Artist : Skrillex
Release : Leaving (EP)
Release Date : Out now!
After what seems to have been an absolutely, positively mental 2012 for the Grammy award winning artist, Skrillex decides to treat us to a cheeky yet brief three-track EP entitled ‘Leaving‘ in the wake of the new year.
One particular mention that must be made before we go on, is regarding the artwork.
An industrial, gritty picture of a long winding street. It is almost like a typical photograph that you would expect on the cover or inlay of a British dubstep / urban release. Is this a suburban nod to the country that dubstep was created, or is it merely but an artistic direction in order to outlive his dream of sounding or becoming ‘more British’? This we cannot answer, but it does leave food for thought. But one thing that must be kept in mind, is that with all the critical or pointless hate that Skrillex has endured, that is irrelevant. Let the music do the talking, and give him the respect he is due.
But without further ado, let us guide you on a short yet sweet breakdown of the three tracks!
The EP begins with the track ‘The Reason‘. Nothing new in terms of reinventing the wheel, but merely just a standard mid-tempo track which if it was instrumental, it would not sound out of place on one of Deadmau5‘s earlier releases. Added with a few pitch shifted vocal samples, this just makes for a very mediocre Skrillex track.
This is followed by the ever more livelier ‘Scary Bolly Dub‘. One of the most immediate things that is noticeable is that there is a very clearly heard sample that is heard from an earlier track called ‘Fucking Die 1‘, as well as his chart smashing track ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites‘. By all means this is a really good tune, but the use of previously used samples just instantly makes this sound like a rushed and effortless throwback.
Finally we reach the title track ‘Leaving‘. This is without a shadow of a doubt the best track on the EP. But the main difference in comparison with the other two tracks, is that this is going in a vastly different direction.
As it is public knowledge that Skrillex openly admits that he is extremely influenced by Warp Records artists / geniuses Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, this track may as well have been renamed ‘My Homage To Aphex Twin’s ‘Come To Daddy EP”.
It is a very good track on its own, but if you are already familiar with Aphex Twin, you can hear elements of the tracks ‘Flim‘, ‘Bucephalus Bouncing Ball‘, and ‘Come To Daddy [Little Lord Faulteroy Mix]‘, all in this one track.
Whilst the EP is filled with wonderful electronic production and finely crafted tracks, you cannot help but wonder if this is just merely but three random tracks just thrown together for the hell of it.
One of the main problems with electronic artists releasing EP’s and album quicker than you can bake hot crosses buns, is that you may already recognise some of the material from other songs. But the thing is, you will more likely have done. It is an almost common practice within the electronic music world, but unfortunately this all seems like a very brief cash in with a lot of questionably British traits that Skrillex is indebted to. This loses some major credibility points.
Ultimately, an underwhelming effort to which could have been constructed far better. Let’s hope that the new album will provide us with some more fruitful and creative wonders to marvel at.
Score : 5/10
