Project and moniker of Sonny Moore, Skrillex has, in one way or another, blown up with his unique brand of dance music in the past three or so years. The dance music mogul first appeared on the scene when his single “My Name Is Skrillex” set MySpace on fire in 2010. His claim to fame really came when he released his Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP on Big Beat and mau5trap recordings. Since then, the 26-year-old producer has toured from South America to Australia spinning tracks from supported artists on his label OWSLA.
Moore teased at the idea of a full-length album by releasing his own personal app containing iTunes URLs to the unreleased tracks that make up ‘Recess.’ In fact, the track ‘Try It Out’ was streamable on the app before it could be purchased. With that being said, when the album finally dropped, it came as a surprise to the growing dance music scene Skrillex left behind.
The first track off of the album allowed Sonny to show his sense of humor by titling it ‘All Is Fair In Love and Brostep’ because his brand of dubstep/Raggaeton EDM has been tagged as such since its inception. What went from a mockery on a surface quickly transformed into an obliterating, brutal ‘brostep’ song that offers a thick beat while laser sounds accompany an eerie vocal performance.
Of course, the track that spawned the album’s name must be good, right? Well, Skrillex set the standard for his own genre by collaborating with legendary Kill The Noise. Using echoing synths, samples of children cheering (a staple for Skrillex), and a bassline that attests to how unique this genre can become. What really impressed most EDM fans is the vocals used at the beginning, it being so catchy and bright. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album because of it’s ability to encompass so many genres into one classic track.
‘Try It Out’ first turned the heads of gamers because it appears on Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (it’s the song in the club) by its catchy synth line, tingling lyrics, and absolutely insane drop. ‘Dirty Vibe’ certainly turned heads as Skrillex and legendary producer Diplo teamed up to produce the track. This track actually impressed me at first because of its rapid trap elements and rap that rounds out the song.
‘Stranger’ certainly doesn’t sound anything close to the other tracks on the album because of its soft, deep house tempo and easy lyrics. Suddenly, the track goes into a section that features a squeaking, high pitch synth, something I personally wasn’t fond of because the song would’ve maintained the same integrity without it. Similarly, ‘F*** That’ maintains the same soundscape while maintaining classic Skrillex elements embedded within.
‘Doompy Poomp’ took a dive off the deep end by emerging itself within experimental sounds and a cumbersome beat. The song is impressive for the young producer, but not for the dance music scene he’s revolutionized before.Finally, ‘Ragga Bomb’ is possibly the sickest (for lack of a better term) track the genre has yet seen. It’s hard beat and fuzzy, thick bass provide the listener with an euphoric experience.
Overall, this album definitely reflected the direction Skrillex is going and flaunts his ability to jump from style to style while maintaining a dark dance feel to it.
Rating
6.8/10
