Live Life Living [Deluxe Edition]

Two years after going groovy with his Kasabian-influenced album The Evolution of Man, rave-rap-singer Example winds up at his new home on Epic and takes the major label's name to heart, offering a kaleidoscope of EDM uplift and a set of anthem lyrics that might make him the world's greatest motivational tweaker. About 9 of the 12 tracks on Live Life Living could open a festival set that follows Deadmau5 while offering the same kind of rave-y punch, plus there's a keen awareness of hip neo-disco, as "One More Day (Stay with Me)" bounces and bubbles just like Robin S.' "Show Me Love." An EDM-styled build and release drives the music behind "Kids Again," a young-at-heart ode to letting loose, while "Take Me as I Am" starts pop before growing into a stadium dubstep monster that shoots infectious hooks across the dancefloor. Need some get-up-and go? Live Life Living remains true to its title, as if hundreds of thousands of motivational posters were melted down and turned into drum machines and laptops, but the album where Example sings mostly and raps almost never is also the album where he sounds like a set of Coldplay remixes stuck together. Crave that sound or go elsewhere because this is a wide-eyed and lovin'-life mood piece meant to be taken throughout the day, but the euphoria will severely taper if it is taken in one dose. ~ David Jeffries