Released: 11/9/15
6/7
It’s hard to believe that just four years after his debut album, Glass Swords, Rustie is back at it with another installment of what we’ve come to know and love him for. With the usual array of wild synths, distorted drums, and heavy bass lines that guide you through the madness within, EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE is an incredibly strong showing by the Glasgow native. This time he doesn’t feature or work with anyone else, although a few of the tracks that “feature” Rustie have segments where he sings or plays guitar. The decision to go solo strengthens the result, instead of forcibly compromising on production in order to appease another artist.
The album as a whole is incredibly well produced. Every single track stands well on its own, but the cohesiveness of all of them together is unparalleled by anything that has been released this year, especially among other electronic releases. The synths and samples, that are masterfully employed, don’t create a lot of variation between tracks, but the intricate melodies and emphatic drums provide plenty of diversity while sticking to the originality of Rustie’s style.
Due to Rustie’s familiarity with the unorthodox, his ability to fuse elements of future bass, trap, and traditional dubstep with his own originality has produced some especially unique tracks. In “Big Catzz”, the drum pattern at the beginning that jumps into a series of swirling sawtooth synths is a sonic experience of its own. Immediately following that, “Peace Upzzz” completely abandons typical song structure and builds continuously without ever fully appeasing that inner craving for some sort of drop or climax. His willingness to push sonic boundaries and create structurally unique tracks makes for a euphoric and unpredictable first listen.
