6/7
Skrillex, post-hardcore rock singer turned to Electronic Dance Music (EDM) darling, just released his 8th album Recess after managing to stay in the EDM sphere despite the rabid fad of dubstep fading away. To say that Skrillex changed the state of music is an understatement, the cultural zeitgeist of dubstep and EDM permeated into radio waves and still has yet to leave. Yes, Recess is still abrasive, loud and glitchy, just like his fans like it, but there is a definite diversity (not to mention it's dripping with collaborations) and progression that makes the album incredibly impressive to listen to. As someone who didn't consider herself a Skrillex fan, or at large, a dubstep fan, I found myself really enjoying this album.
The album opens with "All is Fair in Love and Brostep," a very typical dubstep album opener, gives off the vibe that you're taking off to planet earth and crash landing, which goes with the ominous alien face on the album cover. It's not really my favorite, but it's a good opener of what's to come later on the album. It sounds exactly like the title would imply, "brostep" all the way.
"Recess," the title track, has the potential to be the EDM summer banger of 2014. Fatman Scoop is a great hype man, a highlight for sure, and keeps the listener pumped up the entire four minutes. It's a fascinating mix of stomach retching "wubs" and candy-colored schoolyard joy (complete with children cheering).
One of the highlights of the album "Coast Is Clear," features Chance The Rapper, the newest indie rapper that pop culture has sunk its teeth into. The song begins with a really interesting and uncomfortable opening with competing tempos that eventually converge into a brassy, sexual, drum-and-bass type groove groove. Right before a familiar Timbaland-esque beat box breakdown, Chance commands the crowd to “dance until it hurts to stand still”. A really different sound for Skrillex, with lots of charm and zest, and it's one experiment that works wonderfully.
Up next is "Dirty Vibe," featuring the king and queen of South Korean hip-pop, G-Dragon and CL (a personal favorite artist of mine). Aided with trap music’s crown prince, Diplo, and dripping with swag and intimidation, this song is music you both fight and dance too (with lots of strobe lights of course). CL particularly bring a lot of personality to the song, taking it to another level of fun.
Then comes the goofily titled "Doompy Poomp," one of only two songs that doesn’t feature a collaboration with another artist on the entire album. This track is slow and glitchy, a lot like a Wax Tailor song. The best way to describe it is that is sounds like a malfunctioning VHS of a children’s television show from the 80s, and that's a very good thing. About halfway through, gentle "wubs" emerge (true to Skrillex's form), but it doesn't take away from the atmosphere of the song. It’s clear Skrillex is experimenting with different soundscapes and genres, and "Doompy Poomp" definitely adds to the album’s diversity.
The final two tracks have a tint of melancholy to them. "Ease My Mind" follows the emerging trend of vaguely foreign-accented female singers belting out on EDM tracks. The lyrics of this song are flat out depressing, describing a woman who goes to club to forget a break up: “Tonight, I want to forget. I want lights to blind me. I want peace, want to disappear (to disappear)”. Also a curious trend, the “sad beat drop” (seen in Britney Spears’s “Til It’s Gone” and 2ne1’s “Come Back Home”), makes a triumphant appearance and intensifies the emotional downpour of the song.
"Fire Away" is the album closer, and another prime usage of the “sad beat drop”. With glitching robotic vocals begging: “take me with you when you go, don’t leave me out here on my own”, I’m reminded about the alien on the cover, and a story emerges. Maybe, this is a human begging to come back with the aliens (who landed in "All is Fair...") because he feels so out of place. This song is also incredibly reminiscent of the soundtrack for Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers” (which Skrillex worked on with Cliff Martinez, whom you may remember doing the soundtrack for "Drive"), which had similar themes of isolation and desperation for companionship in both the film and soundtrack.
Overall, "Recess" is not what you would expect it to be... yet sometimes it is. Despite a couple filler tracks, the album is incredibly strong, with it's diversity and experimentation being the strongest part of it. Even if you're not a dubstep fan (like myself), I encourage you to give the album a chance. Go a little wild, it's Recess! School's Out! (well... almost).
