Danny L Harle has always been something of a mad pop scientist. From his earliest days reshaping the language of pop with PC Music to his recent production work for alt pop stars like Caroline Polachek and new pop icons like Dua Lipa, Danny's work has always been constantly inventive and challenging. His first solo album, 2021's 'Harlecore', was an intense rave-focused odyssey that was couched in playful character building and in-your-face aggression. 'Cerulean' feels like the real solo debut of Danny L Harle, the artist, still with the same sonic inventiveness but with an emotional heart and depth of feeling that he has never quite captured before.
Employing a range of voices both familiar and new to his work, like Caroline Polacheck, Oklou, Clairo, PinkPantheress, Kacha, MNEK and Julia Michaels, the album is song-focused and rich in melody, with each singer complementing the swirling synth-based soundscapes in which Danny centres their vocals. He's a master at knowing exactly how to capture different pop voices. 'Starlight' featuring PinkPantheress moves effortlessly from atmospheric verses to punishing electro beats, house piano that sees the frothy Pink going in a darker direction than before.
That descent into darkness is a frequent theme of the album. The push and pull between ecstatic reverie and portentous doom. Sometimes it's dislocating but often it's beautifully euphoric. Danny L Harle feels like he's a dance producer who works like he's a classical musician and it gives his songs a winding sense that they could go in any direction.
There's one special guest on the album who provides the real show-stopping moment. Dua Lipa's full-throated, powerful vocal on the strident pop banger 'Two Hearts' is a heart-stopping killer that offers a perfect example of producer and singer lifting each other in perfect symbiosis. 'Cerulean' is the album Danny L Harle has been waiting his whole life to make.
