Review Summary: The king of dubstep has had his kingdom usurped. Can Diplo save him?
The combination of Skrillex and Diplo would seem to go together, in the words of the immortal Jon Jafari, "like gravy and Skittles". One makes (or rather, made) massive, bombastic dubstep tracks. The other, a trap artist by day and producer by night, often makes twerktastic trap bangers that is really a total 360 from Skrillex's style. So when I heard they were teaming up, I was very skeptical. When they dropped their debut album in the middle of a 24 hour (yes, 24 hour) DJ set, I rushed to get to it.
And you know what?
***'s fire.
No joke, this is one of the best albums I've heard all year. Everything is extremely well produced and fits together like pieces in a puzzle. It's also incredibly diverse, but not all over the place. Songs jump from standard trap tunes to blaring dubstep to glassy-eyed electronic at the drop of a hat. So yes, it sounds exactly like a Skrillex and Diplo collab.
After about 90 seconds of gibberish on "Don't Do Drugs, Just Take Some Jack U", the album kicks off with Beats Knockin', or as I'll call it, "Express Yourself 2: Electric Boogaloo". While it does bear a striking resemblance to many of Diplo's previous endeavors, it does have a nice modern trap touch to it. And Fly Boi Keno is a damn sight easier to understand that Nicky da B.
"Take U There" got released as an advance single, although I hadn't heard it until the album came out. It's decent, but certainly not the best on the album. It doesn't really end, and just sort of meanders about until it dies.
"Febreze" is without a doubt the best track on the album. It features an orgasmic drop, ridiculous and pun-filled lyrics from 2 Chainz, and is just a fun little party banger in general.
"To U" is a cool electro-house track that for some reason reminds me of Major Lazer (mostly Jah No Partial or some similar endeavor), which is not necessarily a bad thing, because I enjoy some Major Lazer. British electronic duo AlunaGeorge (who were seen more recently on DJ Snake's "You Know You Like It") are featured on this one, with Aluna singing about how "she can live without you but she really doesn't want to" and "how can she get back to you?". While it's definitely been done before, it's pretty fitting for a spacey, almost alien-sounding track like this.
"Jungle Bae" is a fun one as well. I've never heard of Bunji Garlin, but apparently he's big in the jungle scene. It doesn't have as much substance as the other tracks, but it's fun to jam to and would fit in well at a festival.
"Mind" is a weird one. Kai reprises her role on "Revolution", singing lyrics about God knows what, probably love, bangin', or some combination of the two. The beat drop is funky and interesting, and feels very Diplo in nature.
"Holla Out" is the exact opposite. A chill reggae chant from Taranchyla bottoms out into one of Skrillex's coolest drops yet, assisted by colleague and fellow producer Snails. It does wear itself out after a few listens though, so don't overplay it.
The only song on the album that seems to have found much success, "Where Are U Now" is a strange way to close the album. While I don't think any of the other tracks could have closed it better, it just feels like a weak note to end on. Justin Bieber lends a surprisingly credible performance on the verses, which leads up to an extremely anemic drop. It lacks bass and the instrument loop can be grating at times. But it's not a total loss.
Overall, it's a really good album, and you should definitely give it a spin. It may have a couple of flaws, but then again, what doesn't? "Recess", Skrillex's last album, was excellent in my opinion, but even it couldn't escape some rather glaring flaws. People seem to be giving both albums incredible amounts of ***, and I say lighten up, you friggin' downers. It's trap and dubstep. It can have meaning and it can be deep, but most of the time, it just has to be catchy, dance-able, and well produced.
And that's this album in a nutshell. Well produced.
