Other than vocals, other ways to stand out from the crowd?

[GothamHero]

I currently make Progressive / French and Deep House, and I've been finding a lot of my work is starting to sound repetitive and dreary. I'm just finding it harder to be original and stand out from the heap of other House tracks out there today. I've tried spending more time on sound design on a whole and I find that's helping a lot, I've also drifted off into other genres and borrowed a few niches from them, and of course, breaking the 4/4 drum pattern numerous times with a lot of focus on the percussion and groove.

Any tips on staying original (oh the irony)? Haha, just general thoughts and feedback would be appreciated. Feel free to even share some of your work you think stands out from the crowd.