WKND

Big, billowy pillows of classic Dutch trance spew out of WKND, Ferry Corsten's fourth studio album, which feels like a return to form after the softer, more personal Twice in a Blue Moon. If that one was influenced by the birth of his daughter, this one is influenced by its easily decrypted title, as track after track of comfortable, familiar, and yet still inspired trance fills the speakers, and fully so as this DJ superstar is audibly well-funded. Hints of Benni Benassi (the stuttering female vocals that open "Live Forever"), David Guetta (the slowly building, semi-R&B "Let You Go"), and even jump-style battling with dubstep (the pounding, brutish bits of "Brute") all peg this as a 2012 and beyond release, but take away these slight elements and that signature style (dreamy vocals, synths that echo far into the distance, and rock-solid dance song structure that's build-drop-come-back-harder) remains, and standing proud too, even if Dad's turned to James Blake while Junior is on Skrillex. Still, none of it feels like formula, and better still, none of it feels like pandering. About half vocal, half instrumental, WKND is a welcome reminder of a time when names like Tiesto, Orbit, Van Dyk, and Corsten's own System F ruled the dancefloor. The corner mega-club's playlist might have made the natural transition onward, but this DJ's standing in place is inspired and worth any genre fan's full embrace. ~ David Jeffries|