’18 Months’ by Calvin Harris Review

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that Calvin Harris is human, like all of us. That he’s not a robot specifically designed to sit in a studio, producing carefully crafted hooks and grooves that will hit the clubs, then the college bars, then the airwaves, then our brains, where they will stay seared for an eternity.

Whether you eat-live-breathe EDM or you can’t stand even the slightest synth, you’ve heard a song with Harris’s fingerprints on it. And chances are you didn’t hate it.

18 Months is an — albeit overdue — collection of Harris’s super-tracks (“Feel so Close,” “Bounce,” “We Found Love”, “Let’s Go”) interspersed with new songs that round out his third studio album.

We’re left with a jewelry box filled with familiar flashy gems and new statement pieces; some are more valuable than others. But all contribute to a collection of shiny objects. And it’s hard to look away.

Harris teams up with Tinie Tempah for “Drinking from the Bottle” — soon to be a club staple. The collaboration explodes into a rhythmic marriage of rap and beats. The base track is reminiscent of singles that came from Ready for the Weekend.

But Harris really shines with the ladies. “Sweet Nothing” featuring powerhouse Florence Welch, was released in August and is the second collaboration between Harris and Welch. The track is silky and swooping, even though we don’t hear Welch’s full range. Ellie Goulding’s white lighting energy pops up on “I Need Your Love,” which was released around the same time as her sophomore album Halcyon.

Welch and Goulding are obvious but welcome collaborations, and help keep the album current. “Here 2 China,” a team-up with Dizzee Rascal and Dillon Francis, is deliciously surprising. The bass heavy rap remix brings the album into a different space. Dillon brings hard funk; Rascal lays down easy rhymes and the result is abrupt and catchy. It works as a speed bump in an otherwise smooth-sailing and somewhat predictable track list.

Harris created a flow in 18 Months. It mimics his rise to success, and in between the big hits are more inspired Harris-bred beats sans vocals. He’s a bit of a show off with “School” and “Awooga,” and it pays off. They both tell stories elegantly with electronics. The former has soothing melody. It’s soulful and sexy, ready to be remixed into no less than a handful of tracks next year.

We hear more from women than from Harris in 18 Months, and a lot of the tracks are featured on other studio albums. But in a way, this is a dummy’s guide to Calvin Harris. When you strip away Rihanna, Kelis, Ne-Yo, Dizzee Rascal, and all the other star power, we’re still left with raw Harris and a memoir of his past 18 months. He brings us on a journey and we’re happy to be along for the ride.

Buy on iTunes.

Written By: Jessica Goodman