AN21 & Max Vangeli – People Of The Night (Album Review)

Posted by Middy on September 10, 2012

AN21 & Max Vangeli released their long awaited artist album “People Of The Night” this week after months of delays and teasers of tracks on the album to some mixed reviews. AN21 & Max Vangeli themselves have put out some very successful singles and blossomed into world renowned DJs in their own right, but the next step of an artist album was something they still had to accomplish. This album takes steps, but does not take the leap that we had hoped for from these two talented DJs. The listener is finishes the album not totally satisfied and left wanting a bit more. We have to wonder what were some of the other tracks that did not make the cut for the album and maybe the selection was not the best.

That is not to say that this is a bad artist album by any stretch of the imagination. The first time through you may feel that their were only a few tracks that stuck out to you and the rest were generic fillers. While there are a few tracks that do sound a bit generic, on further examination of this album, you begin to like this 15 track album a bit more. Read on to dive in to the rest of the album.

The album starts with the previously released single “People Of The Night” with Tiesto that sets the melodic tone for the album as an one that will have a big room sound with vocals, as well as a more minimal progressive feel as well. From there though the order of tracks on the album is not entirely useful as great albums will take you on a journey, where this one seems to lack a certain direction from one track to the next, though that is a rare feat in the realm of progressive house.

The album features a plethora of collaborations with other high profile producers aside from the aforementioned “People Of The Night” with Tiesto. They are largely hit or miss on the album with tracks like “Glow” with Congorock or “Nightfall” with Michael Woods lacking that something extra to make it a standout track on the album. “Story” with Kim Fai and “Brunette” with Moguai are better showings, with “Story” taking the cake of the two with its well oiled melodies.

The vocal tracks on the album bring in some very talented singers, from Rudy to Example to Julia McKnight and this is where AN21 & Max Vangeli do great work complimenting the vocalists. Though “Glow” with Bnaan may have been a little underwhelming, the high profile “Whisper” lives up to its billing in its final form and delivers as one of the better tracks on the album. “Bombs Over Capitols” gives us one of the big room tracks ready to rock the bigger indoor venues and bring in the Southern Hemisphere summer season with a bang. Rudy following his showing on “City Of Dreams” delivers one of the underrated tracks on the album, “This Far” that is able to close out the album on a high note.

The part I think that really shined were the songs that AN21 & Max Vangeli did alone. Besides their subpar effort on “Vafan”, the other tracks such as “Shades”, “Diet” and “Fresh Start” all provide a refreshing different sound from the rest of the album that perhaps shows the direction they would have taken with the album if they had done it exclusively on their own.

Overall the album was a very good effort from the guys that started a little slow, but really picking up towards the end with tracks like “Whisper”, “Story”, “Shades” and “This Far”. While the work as a whole leaves a bit to be desired as some of the tracks seem a little plain or uninspired, there is no denying that this is still a very good effort. The expectations were incredibly high going into this album, possibly expectations that were never going to be reached. This does not put a blemish on the near spotless record of Size Records, but it may not be the shining star it once had the chance to be. As the album becomes more and more of a dying breed, we can only hope that Zedd, deadmau5 and Calvin Harris follow “People Of The Night” with works that restore consumer confidence in the LP.

Tags: AN21, congorock, Kim Fai, Max Vangeli, Size Records, steve angello, tiesto