Change the Record: Illenium – “Odyssey”

I’ll give you a little peek behind the curtain for this review. This one is for a friend of mine. I asked my close friend—and even closer enemy—Alex to give me any album released this year, and I would review it no matter what. This is the album he chose. He dropped it on my lap with all the grace of a cat leaving a dead bird on your doorstep. This one is for you, Alex.

Illenium is an electronic dance music producer from Illinois who has been making waves for about a decade now, beginning with his debut album, “Ashes,” in 2010. I’ll admit something: I had not heard of Illenium until this album was dumped on me, mainstream EDM always being one of my big blind spots. I decided to check out his previous material to catch up, and while none of it was mind-blowing, his first three albums were at least decent and showed promise from a producer who clearly has an ear for the sounds of electronic dance music.

His last album, “Illenium,” was less successful. It fell more into the Marshmello bin of EDM producers—recruit several popular singers to phone in a feature verse and hope at least one song becomes a hit. He has always had collaborations, obviously, and a few clearly aimed for a hit—he did make a song with X Ambassadors—but “Illenium” was the first time it felt blatantly soulless.

With “Odyssey,” Illenium appears to be trying to swing back. He still has plenty of big-name features, but they are more varied and more congruent with his electronic-dance sound. The opening track, “Into the Dark,” for example, features singer Mako. While I won’t say Mako’s involvement is especially compelling, it at least feels consistent with the song. His singing works especially well before the drop, with vocals blending smoothly into sweeping synthesizers and pounding drums.

The follow-up track, “Forever,” lacks a typical drop and feels more like a Zedd-esque EDM-pop stadium track. It has one of the album’s catchier choruses and a solid drop, but also some of the album’s least interesting verses and bridge.

Now, this is a fairly long record—19 tracks and a 61-minute running time. Frankly, with albums like this, if I went track by track, I would be saying the same thing repeatedly. Instead, I’ll highlight some notable songs, including both highs and lows.

One low point is the collaboration with Ellie Goulding, “Don’t Want Your Love,” which feels tuned for dance floors but lacks the energy to make it work. Goulding’s vocals are oddly grating throughout the song, not helped by one of the album’s most annoying drops, which sounds like rubber being stretched and rubbed against my ears.

On the other hand, I especially liked “Slave to the Rithm,” featuring Bring Me the Horizon, which has a more distinctive sound. It blends well with the band’s established style. The metal sections have the right energy and allow a richer soundscape during the verses.

On the less interesting end again, “Feel Alive,” featuring Bastille, is another stadium-style track, but it feels oddly limp. This is surprising because Bastille, at the very least, can deliver a major anthem—even with a mediocre producer such as Marshmello. Here, however, the vocals feel like background noise over a generic instrumental.

Another track is “Not Ordinary,” featuring Kid Cudi, which I cannot clearly decide is good or bad. Cudi has never been known as a great singer, and his performance here is especially awkward, but it almost works with the more Flume-esque instrumental. I appreciated that it lacks a drop, making it more of an atmospheric, slightly experimental intermission.

Other highlights include the powerful, glitchy “I’ll Come Runnin’,” which features one of the most bone-rattling drops on the album and some of its best vocal work. Another standout is the atmospheric electronic-and-choir instrumental “Paris.”

Unfortunately, there are many more low points scattered across the album, including the limp and boring “To the Moon” and the melodramatic, overly processed “Take Me Back.” Then there’s “Love Is a Chemical,” which is so dull it becomes frustrating, with little energy—even during its drop, which feels disconnected from the song’s verses.

Overall, the album is a mixed bag, with more bad candy than good. Still, the stronger tracks are worth hearing. It’s the kind of album where listeners can pick a few favorite songs and move on, leaving the rest behind.

That makes it a bad “Odyssey.” Listeners cannot simply remove a few pages from “The Odyssey” and experience the full story—but they can at least get an enjoyable five minutes here.