Boogie Belgique — Volta

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Album score: 7.4
Audio score: 8.0

Equipment:

Source: Local FLAC files
DAC: Topping D30 Pro
Pre-amp: Suca Tube-T1 (JAN5456w tubes)
Amp: Topping A30 Pro
Cans: Audeze LCD — X
EQ: Small bass-boost, mid-bass-boost and small boost around 4kHz

Album review:

Score: 7.4

This album wasn’t recommended. It was used by an audio hardware reviewer for an expensive DAC, so I checked out the album. I didn’t intend to review it, but I have played this album 5 times in 4 days now, so this one just needs to be recommended. There is one reason why I like it so much: it is just great fun. It is not brilliant, but just so so so fun.

The album mostly consists of good vibes. The type that vibes that everybody can enjoy, but where this is normally a bad sign (at least to me), this album does have enough substance behind it to rise above the number of mediocre lounge albums out there. One of the reasons is that it isn’t just good vibes. There are some heavy songs in it as well, to the point where I might call those melancholic. “Every Time” and “Volta” are the ones. It is quite refreshing to have a relatively happy album with sadness in it. The beauty of mild suffering.

Overall I wouldn’t describe the album as heavy though. It’s rather light with fun and sunny music. It sometimes gets to the border of being mediocre, but just in time something with more quality brings things up again. This can be powerful melodies, rhythmic beats or spacious sound. This is the second reason I think this album separates itself from mediocre lounge music: they are doing too much right to fit in that category.

Most albums are either good for critical listening, or for the background. Not often is an album suitable for both. Right in the middle of these two worlds is where this album lives. I suspect that almost everybody can at least enjoy this music, and that might be the reason why: it doesn’t matter how you listen, there is something for you there.

This album is best consumed on a sunny Saturday morning. It is not brilliant, it is not mediocre, it is just so so so fun. Fun fun fun fun. Next Saturday morning, go take a seat in the sun somewhere and play this album. That is my advice.

Audio review:

Score: 8.0

The album sounds quite pleasant. It does sound very much like a studio album though, to the point where it doesn’t sound “real”. I would describe it as “digital” or “artificial”. It does sound like a properly recorded studio album though. “Goodnight Moon” is an example of a song that sounds a lot more real and spacious than the rest of the album, but overall, it’s great but “normal”.

For a clinical studio album, my tolerance for imperfections is low for things like crackling sounds, background hiss and artifacts, because with this sound signature those issues jump into the spotlight. Luckily, there isn’t too much to complain about here. Most notably, the vocal in “Volta”. Yes, this is supposed to have a “vintage” sound, but there is also some crackling going on that just shouldn’t be there. Secondly, there is a high-pitch peep in “Every Time” here and there.

Nitpicking over small details in the audio of a very well recorded studio album is a typical first world problem of course, so let’s get back to pragmatic reality for a moment: the album sounds really really good. It sounds fun and well-polished. It is pleasant to listen to, detailed and enjoyable. It’s good enough that I might play it when testing new gear, although not as my first pick.

What album should I review next? Let me know in the comments or at:

soundgeekreviews@gmail.com