Single Review: Steve Angello – ‘Wasted Love’ (Feat. Dougy from The Temper Trap)
2 min read
When EDM powerhouse Swedish House Mafia parted ways in 2013, Steve Angello, member of the trio, decided to pursue the more creative possibilities of electronic dance music. Speaking to MTV earlier this year, Angello expressed the need for producers to diversify their sound away from monotonous beats: “I think it’s really important for dance music today to become creative again, rethink and not just repeat yourself over and over again, like a lot of producers do.” Wasted Love, the lead single off his upcoming solo album Wild Youth, definitely endeavours to deliver something different to a genre drowning in a single, cyclic sound.
Dougy Mandagi, lead singer of Australian indie-rock band The Temper Trap, lends his evocative vocals to Wasted Love, creating a sonic synergy between the two genres that occupies a realm somewhere between intimate listening and festival thumping. Wasted Love steps away from the droning, repetitive sounds characteristic of current dance music, and creates a space in which tangible song-writing can occur.
Dougy’s trademark, goosebump-inducing voice soars over accompaniment that transforms from a simple guitar melody into a dynamic production of synths and strings. This structural development is layered really effectively, finally building up to the highly anticipated drop about a minute into the track. Wasted Love is an affecting combination of Dougy’s stunning voice and delivery, and Angello’s ability to expertly control energy, atmosphere and expectations. The track is a great collaboration between song-writing and production, that is successfully leading the progression of dance music into a domain of sonic diversity. Marrying indie writing and more organic instruments with the existing energy of EDM, Angello has a created a dance song that feels more alive.
