The world’s foremost purveyors of what a Garda report into the summer disturbances at Phoenix Park called ‘electric music’, Swedish House Mafia have chosen a strange time to call it quits. Along with David Guetta and Deadmau5 they’ve helped turn techno into the 21st century’s answer to stadium rock – they were, after all, the first electro group to sell out Madison Square Garden.
Anyway, as farewells go Until Now gives a pretty accurate account of what SHM are best at: cheesy euro anthems, catchy but profusely lacking in subtlety. Several tracks are originals – ‘Greyhound’ marries chocolate box strings and ‘90s big beat, while ‘Don’t You Worry Child’ is a Guetta-style OTT dancefloor filler. The second half of the record is given over to remixes, so if you’ve ever wondered what an Ibiza-ed up Florence & The Machine or Coldplay would sound like, Christmas has arrived ahead of schedule. Otherwise, keep walking. Nothing to detain you here.