Nicky Romero x W&W – Hot Summer Nights

• The third record from this team-up
• Pleasant vocals over well-selected sounds
• Sentimental, although not beating “Ups

The promising trio impressed me with the delightful “Ups & Downs” in 2019, and then resorted to delivering the watered-down “We’re Still Young“. Is the third installment to this collaboration saga any different? Let’s see.

There are obviously high expectations set here, firstly, because Nicky Romero still holds sizeable esteem in the scene, and (with genuine efforts) he’s still very capable of presenting memorable Progressive House (remember “Bittersweet“?). W&W, owners of the reputed Rave Culture, have that unique underground perspective that turns almost all their releases into a party kickstarter. There’s no doubt that a triad like these will share great sonic chemistry, having shared such commonalities.

There was hope residing in me to find something more creative than usual in “We’re Still Young“, which turned out rather unremarkable in its construction, and “Hot Summer Nights” doesn’t miss the mark. An enticing, calm vocal is the protagonist of the breakdown, announcing that the tone will remain steady on more emotions than expected. It’s a melancholic tune, with its utmost focus on functioning on well-selected elements than bombarding with a lot, such as the break chords, the bassline, and the leads in the drop. Speaking of the latter, there’s plenty of KAAZE influence here, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to know he was somehow involved.

The drop, therefore, follows a seductive melodic groove, an absolute pleasure to put on repeat, listening to the lead and the admirable details in the percussions. Although, it ended too soon.

“Hot Summer Nights” sings about this sweltering hot summer in a deep and sentimental way, resulting in a delicate club weapon for Progressive aficionados. Even if slightly predictable, it didn’t blow my head off as the first synergy shared between the Dutch music giants. Albeit, it scores above the recent discography from Romero and a tad reduction from W&W’s recent endeavors.

You can listen to “Hot Summer Nights” here:

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