★★★☆☆
(Virgin EMI/Def Jam)
Discovered at 19 by a member of Swedish House Mafia, Alessandro “Alesso” Lindblad is the latest superstar DJ from Scandinavia. Like globe-trotting rival Avicii, his debut album’s aiming for a commercial sweet spot equidistant from the sound of clubbing and Coldplay. But for all the melodic momentum on Cool, Sweet Escape and Scars (featuring OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder) he’s better at banging EDM tunes like Payday, which has Deadmau5’s bleepy belligerence. Hearing the lyrics to Bowie’s “Heroes” mangled into mawkish platitudes is almost unforgivable, though fellow Swede Tove Lo saves the day with her uplifting vocal on Alesso’s house reinterpretation. When the DJ starts throwing ambient instrumentals into the mix, it’s a drowsy distraction from the dance tracks. Alesso is more might be a useful adage for him to remember next time.
