Unique

For his 2007 effort Unique, Danish producer/songwriter DJ Encore has brought vocalist Johanna Stedt on board to replace his previous muse Engelina who only contributes backing vocals and co-writing credits to two songs here. This means precious over-power on the mic, which actually works quite well since Encore's widescreen pop-trance constructions are quite dramatic and big on their own. Stedt's sweet and soft vocals help even the scales and even influence Encore to break out the acoustic guitar for a couple pleasant numbers that show that clubbers also need mid-afternoon songs. Still his greatest strength are the synth and drum machine club tracks, like leadoff single "You Can Walk on Water" which is uplifting, motivational, and shamelessly positive. There's nothing cynical here and the writing is solid enough that there's little to be cynical about, save "Falling"'s chuckle-worthy "You're falling for me/As I'm falling for you/We could run away and escape/Without a clue." Encore's near perfect production and keen sense of melody is much more important than the everyday lyrics, and seeing as how he just keeps getting better at what he does, and with a better partner, Unique gives Cascada, D.H.T. and the like a good reason to aim a little higher.