Danny L Harle Cerulean
Danny L Harle's Cerulean stakes out a vivid middle ground between euphoric club maximalism and ornate pop composition, and across six professional reviews critics land on a cautiously admiring verdict. The record earned a 65/100 consensus score across 6 reviews, with praise concentrated on the album's guest-powered peaks and its knack for conjuring early-00s pop-trance nostalgia alongside modern experimental pop textures.
Reviewers consistently point to “Starlight” as the record's irresistible opener, and name both “Azimuth” and “Two Hearts” among the best songs on Cerulean. Critics praised how those tracks let vocalists breathe amid Harle's sumptuous production, turning collaborations into emotional club moments rather than mere features. Across reviews the same themes recur: dancefloor euphoric hooks, Eurodance and trance influences, classical touches threaded through pop arrangements, and a tension between intoxicating weirdness and accessible songwriting.
The critical consensus is mixed but specific. Several reviews celebrate Harle's pop inventiveness and moments of true euphoria where eccentricity and craft collide, calling out guest-led highlights as proof of his strengths. Other critics find the record's grand ambitions occasionally tipping into pomp or pastiche, with some tracks feeling flattened when the production dominates the singer. Taken together, professional reviews suggest Cerulean is worth hearing for its standout collaborations and trance-revival highs, even if its scope doesn't land uniformly.
Below, detailed reviews unpack the album's best tracks, its nostalgic-meets-avant approach, and where Harle's adventurousness succeeds or overreaches in his most high-concept pop statement to date.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Starlight
4 mentions
"‘Starlight’ featuring PinkPantheress moves effortlessly from atmospheric verses to punishing electro beats"— Dork
Oklou (unnamed mention)
1 mention
""Crystallise My Tears," a euphoric dance floor-filler that juxtaposes heavily processed vocals from French rising star Oklou"— Exclaim
Bookends
1 mention
"the classically inspired ‘Bookends’"— DIY Magazine
‘Starlight’ featuring PinkPantheress moves effortlessly from atmospheric verses to punishing electro beats
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Noctilucence
Starlight
Azimuth
Facing Away
Raft In The Sea
Island (da da da)
Te Re Re
Laa
O Now Am I Truly Lost
Two Hearts
Crystallise My Tears
On & On
Teardrop in the Ocean
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 7 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In the messy, riveting swirl of Cerulean, Danny L Harle finds his best songs where eccentricity and popcraft collide - chief among them “Starlight” and “Island (da da da)”. The review revels in how “Starlight” barrels out of the gate as a maximalist rave-up and how “Island (da da da)” ties hyperpop sheen to an earnest chorus. It praises the euphoric dance-floor lift of “Crystallise My Tears” while faulting safer moments like “Two Hearts” for feeling flattened. Overall, the album is strange, occasionally messy, but never dull, and its best tracks are where Harle leans into his weirdo tendencies.
Key Points
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The best song is "Island (da da da)" because it combines hyperpop sheen, trance rhythms and an earnest chorus for maximum emotional punch.
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The album's core strengths are Harle's knack for maximalist pop production, inventive collaborations, and leaning into eccentric, weirdo tendencies.
Themes
Critic's Take
Danny L Harle's Cerulean finds its best moments in guest-powered, pop-forward peaks like “Starlight” and “Two Hearts”, songs that crystallise his blend of inventive production and emotional heft. The review strides between ecstatic reverie and portentous doom, praising how “Starlight” moves from atmosphere to punishing electro beats while “Two Hearts” lands as a heart-stopping, strident pop banger. The critic emphasises Danny's mastery of capturing distinct pop voices, making the best tracks on Cerulean feel like full collaborations where producer and singer lift each other. This framing answers searches for the best songs on Cerulean by pointing directly to those standout guest-led tracks in the reviewer’s own voice.
Key Points
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“Two Hearts” is best for its show-stopping duet of Dua Lipa and Harle’s production chemistry.
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The album’s core strength is inventive, song-focused production that blends euphoric and portentous moods.
Themes
Critic's Take
Danny L Harle wears his influences proudly on Cerulean, and the record’s best songs - “Starlight”, “Two Hearts” and “Azimuth” - show why. Garrett’s prose praises the way these tracks crystallise Harle’s pop instincts into emotional, club-ready moments, with “Starlight” as an irresistible lead and “Two Hearts” as a heartbreaking centerpiece. The review leans into the album’s collaborative spirit and adventurous production, arguing that these best tracks make Cerulean feel both intimate and epic. Overall, the reviewer presents the best songs as proof that Harle has made his proudest, most complete statement yet.
Key Points
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The best song, notably “Starlight”, succeeds by marrying catchy pop melody with Harle’s collaborative production.
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The album’s core strengths are its adventurous production, nostalgic influences, and a joyous, collaborative spirit.
Themes
Critic's Take
Jesse Dorris hears Danny L Harle aiming for grandeur on Cerulean, but much of the record drifts into pomp and waterlogged prog. He singles out “Starlight” and “Azimuth”—and “On and On”—as the moments where the production actually serves the singer. Still, Dorris finds the album’s best tracks stand out because they let vocalists breathe, even as the rest succumbs to ambition over vulnerability.
Key Points
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The best song is "Starlight" because PinkPantheress's vulnerable delivery is given room while Harle's production showcases restraint.
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The album's core strength is ambitious, detailed production and strong featured vocalists, but its prog ambitions often drown emotional immediacy.
Critic's Take
Danny L Harle presents Cerulean as a shimmering collision of ’90s euphoric trance and modern pop, where “Azimuth” and “Two Hearts” emerge as clear highlights. Tipple’s voice prizes the album’s cohesive threading of nostalgia and avant-garde collaboration, pointing to the Caroline Polachek-sung “Azimuth” and the Dua Lipa-assisted “Two Hearts” as its best songs. The record sits comfortably between wistful, classically inspired moments and full-on dancefloor pop, making searches for the best tracks on Cerulean yield those standouts naturally. Overall, it reads as Danny’s most cohesive work to date, a celebratory, forward-thinking collection that rewards repeat listens.
Key Points
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The best song is “Azimuth” because the reviewer calls it a standout and highlights Caroline Polachek's contribution.
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The album's core strengths are its blend of ’90s euphoric trance, modern pop collaborations, and cohesive sequencing.
Themes
Critic's Take
Danny L Harle's Cerulean feels like a high-gloss excavation of early-00s pop-trance, banking on collaborations to supply drama while sometimes skirting pastiche. The reviewer's eye keeps settling on “Azimuth” and its striking Caroline Polachek vocal as emblematic of the album's weirdly sincere cocktail of trance and melodrama. Best songs on Cerulean for fans of Radio 1-era Eurodance include “Azimuth” and the closing “Teardrop in the Ocean” - the latter for its shift from ambience to intensity. If you loved Cascada and Trance Nation, those tracks will register as highlights; for others the album is sugary and occasionally teeth-gritting.
Key Points
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The best song, “Azimuth”, stands out for Caroline Polachek's striking vocal and its unusual melding of trance and melodrama.
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The album's strengths are its nostalgia-fueled production and ambitious guestlist, though its pastiche risks alienating listeners.