in an entire tracklisting. What we can rejoice, is that there is a chance that the pulsing synths and style reverting to his past might definitely make an appearance.  The world of EDM progresses in production values faster than most genres, so maybe Alesso has a few surprises in store for us to jam to.

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Sources: Image Source, Music Times, Billboard