Review Summary: And now for something completely different, for deadmau5 offers more depth than ever before.
''its just that its the first album ive ever done that i would even call an album...it's put together like an album. not a compilation.'' -deadmau5
From all the fuss he states at Twitter, I think that tweet is worth gold. To the very point of the matter and 100% true. While(1<2) works, feels and lives like a real album. It has a theme, transitions and a story to tell. It's just covered in dead mice. Nevermind the story, though. Let's look at the tracks.
Disc 1. is more accessible to house lovers and partyminds. From 'Avaritia' to 'Phantoms Can't Hang', it includes credit bangers deadmau5 is known for. However, there's some special things you should know about Disc 1. Fact #1. It's not 100% House. Fact #2. It has transition tracks. Fact #3. It plays surprisingly well. The remixed version of 'Ice Age' by How To Destroy Angels, 'Creep' and 'Somewhere Up Here' are all very ambientic tracks, to be precise. It seems that our club rodent has taken a step away from banging a head to a wall in 128bpm and instead has given a chance to new structure. I presume this was in the back of his mind when he included 'Telemiscommunications' as the last track on >album title goes here<, which back then only added confusement. This is definitely not the case on this album, for the ''confusement'' has been equally spread on the track listing.
Disc 2. at first glance seems like it suffers from filler tracks that have been put there just to make the album look cool. I second that thought, for Disc 2. has a bit more mystery than...you know...deadmau5...Indeed, the tracks are mostly very experimental, extreme cases beginning with 'Acedia', going to 'Errors In My Bread' and ending with 'A Moment To Myself'. It's not wrong being an experimentalist and these three tracks are not that bad. They also fit nicely with tracks like 'Survivalism', 'Rlyehs Lament' and 'Superbia'. It's not the case that Disc 2. is completely houseless. 'Mercedes', 'Pets' and 'Seeya' offer something for the beat-ears. 'Bleed' is also house-ish but I'd say that this kind of beauty comes from ambient music. Unlike Disc 1. this has more ambience than a deadmau5 album has ever had.
So what's not to like? Well, deadmau5 has done albums that have never quite reached certain criticising points, like how the songs transition or how the theme wraps around the album. To be strict, certain missteps like putting 'Mercedes' in between emotional tracks like 'Superbia' and 'Bleed' is questionable. Also 'My Pet Coelacanth' could've gone before 'Ice Age'...Oh look at me, judging small details. You know what? Screw that. The album shows beautiful moments, depth unlike any of his works ever before and carefully planned transition. But the most important thing you gotta know is that this isn't that kind of a deadmau5 album. It's got some album on it mixed with a deadmau5 album. Something for everyone to enjoy I guess.
