Review Summary: MessFX's ninth full length shows no signs of compositional complacency.
Nine full-length releases in, it can be tempting for an artist to become complacent, to find what works for them and to create what can easily be solid but homogeneous. With this in mind, London-based EDM producer messFX seems intent on changing up each track on
Little Star as much as possible, refusing to settle on one style from start to finish. Some are off-kilter, glitchy tracks, such as the title track and 'Nervous Disposition'; others are bassy, driving numbers, in particular 'Scarred Neurotic' and joyful closer 'Saitama Romance'. Others even go outside the standard realms of dance music, with both 'Tinnitus Interlude' and 'Constellation Song' bringing in elements of ambient. Acting as a (subconscious) counterpoint to this stylistic experimentation,
Little Star is heavily built on thematic repetition. Most tracks only contain one, at the most two overriding melodies, but these are twisted, cut up and layered to keep each track sounding fresh - and while there are inevitably some tracks composed better than others, very few moments stay uncomfortably past their welcome.
In alignment with messFX's obvious penchant for variety,
Little Star presents an interesting mixture of lighter and darker elements. While tracks like the aforementioned 'Saitama Romance' deep house number 'Quest of Heroes' glow with positivity, there's a more sinister side too; for example, 'Dirty Blood' uses pitchshifting and perishing decays to turn an otherwise simple motif into something twisted, while 'Dead Cell' sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi horror film. Most tracks are effective in invoking their desired responses be it positive or negative, although 'Scarred Neurotic' feels more emotionless than most, making it difficult to really enjoy even despite its undeniable energy.
However, despite the variety in both style and tone on display, the real appeal of
Little Star to myself is a lot less tangible. Had I been told beforehand that it was the soundtrack to a little known console game from the late 1990s, I would have believed it without question. It is, similar to many great soundtracks, fairly unobtrusive; being fairly repetitive and staying largely clear of bombast, one can play it in the background and it proves complementary without being distracting. Yet, offer it a more dedicated listen and it becomes clearly worthy of more than background noise;
Little Star is no soundtrack, and it's unlikely that it was ever intended as such, yet the way it titillates the imagination makes it seem like one.
