Knife Party – Abandon Ship (2014)

Knife Party are notably a musical duo from Australia. Early pieces, such as Internet Friends were club classics, and great tunes too. They released this, their first and only album so far, in 2014. Is it up to scratch? Let’s have a listen to the music here.

We begin with Reconnect. It has a psychedelic intro with a spoken voice letting the world know that Knife Party are here. It’s a good listen and a nice way to kick off the album.

After this, we go to Resistance, a nice piece with some house and dubstep overtones. The breakdown is intense. There are some African sounding drums in this breakdown, we hit party central with an awesome groove. This is a refreshing listen compared to the RnB of today, it’s fantastic. These guys are fantastic at what they do, the music here is great.

Boss Mode begins with some freaky distorted chimes, before knocking down the competition with a Hip Hop style groove and distorted dubstep riffs. It is a great tune here, the sampled lyrics pointing to a higher level of consciousness. Our sonic journey on this track is wonderful. It ends with some gunshots. Mint.

EDM Trend Machine is a piece that sounds much more mellow, along with some good male soul like singing. It’s a good one to relax to after a heavy night of clubbing, assuming that people enjoy this sort of thing for that purpose. It’s way different than the tracks before it. Automated dance music for the people.

The following piece 404 sounds a little weird. It has some Chiptune sort of noises in the track, before going into a static sounding bliss. Rotating drums capture our attention, before launching into a very good piece in the style of Knife Party. It’s a good listen, taking us into the future of music and sounds we have not heard before. There are a few twists and turns in this one, being very suspenseful indeed.

We Begin Again with some poly rhythmic beats and we hit sonic waves afterwards. The vocals, which have a sense of urgency, then kick in. Honestly, this piece is not as good as the ones before, which is disappointing. But it fits the album well anyway. There are some good samples in the middle of the track as well.

A more dubstep driven Give It Up with some reggae influences comes next. It is a good uptempo and busy sounding piece that sounds club ready. A progressive and semi-psychedelic listen here. A nice effort. The dubstep bassline is fantastic here.

D.I.M.H. sounds much more mainstream and House based, you can seriously dance to this tune. It has some interesting sound effects, and vocals comparing music to God. It sounds like a rework of an old 1980’s song, but seriously, it is much better than that for sure. It’s a greatly textured piece.

Micropenis is a strange tune that begins with a strangely sampled situation, before leading into a piece that has beats galore everywhere. It had some rather metallic sounds in it as well. It’s okay, but not fantastic, mind you. There are some Sufjan Stevens like melodies in the breakdown here. The second half is far better than the first half by far.

The next song Superstar is outright awful. It sounds like a poor take on a disco track here. Worth avoiding, and enough said about this number. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds do a better job at disco than what Knife Party do here, and that’s saying something.

The follow up Red Dawn is a far better tune, something indeed to listen to at sunrise, for all you party animals out there. It has some middle eastern melodies and cut up vocals for your enjoyment. It’s a good dance number. Some neat intricate backwards loops occur, before banging beats hit you. A good way to liven up the listen towards the end of the album. A ghostly outro makes it better, too.

Kaleidoscope is the last one on the album. It’s a laid back and chill tune, for those who made it through this album. A good downtempo, deep house sort of joutney. It has suspense all the way through. We then finish the album.

This is a good album, not a great one. It does have its moments, but for the most part, could have been bettered. It’s still listenable, especially for you young nightclub goers. Having said that, it is worth a listen anyway.

7/10

Uberzone – Ideology (2007)

Nobody does the hybrid of techno and breakbeat better than Uberzone do. This album is a good one. It features a variety of tracks and instrumentation. Let’s dive in and have a listen.

Okay begins our cyber journey into bliss. With robotic voices and a great beat kicking along, it sounds so different to everything else out there it is refreshing. It’s a good introduction to this album. It must be heard to be believed. There are acid sounds here too, a nice touch. The breakdown sounds great here as well.

4 Bit sounds so 1980’s in a good way that it makes one feel nostalgic. The beat kicks in, and what a beat it is! The grinding bassline makes this song greater than your typical EDM piece. Overall, this album so far is a great sonic trip. This tune is enjoyable as well. There are many unique sounds in the music here, a great piece to listen to when the mood strikes. It fades out mysteriously.

The robotic nature of this sort of music returns with Vibrate. It’s a great piece for those who like this sort of music. It’s surprisingly dance able as well, given the genre of music that this is, despite the fact it is clearly for home listening. A great futuristic and robotic sounding track. It has some highly intelligent sounds here, likely mostly original too.

The unusual Satisfaction follows. No, it’s not the hit by Benny Benassi either. It’s just a good tech-breaks style romp. Some great sounds are found here, which are individual, idealistic and creative. An epic and excellent listen, with some great drum sounds in the middle of the track. Acid noises return as well, just for the ride. A nice piece.

Ideology is the title track, and it starts rather slowly. It’s more laidback than the other tracks here, with some unusual theremin like melodies. It seems quite melancholy here, but still is as consistent as the rest of the album. It’s a good, but not great piece when the mood strikes. Sounds a lot like Radiohead in their Kid A or Amnesiac phase, in fact. It ends with a clock ticking.

FUBAR is much more like it. It’s an excellent and catchy driven piece to boot. It is the sort of tune that could be stuck in your head for days. It’s a wonderfully intriguing listen, so put on your headphones and listen to it. It’s rather more progressive than other EDM tunes out there, too.

The next piece, Alphawave, is a great rhythmic piece with some unusually modified vocal samples as well. It has some great drum sounds as well. It’s just a kickass track with some awesome TB-303 sort of sounds to hear as well. This album is very consistent throughout, always a good thing for the listener. It sounds like it was recorded it 3007, not 2007. A great sonic experiment done well.

The next one sounds apocalyptic. Germs sounds freaky and futuristic. It has a basic rhythm, acid sounds and mechanical melodies to entrance you. It is no doubt one of the better ones on this album, and is musically structured very well.

Geisha samples some Geisha talk in Japanese. It’s a lot slower than some of the other tracks on this album, but sounds like a good head trip all the same. It’s brief, but a good listen.

Funny Noise is another robotic creation from Uberzone. It’s a great deal better than the last couple of tracks, but still very consistent overall. It just flows nicely this album. It’s a robotic and musical project intertwined in a great effort. In the middle of this track, we have a great dancefloor piece. Even through headphones at home, this album is a winner. This track is no exception in this regard.

The short Inner Space is a semi-ambient piece that lets you drift into outer space. There’s not much to it, but it is a nice addition to the album.

The next tune, M87, sounds like a sort of Dub like piece. It’s got some laidback beats and psychedelic noises in it. Whoever said that postmodern music was bad? Uberzone make great tunes, and this album is proof of that. This track sounds like a Sonic The Hedgehog video game soundtrack, no joke.

Black Hole has some strummed acoustic guitar and some real life sounding beats. It sounds different, but good all the same. There is a variety of sampled instrumentation here, from pianos to bongos. It breaks down into silence at the end.

Yes speaks for itself. No comments required for an 11 second track.

The extra track Octopus (Bonus Track) is a solid listen itself. It should have been placed on the original album, but fortunately it is found on some releases of the album. We finish our sonic journey, satisfied with the outcome.

This sort of music is regularly overlooked by critics and consumers alike. However, it is clear that perfect techno + perfect breaks = Uberzone. Do yourself a favour and have a listen to this if you haven’t done so already.

8/10

The Prodigy – Music For The Jilted Generation (1994)

The Prodigy broke free of the old UK Hardcore scene that they were a large part of, with this album. It’s also a very good EDM album, and has aged very well and has its own sound. Let’s dive in and have a listen to this masterpiece. It’s also a semi political album as well.

We begin with the dark sounding Intro with a typewriter and some dark sounding electronic textures. It’s a great piece to hear, short and interesting.

The first tune is Break & Enter. It’s an excellent introduction to the album, with the sound of glass smashing and a dirty, dark electronic riff. This album is completely different to the previous album by The Prodigy and kicks ass. The beats are bigger, the textures are more unique and the breakdowns are intense. This piece in particular sounds dark and eerie. A great piece, even though it goes well over five minutes. A must listen.

Their Law (feat. Pop Will Eat Itself) is the best electronic political piece you will ever hear. It has drum and bass style breakbeats, chugging metal guitars and that refrain, “Fuck ’em and their law!”. It is definitely a political piece, although main man Liam Howlett denies this. The UK Conservative government implement a law around this time preventing underground raves and parties from occurring, and The Prodigy reacted very well in this respect. A classic tune.

Full Throttle is a more upbeat and textured piece that sounds mega. It contains some truly great samples and instrumentation. The laughter is actually sampled from the original Star Wars movies (it’s Emperor Palpatine laughing). The piano is a wonderful riff throughout and it’s never a dull listen. Truly great, maybe some of today’s EDM artists can take note of pieces like this more often? We hope so.

The hit single Voodoo People actually has the Very Ape Nirvana riff, but like people really recognised that. The piece is great though. Some great breakbeats and samples here brought this song into the charts. It’s awesome, and a trip as well. A must listen for fans of The Prodigy. It’s another rather long piece, but never dull for a moment.

The next piece, Speedway (From Fastlane) is a great piece designed for high speed driving. It has some wicked sounds in it, mainly car sort of noises. There are more pounding beats, plenty of acid squelches and science fiction sort of sounds. The breakdowns are intense, and this album is very consistent throughout. A great job here done by Liam Howlett. It sounds urgent all the way through.

The Heat (The Energy) is a good piece to return us back to more ambient style sounds here. It’s a really intelligent sort of album this one, with twists and turns you’d never expect. Case in point, tunes like this. There are liquid and surreal sounds throughout, a great listen. It then morphs into a good dance tune. A great listen all the way through.

Poison was a big hit. It begins with cocaine being chopped up by Liam Howlett. Yes, really. It then kicks off as a killer EDM classic. This may be even the best piece off the album. It was designed to be a punchy, slower than drum and bass sort of thing. It works well and the sampled phrases and the beats just make this a classic tune. Mint. The Prodigy really come into their own here.

The next tune is an older one from this era, but it’s great. No Good (Start The Dance) is a great piece which is a transitional piece between the first two albums by The Prodigy. It’s a very good piece indeed, and sounds killer. It has some great sound effects here, and is fast and pacing. Nice effort here. It sounds a little cheesy and dated, but so what? It’s a good listen.

Following up is One Love (Edit) which is a good tune, although the vocals at the start are super annoying. But then it gets 10 times better, with some likely drug influenced acid noises and pounding beats. Proves that even a bad sounding tune at the start can get better over time. Unfortunately the vocal samples ruin this piece as it is reoccurring.

The Narcotic Suite:

3 Kilos begins this three piece song kit without any vocal samples. But it’s mega. It’s sounds like the song was done under the influence of a lot of drugs. It’s a chill piece with flute and other great melodies in it. A more kind sounding piece than the stuff beforehand. It ends with some strange sound effects, including some frequency modified sounding wind. Excellent.

Skylined is a more concise piece from Liam Howlett’s brain and sounds much more exciting in general. It’s a non vocal piece again, but has some reassuring melodies within. It slowly builds and releases, a bit of a proto Narayan here. It transforms from structure to structure and just sounds epic. A good listen. It ends with crashing waves before entering the last piece on this album.

The last piece of the suite and album, Claustrophobic Sting, begins with creepy laughter and launches into a great sonic based and textured piece, with some really great samples here. Definitely worth listening if you can hear it. It has a vocal sample, “My mind is glowing!” which makes it seem partially psychedelic. A great tune, and we finish the album after this seven minute track.

This album brought The Prodigy closer to the mainstream of music, and gave them the success that they deserved. It’s probably better and worth more of your time than The Fat Of The Land. If you want to hear some darker EDM and want a good starting place for it, here will do. Try the More Music For The Jilted Generation if you can, a re-release with some extra goodies with this album too.

9/10

The Prodigy – Experience (1992)

The UK Hardcore EDM scene was a strange one. It foreshadowed an overall change in the EDM scene, which became much more varied and personalised after the UK Hardcore movement had died off.

The Prodigy were not as individual or interesting at this point in their musical career as later on. Yet, they were more consistent overall. This album is very underrated and overlooked as a musical piece. It shouldn’t be, there are many great tunes on it.

The trip starts with Jericho. It’s a typical piece of the era, with sped up sounds and fast paced breakbeats. The melodies here are killer. After the 1980’s which had a dirge of keyboards and backwards electronic sounds, The Prodigy were here to kick start the 1990’s. “The hordes of Jericho” indeed.

The next tune, Music Reach (1/2/3/4) is another great piece. The melodies on this album are fantastic, and are so uplifting. It takes one to another place emotionally, although many people may claim that the music here is “cheesy”. It’s not, it is actually very good. A killer dance tune. Many computerised Acid House type sounds are here as well.

Wind It Up gets the party started, right from the word go. It’s a fast and fun tune to listen to. It sounds like parrots are squawking here, aside from all the other bizarre sounds here worth listening to. It’s a very unusual sounding album, but worth listening to for sure.

Your Love (Remix) sounds a bit effeminate for The Prodigy, but kicks ass too. It’s a great dance tune to hear, but sounds nothing like The Fat Of The Land ever did. Still, it’s a good piece to enjoy listening to.

The next piece Hyperspeed (G-Force Part 2) sounds great and uplifting, perhaps more consistent than the previous pieces have been. There’s a voice screaming, “Hitler! Hit-Hit-Hitler!” here as well. Sounds like a load of drugs were being taken here, mind you. But that’s EDM for you.

The follow up Charly (Trip Into Drum And Bass Version) is a great remix of the original Charly single which made The Prodigy big in the UK. It has some wonderful spacey sound effects in it, as well as a great subsonic bass breakdown. A great effort here. A must listen.

Out Of Space is a nice tune, singalong enough for even mainstream radio play. Some great phrases are here, “I’ll take your brain to another dimension, pay close attention” and the main reggae influenced vocal sample chorus here that persists throughout the tune are really great. This is a great classic off the album, still played by The Prodigy live today.

Everybody In The Place (155 And Rising) is another great remix with some acid house style riffs at a high tempo. It’s an excellent piece that builds up and breaks down well. How on earth Liam Howlett created these awesome melodies, we will never truly know. But it kicks ass.

The next piece is the extended Weather Experience. It begins with weather forecaster samples, before heading into a melancholy set of melodies and spacey sounds. It’s a trip for sure, sounding brilliant and futuristic. It’s somewhat slower than the other pieces on this album, but simply captivating. Weather sounds are everywhere here, a nice touch. A good extended piece which is different, but consistent.

The next much more uplifting song is Fire (Sunrise Version). It’s a good one with a legendary sample, “I AM THE GOD OF HELL AND FIRE, AND I BRING YOU…” is that awesome sample. There is some (likely) Spanish chanting, and some other great samples. This album never fails to deliver musically.

Ruff In The Jungle Bizness is a catchy and uplifting piece about said topic. It’s a nice uplifting number with some sweet bass here. Beeps and pianos intertwine into a pacing and uplifting song. This album is super consistent for sure. “Feel the jungle vibe, baby!”

Death Of The Prodigy Dancers (Live) finishes the album on a very high note. With some MC chanting from Maxim Reality, this is a great tune to dance along to. A great party tune.

In retrospect, this is a very underrated and listenable album, even more so with Keith Flint’s passing. If you really feel like some musical history in EDM, this album most definitely should be a part of your collection. Be sure to check out the remastered and expanded edition of the album for the fans of The Prodigy, it is well worth chasing down.

9/10

Primal Scream – Screamadelica (1991)

Primal Scream became a success with this album. Prior to this, they were very desperate to make some sort of success and had released some rather ordinary rock material. It’s not dissimilar a journey that fellow contemporaries Underworld had experienced. Once the single Loaded arrived, it was played heavily in clubs and underground raves everywhere.

This album came next. It is a genuine classic in its own right. It has a fusion of psychedelic and electronic sounds done so well that their earlier mediocre rock efforts are forgivable. Let’s listen through this, track by track.

Movin’ On Up is just that. It’s a gospel house like piece and introduced the group into their new format. The stoned sounding singing from Bobby Gillespie suits this piece very well. It’s a quick and catchy piece with a variety of instrumentation to boot. The screaming guitars are fantastic here. A nice start to the album.

Slip Inside This House was originally done by the 13th Floor Elevators on their own Easter Everywhere album. It features the ‘amen break’ and some great textures and a superb bassline. Still, the Primal Scream boys here match the 13th Floor Elevators effort with this cover. It’s catchy and brilliant. Welcome to the 1990s, ladies, and gentlemen.

The next piece Don’t Fight It, Feel It is another great piece featuring female vocals which suit this piece perfectly. “I’m going to live the life I love, I’m going to love the life I live.” is chanted here. It sounds very danceable and good quality, and unlike most dance music, this is not a throwaway piece. Some tripped out sounds are here too to keep you listening on.

After that, we go downtempo and heavily psychedelic with Higher Than The Sun. It talks directly about hallucinogenic drugs and enhancing one’s experience with such experiences from that. The stoned vocals are here again from Bobby Gillespie, the lead singer. It’s a brilliant and openly druggy piece. You can easily hear how inspired these guys were making this piece.

Inner Flight comes next. Some great vocal melodies kick off a minor key track, with a psychedelic keyboard patch that sounds a lot like Coldplay’s Clocks. No second-guessing where Coldplay stole that one from. But hey, it’s chilled and relaxing. Let the music guide you on this journey, as it is tasty listening. The outro has a wonderful vocal melody to boot.

Come Together is an extended piece, going over 10 minutes long. It’s a neo-hippie call to arms. It’s an ode to music and a very good one. There are numerous sounds, well-chosen and a great sample is here about the true nature of music. If you wish to hear a song that will destroy barriers for music listeners, this should be it. It never seems boring at all through the 10 minutes at all. Smile and enjoy the numerous textures and singing here.

The original Andy Weatherall Loaded arrives with a sample from a cult film at the start, before going into Cuban style beats, piano, real bass guitar, and a melancholy slide guitar melody. Horns and fiddles join the mix too. It’s a truly great piece of music, and is very moving and enjoyable, all the way through. It proves that even using computers, human beings can create a great and emotional piece of music. The world of music never was the same after this song, in that respect.

After that, Damaged arrives. It’s a downtempo piece and sounds very gentle in approach. It sounds melancholic and loving towards a partner but has some great vocal harmonies in it as well. It’s a reflection on a past love but works well here. Some nice Fender Stratocaster sounding playing is here to top it all off amongst everything else. Good job.

I’m Comin’ Down is a very low-tempo and subdued piece. It, of course, refers to a post MDMA/Ecstasy come down, or a comedown of a drug of a similar sort. It has some truly interesting and wonderful saxophone and other electronic-based sounds here. It’s a gentle and kind piece to listen to. This album is really very awesome in many ways, and this proves the musicality of Primal Scream right here. A must-listen for relaxation.

Higher Than The Sun – A Dub Symphony In Two Parts has the legendary bassist Jah Wobble from early era Public Image Limited featured on this track. It’s very much a reprise of Higher Than The Sun and acts as an almost concept album like idea for a track. Although not officially a concept album, Screamadelica could be considered one. Some space like tripped out sounds makes up this piece. Good to hear that these guys had many ideas for our own listening enjoyment. The bassline and breakbeats are classy too.

The last cut, Shine Like Stars, sounds Syd Barrett-esque with the twinkling melody-based sound. It’s simply a nice song to finish off this album. It’s gentle and reassuring, sounding almost like King Crimson. Mint.

This album saved Primal Scream, both financially and musically. It sounds so well done, even today, blowing a lot of your mainstream R & B away. If you like to hear the most psychedelic electronic sounds out there, you should listen to this album. You will not be disappointed.

9/10

Leftfield – Leftism (1995)

Despite the somewhat political name of the group and album, this is not political music. In fact, it is one of the best EDM albums ever made. It’s so unique and wonderful sounding that it will leave you in awe.

It has a huge amount of different world music and electronic-based influences in this album. Let’s examine these tunes, track by track.

We begin this sonic journey with Release The Pressure. It kicks off with some ethereal sounds, birds chirping and launches into a great piece of electronic music. It has some Jamaican reggae influences in it. It breaks into a great dance piece. Not bad for a song that is over seven minutes long.

The next tune is Afro-Left which is a decent tune as well. It has some unusual string instrumentation of some sort played throughout, and some wonderful lyrics in a non-English dialect. It’s great to hear, and still sounds fresh and inspired today.

Melt sounds like a piece that melts in your mouth and sounds delicious. It is a very psychedelic number and still sounds great today. Horns and other trippy sounds are plentiful here, along with some crunchy drum sounds. A nice little piece in editing.

Song Of Life begins with an acid house style riff and bringing in some amazing and intelligent textures. It then breaks into a beat-driven piece which sounds rather catchy. It’s danceable and listenable simultaneously, a rarity in EDM. It’s very progressive as well in approach, a great thing indeed.

The next piece Original is very original. But the message in this piece with female vocals and lyrics is to remain true to oneself. It’s a little melancholy, but still very good. “You’re original, live your own path. You’re original, light your own way”. Great stuff. The outro is good too.

A very short (for this album) piece named Black Flute arrives. It’s a much more danceable piece for the album but still sounds true to the Leftfield sound. Very good to hear. Pumps the adrenaline in your body the whole way through.

Space Shanty arrives, and it sounds like a continuation of the sound of the previous track. There is some trippy sounding Sitar here, along with some eastern vocals. That is the intro alone. The rest of the song is just wonderful and groove-based, a nice tune here. There are some wicked tribal drums towards the end as well.

Inspection (Check One) arrives, and this track is awesome and cool. There is a heavy bassline and drum beats galore, along with some well-chosen sampled phrases. It’s a great listen, and if you have to listen to one song by Leftfield, ideally this is it. It never bores throughout the length of time here.

The following piece, Storm 3000, arrives with some attentive sounds that are very interesting. The subsonic bass here is awesome, as is the breakbeat here too. It’s a minor key piece but sits perfectly well in this album. This piece is a lot like what The Chemical Brothers would have recorded, but it’s Leftfield here instead.

The next song that arrives is one of Leftfield’s best. You can never guess that John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) is singing here. He sings really well here in a soulful way. This cut is Open Up. It’s very, very good. The breakdown is great too. A classic song.

21st Century Poem is a poetry recital into some futuristic sounds. It sounds very melodramatic and spacey. It is difficult to pinpoint where Leftfield got their samples from on here. But, it’s a good way to finish the album. It’s a call of arms to people to fight for their own rights. There is a twist at the end as well.

This is truly a great EDM sort of album. It’s definitely worth listening to. The only issue? It is a tad long and could have been edited in some ways. Still, it’s an essential listen for those who love all forms of electronic music. Hardcore fans will want to seek the 22nd-anniversary edition, which has some interesting remixes on it.

8/10

Layo & Bushwacka! – Night Works (2002)

In the 21st century, musically we have never had it so good. Breakbeat in this century is vibrant and interesting. Many genres of music go well with a breakbeat style rhythm. The British duo known as Layo & Bushwacka! delivered this album, a great listen in breakbeat from start to finish.

Let’s dive in.

Vinyl begins with some rather unusual sounds, sounding rather dark and foreboding. It’s a short introduction to the record, and a good one too.

Ladies And Gentlemen is next, which is also quite short. It has some interesting sounds in it, and a spoken word part. It’s a good way to kick-start the whole recording, and we enter into this listen with style.

Then we have the brilliantly good Shining Through. This piece has bongos galore, a great breakbeat rhythm and some Asian style sounds. It’s a fantastic track, and received much airplay in the EDM scene at the time. It is really that good, worth listening. You can dance to this piece as well, if you wish to. It’s a classic piece.

A very short piece with a middle eastern melody, Sahara, is next. It’s tripped out, and is proof of the mixing abilities of the duo.

We Meet At Last comes next. It has some dark sounds to boot and takes a while to really kick off. It’s not as good as the previous tracks, some of the sounds here are poor choice in the mix. But still, it’s a good effort from Layo & Bushwacka!

Mainlining follows and has a semi psychedelic feel to it. It has some plucked guitar parts, before seguing into the next piece.

The piece that comes next is Let The Good Times Roll. It has some African like melodic singing in it, possibly blues influenced, before hitting us with some good beats to spare. It’s an unusual piece, but given breakbeat’s huge ability to cross into almost any genre, is very good to hear. It’s rather melancholic in its melodies too.

The next arrival is All Night Long, sounding very quiet at the beginning. It flows into pseudo techno beats, and is a good piece to hear. It has some catchy vocal melodies in it as well, reminiscent of Scatman. This is a standout effort on the album, it should be listened to.

Strike is a seven second warping transition into the next piece. Nothing much to say about it given its length.

Sleepy Language arrives next, and boy! It is an awesome 21st century piece. It’s a good listen for when the mood strikes, featuring a great range of samples and ingenious production by the duo. Great work here. Perfect for late night listening.

The following piece, Blind Tiger, is a laidback piece sampling a blues singer and is just chilled as a listen. Good use of delay based sound effects are here. A chugging piano and great saxophone is in the middle here, followed up with a descending bass line. It’s an interesting listen for sure.

The interlinking piece Automatic sounds very machine like. It has some psychedelic sounds which are interesting, before launching into the next piece.

Love Story is a quiet but melodic piece indicating the emotion at hand. It has techno beats in it as well. It’s a good instrumental that is reminiscent of Underworld. Not bad at all. It has an odd midsection to it, before bouncing back to the beats.

2mrw starts off with digitally enhanced beats and sounds IDM like. It jumps into a computerised and futuristic style of song that is fresh and interesting.

The remix entitled Love Story (vs. Finally) (Bushwacka! bootleg version) is very simple and catchy. It’s a good bonus addition, and a subtle, funky listen. The vocal piece in the centre is brilliant.

Following is It’s Up To You (Shining Through) (Radio Mix) which is a great remix of Shining Through with great vocals added. It’s good to hear such variety here, and goes well on this place of the album.

Let The Good Times Roll (Reworked) is another short remix, but a very good one, bringing in more catchy elements to the music at hand. It’s punchy and danceable. Very good effort.

Where Did We Go Wrong? seems to sound just awful. Good thing it is at the end of the album and that most of the rest of the album is listenable. Let’s pretend that this cut did not exist for the most part, it’s ordinary. Even the vocals on this are bad per se. And once this awful track is over, we conclude our journey.

This album is a decent listen overall. For those who love atmospheric sounds and mixed in with breakbeats, be sure to check out this album. You may enjoy it immensly.

7/10