Avicii – Forever [2 LP]

Look, I’ve been wrestling with how to talk about this Avicii vinyl without sounding like every other breathless press release out there. “Avicii Forever” lands on double vinyl next April, and it is hit me harder than expected. Not just because Tim’s gone—though that still feels wrong to type—but because this collection captures that peculiar cultural moment when EDM’s euphoric maximalism crashed into mainstream consciousness and somehow made us all feel like we were part of something bigger.

This isn’t just another posthumous cash-grab (though Universal certainly knows what they’re doing). The 2LP set follows Netflix’s “I’m Tim” documentary and gathers 19 tracks that defined not just Avicii’s career but, for many of us, soundtracked those strange early 2010s when festival culture exploded and suddenly your mom knew what a drop was. The collection also includes two previously unreleased tracks Tim was working on before his death—fragments from an artistic vision never fully realized.

What made Avicii fascinating wasn’t just his meteoric rise but his restless musical evolution. From “Levels” (which is here, obviously) to his later folk-EDM hybrid experiments, he constantly pushed against the constraints of the very genre he helped define. This compilation traces that journey across four vinyl sides, the analog warmth adding a poignant dimension to music originally designed for digital perfection.

The physical package is substantial—two heavyweight records in a gatefold sleeve, measuring about 12.4 inches square. There’s something appropriate about experiencing this music on vinyl, the most resurgent of “dead” media formats. The tactile ritual of placing needle to groove offers a moment of contemplation that streaming simply doesn’t provide.

For those who experienced Avicii’s music as it happened, this collection will trigger that strange temporal vertigo where 2011 feels at once like yesterday and another lifetime. For younger listeners discovering his work through TikTok snippets, it provides crucial context for an artist whose influence continues to reverberate through contemporary dance music.

The irony isn’t lost that these anthems of collective euphoria—music designed to unite thousands under festival skies—now become private totems of reflection. That tension between personal and communal experience always existed in Avicii’s work, perhaps most powerfully in tracks like “Wake Me Up” where lyrics about existential searching float above productions engineered for mass release.

Universal is releasing this on April 16, 2025, through Geffen Records. Whether you are an Avicii completist or someone who just wants “Levels,” “Hey Brother” and “Waiting For Love” on audiophile-quality vinyl, this collection serves as both memorial and celebration—a physical artifact preserving music that, despite its digital origins, touched something deeply human in millions of listeners.

The legacy question always hovers uncomfortably around posthumous releases, but “Forever” feels less like exploitation and more like preservation. These tracks already changed dance music; now they’re being given the archival treatment they deserve. Tim’s musical DNA has been so thoroughly integrated into contemporary production that sometimes we forget just how seismic his impact was. This vinyl set serves as a necessary reminder.

There’s a luminosity that burns through “Avicii Forever,” a double LP that arrives like a bittersweet telegram from the other side. Tim Bergling’s sonic fingerprints—those instantly recognizable piano melodies that soar with an almost religious fervor, those drops that somehow manage to be both mathematically precise and emotionally overwhelming—are preserved here in amber, a testament to a talent that burned too briefly but left an indelible mark on 21st century music.

This lovingly curated collection, released alongside Netflix’s heart-wrenching “I’m Tim” documentary, serves as both introduction and epitaph. For those who only know Avicii through the ubiquitous “Levels” or “Wake Me Up,” this compilation reveals the full spectrum of Bergling’s artistry—his ability to merge seemingly disparate worlds into something that feels both innovative and instantly familiar.

What makes this collection particularly poignant are the two previously unreleased tracks that Tim was crafting before his tragic passing in 2018. These final musical statements don’t feel like leftovers or half-formed sketches but rather fully realized visions, speaking to the perfectionism that both drove Bergling and ultimately contributed to his downfall.

I’m reminded of a story from Bergling’s early days, when he was just a Swedish kid with a laptop and dreams too massive to contain. He would apparently work for days straight, surviving on nothing but Red Bull and determination, obsessively honing single measures of music until they achieved the transcendence he heard in his head. This collection captures that spirit—the relentless pursuit of a perfect musical moment that could make strangers embrace on dance floors across the globe.

When the needle drops on these grooves, you’re struck by how Avicii’s productions somehow manage to be both of their moment and timeless. While many of his EDM contemporaries created music that functioned as sonic energy drinks—effective but ultimately disposable—Avicii was crafting modern folk music disguised as club anthems, songs that could be stripped down to acoustic instruments and still retain their emotional power.

This vinyl package feels like the right format for these songs—there’s something about the warm analog embrace of vinyl that suits music that was born digital but reaches for something eternal. It’s for the longtime fans who want the tactile experience of Avicii’s discography, but also for those younger listeners who might be discovering him through TikTok snippets and want to understand why his music resonated so profoundly.

In the end, “Avicii Forever” succeeds not just as a career retrospective but as emotional archaeology. Each track unearths feelings you thought were buried—the euphoria of possibility, the melancholy that often accompanies sunrise after a night of abandon, the strange comfort in communal release. That was always Bergling’s gift: creating electronic music that somehow captured what it means to be human, with all the beauty and fragility that entails.