Probably my favorite Knife Party project, "Rage Valley" comes out swinging from the very first moment the title track begins. Even by today's standards, the production is remarkably impressive. It's loud, groovy, and packed with memorable ideas. The melodic sections are incredibly catchy and thoughtfully composed, while the brostep and complextro drops strike a great balance between aggression and musicality.

"Centipede" is arguably the most iconic track Knife ... read more

One of the most popular EDM EPs of its era, "100% No Modern Talking" takes its name from the infamous wavetable in Native Instruments' Massive synth, a sound that became deeply associated with Brostep and other bass music genres during the early 2010s.

The EP moves between groovy moombahton, complextro, and dubstep, showcasing the stylistic versatility that helped make Knife Party such a dominant force at the time. While some of the production choices have aged rather poorly, a ... read more

Monstercat's 2012 Christmas album is kind of hilariously terrible. It's not just the dated production that's the problem... the ideas themselves range from lackluster at best to genuinely baffling at worst.

The opening track, "Jingle Bells" somehow thought it would be a good idea to make one of the most iconic Christmas melodies ever written sound eerie, it feels like it was shifted into a minor key and stripped of all the warmth and joy that make the original melody ... read more

As the title suggests, Jean Dawson's "CHAOS NOW*" is chaotic, but it is also beautiful and daring. Its distorted pop-punk sound provides a compelling contrast to the more mellow influences that run throughout the record. While I ultimately prefer what Jean accomplished on "Glimmer of God", there are plenty of appealing qualities here.

For one, Jean's vocal performance is absolutely phenomenal. The contrast between his melodic singing voice and the raw, almost ... read more

James Ivy's "Everything's Perfect" radiates warm, youthful energy, filled with beautiful summer guitar riffs, shoegaze-tinged production, and some of the catchiest choruses you'll find. There's something incredibly attractive about this record's sound. It captures fully that "hopelessly in love" feeling of youth in a way that feels brilliantly charming. It draws from shoegaze, indie rock, and has an almost sugary emo vibe that creates a sound ... read more

There’s a very distinct sound in this LP: crisp, clean drums paired with deep intriguing basslines and a really nice ensemble of melodic synthesizers. And when it works, it works beautifully. On “Angels,” the combination of these elements creates a progression that feels melancholic and very unique. “Seeds” and “Embers” are also fantastic examples of this sound. I feel like the strongest tracks here are the ones that give more of a spotlight to the ... read more

Kind of went into this with really high expectations, since I remembered Rekoil being one of the more renowned producers at the time, but "Reloaded" ended up feeling pretty underwhelming to me. The sound design itself isn’t bad, though it does sound very dated. What really makes this a tough listen, though, is how underdeveloped a lot of the sections surrounding the drops are. There’s barely any attention given to the intros or breakdowns. “4-Matic” is a ... read more

On "always", keshi finally starts to break out of the mold of what people had come to expect from him, with noticeably stronger production and more interesting instrumentation that really showcase his potential as an artist.

There’s the addition of electric guitar solos on tracks like “always” and “drunk” that, while brief, feel surprisingly well-placed and add a lot of personality to the songs. Then there’s “talk,” which carries a ... read more

"bandaids" feels like a more upbeat, bittersweet evolution of what keshi was doing on his previous EP, "skeletons". While the instrumentals are fairly simple, mostly consisting of acoustic guitars, 808s, and a drum loop, it actually works in the project’s favor. The stripped-back production gives a lot of room for keshi’s vocals to shine, and unlike on "skeletons", there’s nothing dull about the way he approaches these songs.

Tracks like ... read more

"skeletons" was the first keshi EP out of the original three that really pushed him towards a bigger audience. And honestly, I’ve always thought this was the weakest of the three. I found it a bit underwhelming, especially the opening track, “atlas,” which might genuinely be one of my least favorite songs in his entire discography.

That’s not to say the EP is completely bad, though. The title track “skeletons” is quite enjoyable, and ... read more

A collection of some of the most run of the mill Riddim tracks out there. It starts off alright; “Tongue Slash” has a solid intro, and the first half of the drop is actually pretty decent. But then the second half completely falls apart into the most generic riddim imaginable. “Tear Jerker” is also incredibly boring and features one of the dullest drops I’ve ever heard on Disciple. Same goes for “CHAOS 3”: with the first drop being really underwhelming, ... read more

Nowhere near as groundbreaking as "The Invasion", but still a pretty solid project. The production is extremely crisp and very much in line with what you’d expect from a Captain Panic! album. The sci-fi aesthetic is still present, only this time it leans more towards an epic, cinematic sound rather than the deep, isolated atmosphere of the previous record.

It features some insanely heavy metallic sound design on tracks like “Annihilation,” “Chill,” and ... read more

"The Invasion" might unironically be the most underrated dubstep project ever made. What Captain Panic! managed to create with this record is straight-up unmatched. The album carries this deep, heavy, sci-fi atmosphere that feels incredibly strange in the best way possible... almost like the isolated, ominous vibe you’d find in the Alien franchise films. For its time, it genuinely sounded unlike anything else out there.

What Captain Panic! and Elliot Mars (a.k.a. Phantasma) ... read more

Kezwik’s "Tame" is a collection of melodic-focused Dubstep tracks that are for the most part; both fun and creative. And while the sound design and production on some of these tracks definitely hasn't aged perfectly, I still think the EP holds up enough to shine in quite a few moments.

The opening track, “Tame” is a great example, it is beautifully produced, featuring a gorgeous intro with a really catchy high-pitched lead synth that feels incredibly memorable. ... read more

Rise At Night’s second EP "The Monumental", fully embraced the Trap influence that was taking over the Bass Music scene at the time. And while this EP features twice as many tracks as the last one, it might just be twice as bad.

The opening track, “The Monumental,” is a very dull and generic Trap cut. The vocal performance is alright, but production-wise there’s nothing particularly outstanding. Sadly the rest of the EP isn't any better... The final drop ... read more

Dubstep producer Kezwik joined forces with MC Messinian to form the bass music duo Rise At Night, and with their debut EP "Lady Killa" released through Datsik's Firepower Records, it was immediately clear they had some solid chemistry, at least production-wise.

Tracks like “Armed & Dangerous” and “Catfight” showcased that pretty well. Kezwik has always been known for his keen sense of style in production; he was genuinely great at making intricate, ... read more

bliss3three’s "C3L3STIAL天の" is a dreamy, almost liminal-feeling Vaporwave record with very clear HexD and Mallsoft influences. The album is built around atmospheric, nostalgic, and often surreal soundscapes that feel strangely dreamlike, almost like drifting through fragmented memories.

A huge part of what makes the record work is its intentionally bitcrushed sound. Everything feels degraded in a very purposeful way, as if you’re listening to faded memories through ... read more

"Hey u x" from New Zealand singer-songwriter BENEE is a cute, charming, and relaxing collection of pop bops. There’s something really memorable about the way BENEE sings. I’m not sure if it’s her voice, her accent, or both, but her delivery has this oddly enchanting quality that instantly grabs your attention. The opening track, “Happen to Me,” is a perfect example of that.

There’s the obvious standout, “Supalonely,” which absolutely ... read more

Unironically the worst album G-Eazy has ever put out, and that’s really saying something considering "Everything’s Strange Here" exists. "Freak Show" is unbelievably corny, cringe-inducing, and hilariously unaware. G-Eazy feels completely detached from what once made him at least somewhat appealing, fully embracing this shallow, toxic, almost caricature-like fuckboy persona.

The lyrics here are genuinely some of the worst I’ve heard in a long time. Lines ... read more

Deb Never’s debut EP "House On Wheels", feels overly simplistic, and extremley monotonous for the most part. A lot of Deb’s vocal delivery comes across as dull and emotionally flat, and it doesn’t help that many of the instrumentals are equally uninteresting. Very little here manages to stand out or leave a lasting impression. That said, tracks like “Swimming” and “Out of Time” are worth checking out, as they do show glimpses of potential. ... read more