MAXIMUM VELOCITY
THERE’S a lot to like about Ava Max and most of it is on this, her debut album. Anyone who’s been following her career will have heard half of it already – seven out of its 15 tracks have been released as singles, which isn’t at all unusual for a young pop star today – so the question is, have they heard the better part of it?
The good news is that the remainder is no mere filler. What’s more, Max has clearly given considerable thought to how the album will run as a whole. It has stylistic variety, and downbeat moments but zero ballads, meaning it proceeds at a fair clip throughout and sustains the breeziness and melodic energy that characterise most of the individual songs.
Across the whole record, it’s easy to hear why Max has thus far had a bigger impact in Europe than her native US. Heaven & Hell has that slightly cool edge associated with contemporary Scandipop, and while not outright retro – certain touches and flourishes betray how it couldn’t have been made any
time before 2015 – it does dip quite overtly into that genre’s past.
Max’s favoured pop-rock sound, with sprinklings of disco, often feels like ABBA-lite. She isn’t quite in that league, but who is? These are still tracks with enough lightness, zest and oomph to wriggle nimbly through your consciousness. The bouncy reggae of Who’s Laughing Now is straight-up Ace Of Base, and delicious with it.
Undemanding it may be but that doesn’t make this debut flimsy. It’s a sweet, sharp treat and impressively individualistic.