ALBUM REVIEW: Tiësto brings the party to a boil on ‘Drive’

Tiësto Drive, Tiësto, Tiesto

Tiësto, “Drive.”

There’s rarely this little uncertainty over the commercial viability of an album that has yet to be released. Dutch DJ Tiësto (Tijs Verwest) has been releasing songs from new album Drive since 2020. Combined, the five bangers he’s released have accrued more than 3.5 billion streams, led by by the absolutely viral “The Business.”

Drive
Tiësto

Atlantic, April 21
8/10
Get the album on Amazon Music.

It’s by far the biggest electronic jam of the bunch, but most people in the Western world have likely danced along to “The Motto” (with Ava Max),” “Hot In It” (with Charli XCX), “10:35″ (with Canadian artist Tate McRae) and “Don’t Be Shy” (With Karol G). Not only has he prepped his Atlantic Records debut to be one of the biggest albums of his long, established career, but Tiësto, just for fun, introduced rising reggaeton star Karol G to millions with her English-language debut.



Drive is as much of a nighttime party album as Pitbull ever cranked out. It’s sleek, sexy and uptempo from start to finish. And despite its well-known singles, it still has a few surprises left.

The latest single, and opening track, “All Nighter,” is a clicking, reverb-laden banger with synth flourishes that sets the tone for the simple concept. This album is meant to be a soundtrack for a special night, from a sundown that holds so much promise to a hazy sunrise where you’re left stumbling and recalling your exploits. As for the album name and imagery? It’s an homage to the DJ’s love for Formula 1 racing, and specifically, an incident that happened during the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix where a $430,000 diamond affixed to the front of a race car disappeared forever.

Next come the Ava Max and Tate McRae collaborations and Drive pillar “The Business.” Max invites listeners to “drop a few bills and pop a few champagne bottles,” while by “10:35” the night is still young. The latter of the three is all about hitting the dance floor. The Charli XCX and Karol G collabs fall later on the album.



“Hot in It,” which has elements of ’90s techno baked in, is about peacocking for all to see. “Don’t Be Shy” is a sort of wistful banger, stripping Karol G’s Caribbean sound and dropping her in the middle of a Tiësto standard.

There are even more collaborations. U.K. chanteuse Freya Ridings isn’t the most obvious choice for an appearance on a Tiësto tune, but her voice beautifully soars over his poppy arrangement, making the song sound a bit like Ace of Base. London dance music duo AR/CO balance out the metallic beat of “Back Around” with organic vocals. Rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie adds variety to the album with his cadence and flow on “Chills (LA Hills).”

And for early aughts music lovers, Tiësto reimagines the Black Eyed Peas’ “Pump It” as “Pump It Louder,” which sounds exactly like you might suspect—with crunch synths and staccato beats—while continuing to show love for Dick Dale’s surf cover of “Misirlou.”

Drive includes two other songs without additional credits. “Learn to Love” is full of phase-shifted falsetto vocals and building house music. The album then concludes on the appropriately titled summary song “Lay Low,” setting an early dawn scene, but one in which it’s hard to stop the party. Tiësto may be a DJ, but these songs have a mass appeal quality, which is why he’s had such a long-lasting career outside of raves. Drive keeps the party going with no morning after.



Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.

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