Opus is a lengthy testament to the EDM scene
Normally artists don’t wait years to release their debut album.
In the case of Eric Prydz, that rule doesn’t apply. Prydz is a Swedish DJ and House producer who has been a staple in the electronic music scene for over a decade, but he’s only now released his ‘debut’ album.
It may not seem like four years is a long time period for an album release, but in regards to the electronic music genre, it feels like an eternity. This is also because Prydz, despite being a household name for most fans of the genre, has only released two studio albums in his career, his first being a compilation album of old material released back in 2012.
Opus, which was released on February 5th this year, is considered to be his debut album. And it is quite a long album.
Eighteen of the album’s songs exceed 5 minutes in length. With that in mind, I don’t think think casual listeners are going to be attracted to this album for that reason.
Opus has had five singles released prior to the album’s release. ‘Every Day’ was released in October 2012, four years before the second album was even announced. The follow-up single, ‘Liberate’ was released in June 2014.
‘Liberate’ and ‘Every Day’ are already two songs that stand out entirely from the rest, mainly because they sound like Prydz’s previous work. Prydz is mainly known for his unique sound of progressive house, which is easily recognizable, and I think that is easy to see in these two singles.
The next three singles, ‘Generate’, ‘Opus’ and ‘Breathe’ sound nothing like the first two. ‘Generate’ sounds more raw than any of his previous work, while ‘Breathe’ isn’t reminiscent of any other songs he’s created that featured vocals. (‘Breathe’ features credited vocals by Pendulum frontman Rob Swire)
Meanwhile, the title track ‘Opus’ is basically a nine-minute build-up track that closes out the album. Usually I’d enjoy these types of electronic tracks, but when a song like this lasts almost ten minutes in length, it bores me to the point of skipping throughout the song to find anything salvageable to listen to.
Song length ends up being a huge factor in this album. I already mentioned the album was very long, but I believe that the length of a song plays huge factor in deciding whether a person likes it or not. Songs like ‘Floj’ and ‘Oddity,’ both of which exceed 7 minutes in length, rarely change. The melody stays the same throughout both songs.
However, there are a couple of songs on this album that I do enjoy. Aside from the singles, there lies ‘Moody Mondays’ which features The Cut. It’s very funky for a progressive house song. The first two songs on the album, titled ‘Liam’ and ‘Black Dyce’ sounds like they were ripped right out of a sci-fi movie such as Tron or Blade Runner.
The one thing that sticks out to me more than the length of of the songs is that the album’s not very radio-friendly. Aside from ‘Liberate’, ‘Generate’ or ‘Every Day’, none of the album’s songs would likely be played on national radio stations unless the station was made specifically for electronic music.
Like I’ve previously said, I don’t think that casual music listeners are going to listen to an album that’s an hour and 24 minutes in length. I also don’t think that casual listeners are going to listen to an album that doesn’t sound like pop music.
Unlike other Swedish house producers such as Axwell and Avicii, Prydz hasn’t really made the transition into the pop music scene. Although this is a primarily due to a change in style for most artists, I wouldn’t expect to see Eric Prydz to be played across airwaves anytime soon.
In conclusion, I can say that Opus is a decent debut album. I don’t think it’s excellent, nor do I think it is disappointing. I don’t think that the album is very memorable, but I wouldn’t go to the point of purposely avoiding Opus. There certainly are good songs on this album, but the fact that more than half of the album’s songs exceed eight minutes really kills the enjoyment factor for me.
For anyone planning to listen to Opus in its entirety, grab a book.
