A new compilation for a new label, with a damn solid offering of drum n bass to start off. Don't know whether or not this label will go anywhere after this, but if the next comp has this level of quality, it'll be a must-watch going forwards.
Fave tracks: Evicted, LION'S SEVA, When I Was A Little Boy, Sound Of Da Reese
Least fave track: Lost Analysis
Despite a shakey first leg, Yeat's latest EP is a fun time with a decent amount more experimentation than his previous project. I'd obviously prefer more stuff in the vein of 2093, but this'll do too. "FLY NITË" makes me want a full jungle fusion project from him though.
Fave tracks: COMË N GO, IM YEAT, M.F.U., FLY NITË
Least fave track: OH I DID
PROFF's debut LP is a gorgeous collection of ambient and downtempo, with the progressive house producer's talent for texture on full display here. While a bit too long, this is still a great project to throw on while working.
Despite a couple highlights, Shaq's second project as DJ DIESEL is less enjoyable than "GORILLA WARFARE", and, at times, outright annoying.
M.D.E w/RZRKT: 5.6/10
Animal w/SampliFire: 4.2/10
Damage w/Virtual Riot: 6.7/10
Run It w/IVORY: 7.0/10
Pay Respect w/GorillaT & FRAXURE: 4.2/10
BRING THE PAIN w/LAYZ: 6.4/10
Fadeaway w/Benda: 7.4/10
Throwin' Bows w/Perry Wayne: 3.5/10
Show Em w/NEOTEK: 4.7/10
Above & Beyond return on their 8th studio LP, yet another solid journey through progressive house, although lacking in big highlights.
Fave tracks: Start A Fire, Carry Me Home, Everywhere I Go, Blood From A Stone, Here Before
Least fave track: Heartland.
Bleeding through that KAIFU vein of tearout and deathstep comes XUMA with an absolutely brutal EP. Sound design on here is big, it's crushing, it has that nice little blend of horrorcore elements that make this style work
BENEATH BLOOD: 8.7/10
HORROR: 7.9/10
KETER: 8.1/10
PENUMBRA: 8.4/10
BLACK ROOM: 8.5/10
Fusing together elements of dream pop with Frost Children-style vocals and EDM, neddie's latest album is equal parts euphoric and melancholic, and a notable aesthetic upgrade from their previous album. The soundscapes on display having a wonderful amount of punch and fuzz yo them. Coming in at only 24 minutes it's definitely on the shorter side, but it does a lot with the time it has, with only a few relative lows in the tracklist. For sure to be one of the more overlooked releases ... read more
I hate when a good project is kneecapped by risky/bad sample choices. While I do think Convexity and KERO are both clearly flexing their skills with this record, it also feels as though they're getting a bit lost in some bad tropes with a couple tracks here. Thankfully the last two are a lot closer to what I was hoping the full project would've been like: sprawling, dense journeys through colour bass.
Gaia Ray: 7.5/10
Eon Scepter: 7.4/10
Night Rider: 7.8/10
Dream Weaver: ... read more
Though I do greive a bit that we'll likely never hear Viperactive's more distinctive take on brostep again, both him and VR are still making some absolute headways in keeping my attention with their output lately.
The sample actually works really well here, shame the beat is boring as sin.
In potentially their best body of work to date, TURQUOISEDEATH delivers a wonderfully immersive atmodnb and jungle album.
My opinions for much of this record mirror what I said about "Girls Who Are Wizards" from last year. I struggle to feel much when Vylet Pony is simply recreating decade old styles of EDM with her specific brand of songwriting, as this style has been explored so thoroughly at this point in time. What manages to push this record in front of that album for me, ends up being the creative choices which are unique to Vylet Pony, as the tracks that manage to carry her touch wholeheartedly ... read more
Despite some pacing issues and a lack of continuously flowing mix into and out of each act, "VOYD Vol. II" more than earns its space amongst the pantheon of riddim records, certainly worth discussing against other greats such as "Blissful Gaze of Ignorance". SVDDEN DEATH crafts a wonderfully experimental, excellently produced set of tracks. It makes me all the more eager to see what he'll deliver on Vol. III
Fave tracks: Shallow Land Burial, Magic Armour, Thirst for ... read more
Skybreak crafts an album I figured we wouldn't be receiving from him for years. "HALF BLOOD" is loaded front to back with banger after banger which carry the touch of Skybreak's production without really needing to delve into his typical colour bass output. Very happy with this project, some of the most enjoyable dubstep and bass music you're likely to hear all year from a colour bass producer.
Fave tracks: STAR CANNON, ANTIMATTER, ANXIETY, STONE KOLD, RED HOT SKULL, ... read more
Imagine if Flux Pavillion wasn't that good at writing basslines, and decided to throw some saxophone on top. The jazz and bass music fusion has been done before, this is definitely not on the upper end of the efforts, the jazz sections often feel very disjointed from the actual electronics, leading to an experience that often takes the listener out at critical moments (outside of the final track, which relies on old glitch hop standards, and even then sort of fumbles with the electronics). ... read more
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Recent Review Comments
On Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
"@Seb_ never"
On Habstrakt - SURGE
"@Baylen Corner of My Eye (AGGRESSIVE PHONK REMIX)"
On Marszan's review of Charli xcx - Von dutch remix with skream and benga
"??????????????? This is the Excision (pre2011) type of dubstep, not the Skrillex type though???"
On Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (40th Anniversary)
"@Eruption78 the rougher mixdown helped to sell the desolation for me, also helped with a lot of the grooves which felt a bit spare in those anniversary mixes."
On Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (40th Anniversary)
"@Eruption78 i mean my intial rating was like a 7"
On OctoMarkus's review of Gammer - Sun Will Rise Again
"It was REVEALED on April Fools so i guess it gets a pass."
On SPAMTON G. SPAMTON's review of Borgore - Switzerland
"The fact this isn't even in the top 20 worst Borgore songs"
On From First to Last - Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count
"Also I literally review EDM why wouldn't I listen to one of Skrillex's other projects as a fan?"
On From First to Last - Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count
"@voicelikehoney i don't hate all emo, some of the best albums I've ever heard are emo. Vocals are what tend to make or break this genre for me. I almost never go into a project expecting to hate it unless it's a project by an artist I follow regularly, And if I ever do I still hold onto the hope that I will still find something of value. Additionally, this was an album I happened to listen to on a stream. My opinion may have even changed on it at this point since it's been so long."
On 🪓lexa ☮️💖☯️🤝🇵🇸's review of Various Artists - Monstercat 007 - Solace
"Also i find it interesting you dislike Animal Instinct but like Breakdown, as I feel like our ratings are probably switched. Idk i think Animal Instinct has one of the most fun drumlines and melodies of any SW track from that era, while Breakdown is a limp, misguided headscratcher of a track for me, and it makes complete sense why the VIP would go on to completely overshadow it later."
On 🪓lexa ☮️💖☯️🤝🇵🇸's review of Various Artists - Monstercat 007 - Solace
"Ampersand actually wasn't on the original comp, instead it was pulled from the edm spotlight collaborative comp which came out the following year to fill in for the track House by OVERWERK, after he pulled that track from the label, you can still hear it on the album mix though. I will say that House is one of the better tracks on this comp as it was originally intended, though pretty aggressively 2012"
On かめりあ [Camellia] - Chimera Dragons
"@svse idk, I feel like music by KAIFU and JoeB (even Figure a few years back) manages to outdo Camellia in terms of intensity for me, it's nowhere near as fast paced usually, but to me they're the ones pushing bass music to its breaking point the most in the current environment (In JoeB's case its more about his odd rhythms). And i would also make the case that, while maybe not as busy, Kobaryo often manages to match Camellia in terms of intensity. I've been meaning to get into Diabarha for a while now, but what I've heard of their music has also come pretty close, albeit less varied."
On Jerkcurb - Night Fishing On A Calm Lake
"@lickeroftables i don't want to hear that from someone who licks tables"
On lilyth's review of Skrillex - hit me where it hurts x
"My journey with listening to music more seriously really started with EDM as well, Approaching Nirvana, Tiesto, and Daft Punk when i was young, before I found Monstercat and followed them religiously from 2015 until about 2022 when I branched back into some of the older hits I just never heard on the radio in my youth before finding Björk and getting hooked onto listening through albums over comps and EPs. After a year of binging through fantano's top 200 LPs of the 2010s, I found new ways to appreciate the music I'd grown up with, as well as a whole new selection of genres to listen to to prevent my experience with that music from ever going stale or myself becoming jaded towards it."
On Skrillex - hit me where it hurts x
"@GabHugo Contra, last year. Sonny Moore from the very start in the 2000s"
On ROSALÍA - LUX
"@davipms Yves Tumor's contribution quite literally ruined the song for me, otherwise a perfect track"
On Danny Brown - Starburst
"@jamalama this is news to me"
On Pinball Gizzard's review of George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
"I will NOT accept this Ringo the 4th Slander !!!1!1 /s"
On H1DD3N_1N_TH3_ST4T1C's review of Ran-D - Zombie
"@UltimateLifeFrm with illenium and wooli like 2 years ago ye"
On Pendulum - Inertia
"@b0realis I'm starting a Panopticon discog dive soon, so I'll probably tackle it then."
On Distorted Vortex's review of Riot Ten - Threats
"There is a blatant production error in the first 20-30 seconds of the track, this is something not even Borgore has done with his deluge of terra-slop.
A bad mix is generally all it takes to tank a riddim track in the present time, a production error is straight up inexcusable when being released on a major label."
On Sleep Token - DYWTYLM
"@Elysian_Wave ??????????"
On Schizoid man's review of Skrillex - F*CK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3
"Great review! Though I should add QFF actually featured quite a bit of dubstep on it, he didn't really abandon them!"
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