Dubstep, although seen to many people as a niche genre, proved to be very popular with the likes of Skrillex and other excellent artists becoming famous and well known for their EDM works. Knife Party, an Australian duo, had some early success in their career with Internet Friends on the 100% No Modern Talking EP, which was a big club hit at the time that had both some interesting sounds and a warning to all people who use Facebook. Sensibly, the duo recorded this, their next EP, released in the same year as a follow up. Let’s take a listen to the music here and we will see how it stacks up.

Rage Valley begins with a gun being loaded and a gunshot sound, followed quickly by some interesting and warped textures, fitted nicely with beats. Straight away, one can hear how wonderful and exciting this track is. It is great, even some years after this was released. It builds up very nicely into a flurry of exciting sounds and textures, with straightforward beats. Eventually, this tune breaks down and progresses nicely along as it goes. It is a fresh and exciting listen. Soon enough, it breaks down into a great Dubstep-style groove with unusual timing and beats. A cool tune, this is music to take hard drugs to. The imagination and consistency of this track are there, and this sounds fantastic, sober or high. In the middle is a big breakdown, followed by some sweet melodic patches and this sounds like a winner of a tune. This steadily has some up-pitched shifted melodies and drum rolls enter before this returns to the Dubstep heavy section. Definitely worth your ears, this proves that Skrillex wasn’t the only one creating great Dubstep tunes back in 2012. Very nice to listen to, and interesting throughout. This ends with a breakdown, and straightforward beats and finishes just before the five-minute mark. Excellent.

Centipede begins with a documentary voiceover about Centipedes. A really cool listen, this progresses into more documentary talk and a dark backing track. Soon enough, this tune eventually gets going into a laser rapid-fire precision tune that is extremely catchy and a joy to hear musically. This still sounds like it could have been released today, the sounds and impact here are exactly the same. A cool tune that is heavy Dubstep with imaginative sounds, and a dark, descending groove, more EDM heads should listen to this track more often, to be fair. The second half is a breakdown with some really weird sounds throughout, which build up excitement and interest throughout. Drum machine rolls enter, and this tune launches back into the main section of the track. An imaginative, interesting and very likely drug-influenced creation, this is a really great listen. If you dig heavily Electronic music, this is a great starting point for it. The music concludes, followed by some eerie and watery sounds. Pretty weird.

Bonfire is Knife Party’s biggest hit to date. It begins with a Dub/Reggae-based sound and leads into an absolutely awesome groove and music that deserves to be put on repeat. Some Rasta lyrics are here too. Eventually, this builds up to an awesomely dramatic climax which is super heavy musically. Knife Party sure knew how to make heavy Dubstep really well. A fantastic tune, who said Australians couldn’t make great music? This tune is extremely heavy, catchy and groove-driven, with a Psychedelic edge to it. A fantastic tune from start to finish, it certainly sounds interesting as well. Knife Party creates tunes unlike anyone else. There is a breakdown in the second half with the Rasta lyrics and a great build-up to the main groove again. This may be fairly repetitive, but it sure is enjoyable regardless. A really cool tune to listen to, this sounds amazingly great. An enjoyable and upbeat track that should be played more at nightclubs and raves out there. Towards the end, the vocals return and this tune gradually wraps up. Excellent listening.

Sleaze (feat. Mistajam) is the final track on this EP. It begins sounding like music from a horror movie soundtrack, EDM style. Still, this is really interesting and exciting to hear. A great and interesting tune. Looped and pitch-shifted vocals stating, “Until they kick us out, people, move your feet!” are here, followed by a great musical progression. This tune is, admittedly, not nearly as good as the others on this EP. It is repetitive and a good example of filler by Knife Party. It’s not outright bad, but sounds rather lame and repetitive. There are many musical breakdowns and progressions throughout. A weird tune with many digital effects and sounds. The second half has a good Dubstep groove to boot, which sounds very different. In any case, this is good for filler. The vocal samples could have been removed, however. It ends after four and a half minutes in length with some cut-up sounds and samples that sound different, and the sound of breaking glass to finish it. A bit weird, to be fair.

This is good music that, despite any imperfections, is definitely enjoyable. With the exception of the final track here, this is a really nice EP to sink one’s teeth into musically. Knife Party showed the world back in 2012 that their music and style were relevant leading into the future. Should you listen to this EP? Give it a try if you dig EDM and specifically, Dubstep. Otherwise, you may not get this.

A very warped and interesting listen.

8/10