REVIEW: Alex Gaudino – ‘Doctor Love’

Reviewed by: Ben Norman

Dance music is its own punishment and its own reward. No statement is more true when listening to Alex Gaudino’s ‘Doctor Love’ album. Alex Gaudino, who has been responsible for tracks like “Destination Calabria” and “What A Feeling,” the 2012 Pride song with Kelly Rowland, does nothing more than pump out feel-good dance pop jams. It’s pervasive, perverse, and perfunctory, but you’ll dance your ass off and blare it through your speakers while driving down the road, and no one could say anything less about you since they’ll be doing it, too.

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SONG OF THE DAY: Afrojack ft Chris Brown – “As Your Friend”

Grammy-winning Dirty Dutch producer/DJ Afrojack has proven himself to be one of the few craftsmen that can create pop hits (“Give Me Everything,” “Take Over Control,” “So High”) as well as big room/underground club jams (“Polkadots,” “Rock the House,” “Prutataaa”). “As Your Friend” partners him with R&B/pop star/noted humanitarian Chris Brown for a club-and-radio friendly blend of electro, stadium, and house with emotional chords supporting the chorus made of the repeated title.? Not a stranger to repeating titles for choruses (“Don’t Wake Me Up”) nor collaborating with dance producers (Benny Benassi, David Guetta), Brown delivers a soulful performance which adds depth to the almost frantic production. Being the trainspotter that I am, the song kept reminding me of another R&B/pop hit which took me forever to place.? It wasn’t until I was driving and heard Jay Sean’s “Down” that it hit me – though the similarity doesn’t come as a shock as both songs share the co-writer Jared Cotter.??? As the first taste of his long-awaited forthcoming debut artist album, “As Your Friend” seems to set up the project as an R&B/pop/electro hybrid a la David Guetta, though knowing Afrojack’s eccentric style we can definitely expect some surprises in the final lineup.

Check out our Afrojack interview.
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