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- February 2, 2023
Turn Your Room into Your Very Own Dance Floor with Ava Max’s “Diamonds & Dancefloors”
Looking for something to dance your socks off to? Perhaps something to boost your self-esteem? Something to add that extra pep in your steps? Then look no further than Ava Max’s Diamonds & Dancefloors. Fourteen tracks and clocking in at exactly 39 minutes and 39 seconds, Ava Max’s latest album stunningly blends together dance, disco, EDM and techno.
Ava Max is the stage name for Amanda Ava Koci. Max was born in Wisconsin, Milwaukee, to Albanian parents. Max would move around the country a little- staying in places such as Virginia and South Carolina. She would eventually move to Los Angeles in order to support her music career.
Ava Max would sign to Atlantic Records in 2016. She would achieve major success in just a couple of years, with the release of “Sweet but Psycho” in August 2018. The song would go on to spend 10 weeks in the Billboard Top 100, even reaching number one in more than twenty countries. The song would go on to amass over 3.5 billion global streams.
Ava Max’s music has been compared to artists such as Sigrid, Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa. Max has cited Beyonce and Aretha Franklin as inspirations, while giving Mariah Carey the nod for being perhaps her biggest inspiration. Max would go on to release a studio album in 2020, titled Heaven and Hell. Diamonds & Dancefloors is her sophomore project, following in the footsteps of her 2020 release.
The opener, “Million Dollar Baby” is a pulsating dance song. The song is energetic and lively. The lyrics talk about positive self-esteem and learning to love oneself. Max repeatedly boasts proudly of how she sees herself as a “million-dollar baby”. It is a great song to have your speakers blaring when you are feeling a little low about yourself.
“Sleepwalker” is another song that will turn your bedroom into your very own dance floor. Max is singing to someone who is attempting to pursue her and is letting them know that Max will always be in their head. She will essentially turn them to a sleepwalker. It is a song that continues the confident tones present in the opener. One thing is for certain- this song is definitely hard to forget.
‘Sleepwalker’ is one of my favourite songs on the album, especially because of the big guitar-sounding solo in it. It’s so much fun, and I think Cirkut murdered that. He’s such a talented producer; he’s the executive producer and backbone of the whole album.
“Maybe You’re the Problem” discusses a breakup. On this, Max talks about a problematic ex- stating how they would not be cooperative and would hate her friends. Max states how they were the problem in the relationship and is the reason it didn’t end up working out. She implores them to take a good hard look in the mirror and think over their actions. She also puts a twist on the commonly used phrase-” it’s not you it’s me” and flips it into “it’s you, it’s not me”.
“Ghost” seems to harbor opposing sentiments compared to “Sleepwalker”. Here, Max is the one who can’t forget someone- saying that she feels like the person is constantly following her and that he sees them everywhere she goes. She likens these constant reminders to the feeling of being haunted by a ghost all the time.
“Diamonds & Dancefloors” is probably the most introspective song on the album. Continuing with the theme of the album, the song is still bouncy and danceable. However, this feels more akin to gently bobbing your head and tapping your feet rather than something that will burn the dancefloor. On the song, Max reflects over what makes her happy and her desires and wants. She states how what she wants the most are diamonds and dancefloors.
“In the Dark” and “Turn off the Lights” have more of an EDM tinge to them. These songs include bass drops and repeat echoed vocals. Off the two, “Turn off the Lights” is definitely the one that feels more EDM based.
With Diamonds & Dancefloors, Ava Max has an album filled with bangers. It has songs you could play in your room for a party of one as well as songs that could make the club explode. It is definitely a very strong sophomore project from Ava Max, and a great start to 2023.
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