AlunaGeorge have released their sophomore album I Remember. The LP comes with some prominent collaborations with the likes of Flume, Popcaan and ZHU.
I Remember is a diverse bag - even for just 12 tracks. The album ping-pongs from one style to the next, as evidenced by the first two tracks, "Full Swing," an upbeat pop, hip-hop crossover track that with Pell that leads into the slow, R&B cut "My Blood" with ZHU about a difficult breakup.
There appears to be some direction in the album with most of the more radio friendly and pop tracks in the middle, refreshing for most major label pop albums that like to stuff the top half with singles and neglect the bottom half.
"Mean What I Mean" stands out with its tropical influences and the addition of Dreezy and Leikili47 over a house beat compared to the "Lean On" type of dance-pop track in "Jealous," that sounds a year too late.
More moody electronic tracks round out the end of the album as Aluna dips into some personal songwriting about heartbreak.
Aluna wanted to really get personal and advance her songwriting from past works. "We were going for that holy grail of songwriting," says Aluna. "It was an attitude of 'let's see what else we can do'," adds George in a statement.
Aluna takes a third person role in a relationship on the smooth and jazzy "Mediator," telling the story of going through a failed relationship from the perspective either herself from the third person or a friend who she knows.
Despite its many different styles, the album does seem to breeze by. That could be because there are some tracks that don't really seem to stick out and aren't as inventive as one might expect from the group. AlunaGeorge are capable of writing some very catchy tracks like "I'm In Control," but the album seems to lack bite all the way through.
Stream the album below and pick up a copy on iTunes.
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