Two Worlds
Another entry in the dance crossover race, ATB's (otherwise known as DJ Andre Tanneberger) music has always run on the easy-to-swallow side of the dance-music spectrum. Still, this double CD (especially the first disc) occasionally veers into easy-listening boredom or outright dance-pop cheese. While his best-known songs have been energetic and fiery (such as the 1999 party-starter9 P.M.), this album only sporadically finds the trance-like wash of beats and melody that truly compel the masses to take the dance floor with gusto. Not that it's all like that, of course. The amazing "Hypnotic Beach" swirls twisting, mesmerizing, happy hardcore glitter around trance techno beat structures with gleeful abandon. ATB also explores a memorable downbeat vibe on the second disc. On "Timeless" he trots out drum & bass rhythms and a shadier mood that deepen the sound just right. Too often, though, the melodies and beats blur together as ATB pieces identical samples together throughout the record to a point beyond dance-floor continuity. Heavy on collaborations with the likes ofHeather Nova,Enigma, and the Canadian rock bandWild Strawberries, this record is clearly ATB's attempt at a mass-market breakthrough. Let's hope that his supporting tour will feature a riskier mix amidst the candy-coated beats and samples.--Matthew Cooke