Peggy Gou & Lenny Kravitz - I Believe In Love Again

  • The one where Peggy Gou and Lenny Kravitz go to Ibiza.
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  • The instrumental for "I Believe In Love Again" is divine in the way that only perfectly executed dance pop can be. All the elements are familiar: the organ bassline, the "Rhythm Is A Dancer" baiting melody, the luxe piano. But once those sleazy drums drop in, it's hard not to be swept up by Gou's Balearic waves, everything falling into place like magic. "OK," you say, "but Lenny Kravitz?" The triple-threat megastar offers a wobbly falsetto that paradoxically works like an anonymous house diva would: powerful but warbly, notes bending just slightly in the wrong direction. (It reminds me of when Honey Dijon told me, "I love a house track with some off-key vocals!") The piano frames the chorus just right, and then Gou comes in with a baritone spoken-word section to give the whole thing a distinctly sunglasses-in-the-club, European tourist brand of cheese. There's nothing original about "I Believe In Love Again" at all—it sounds like something José Padilla would make if he came up in the easyJet age. But like so much house music, it repackages the familiar with a new-school sheen and bolsters it with gossip column-worthy collaboration (and cover artwork). "I Believe In Love Again" is a little silly, and more than a little fun. It's not perfect, but it doesn't need to be.
RA