Review Summary: for patient listeners, "One of Us" should remain as interesting as it was after hearing it for the first time.
Kryptic Minds’s
One of Us isn’t exactly an exciting album, but what it lacks in punch it completely makes up for in skillfulness. These days, a few sell-out dubstep artists roam the Earth (Skrillex, for example) with all guns blazing, preferring a blatant attack rather than a clever one - there is nothing wrong with this approach. However, in comparison to such impressive aggression, intelligent dubstep albums such as
One of Us seem vapid, and are left behind in the vast area known as the underrated zone. Instant amazement is not the result when listening to this album, if anything, it takes a patient listener to appreciate the subtleties of the music. For those who can sit down and wait for the effects, Kryptic Minds’s album should be impactful, but don’t expect to fall in love with it after one go. With a bit of experience, the love for this type of dubstep should grow to the point where in-your-face dubstep albums will seem less desirable. This is the first step into the cave, and the more steps you take, the less you will want to leave it.
The feeling often associated with Kryptic Minds is one word, and that word is “chill”. You will not find hostility in the beats or the sounds, only a cool, reserved simplicity. This is music to fall asleep to, or to listen to when in deep contemplation. Experimentation is not the norm, and melodies barely even appear throughout the sleepwalking, the journey is introspective and the music is relaxing. The sound created is not even a full sound, but it hardly matters. Imagine an empty cave, it seems perfectly quiet until the faintest of sounds is heard. Walking further in, the footsteps echo against the walls. Occasionally the faint sound of water droplets can be heard as they bare the unmistakable “drop” sound. Although the cave is empty, even the smallest of sounds awake the senses, and every moment seems that much more meaningful.
After a while, as the cave begins to feels familiar, the idea of adventuring through a cave becomes less appealing. There is nothing there except the emptiness, and there is no one around to talk to. Loneliness slowly creeps in as the person realizes just how tired they are of standing around in a cave. Clearly losing interest, the person leaves the cave, looking for something else that’s exciting to do. It’s not that the experience was uninteresting, it’s just that they felt they had seen everything there was to see. Of course, they may realize their mistake later and return for another visit, but at this point, they feel accomplished. While the experience was fascinating, it did not completely engage the person, and that is why Kryptic Minds’s
One of Us, despite being interesting, falls a tad short of its potential.
