Review Summary: Proof that an album can have a terrible name and still be awesome. Some great melodies on this one, and it really shows the evolution of Zimmerman's sound.
I think if I told someone that one of my favorite artists was a "dead mouse", they would probably look at me like my head just did a 360. Maybe it's just me, but this guy really picks the weirdest names for his music. His latest album is the name of the file folder all of the tracks were in, he has songs with names such as "Cat Thruster", "Fustercluck", and "Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer", and he had a full tour named after his cat, the aptly named Professor Meowingtons. Case in point. However, when it comes to actual quality of music, this guy is an absolute mastermind. Love him or hate him, that really can't be denied. He's a staple of modern electronic music, and his musical style and influence can be immediately recognized. And even if you haven't listened to his music, you've probably heard of him through...well, a lot of the beefs he's gotten into. He's voiced his dislike against many other artists such as Marshmello and Kanye, and has even been sued by Disney. I'm not kidding. This prowess I've described can also be seen on his fifth album, >album title goes here<, which isn't his best work by any means - but it comes dang close.
I'll start by saying that this album doesn't really have a set 'style' in the way his previous releases did. Get Scraped was a techno-driven monster with breakbeat & ambient-inspired tracks and nods to Boards of Canada and retro video-game music. Vexillology was a very minimalistic record that didn't have very many melodies and was instead more of a club-friendly LP. Random Album Title, which is probably his most well-known album, is a progressive house classic that flows together like water and delivers some of his most fine-tuned works in his entire career, and so on. This is not a con, I just feel like this is something worth pointing out. That being said, there really aren't very many cons to this album. It's an incredibly solid release with some very minor flaws. Not every track on here stands out too well, which can be seen on the album's opener, Superliminal, which I consider to be among the worst tracks on here. Sure, it's hella banging, but it's honestly a little bland compared to the rest of the album. It's very intense (which isn't saying too much considering there's another track on here that's probably one of Joel's most intense tracks in his career) but drones on a little too long. That's perfectly fine, though, because next we dive right into the sole energy of this LP with Channel 42, a collaboration with fellow producer Wolfgang Gartner. This isn't the man's first track with Wolfgang, as seen on 4X4=12 with Animal Rights, which is one of deadmau5's classics, and this one sure is banging. Definitely an awesome track with some killer synth melodies, and should totally be checked out. After this we have The Veldt, one of deadmau5's biggest hits. It's a really uplifting dancefloor track with some nice lyrics delivered by Chris James, someone who I'm not familiar with but has an alright voice. It's an alright song, but it's not one of the highlights of the album, and isn't really something I'd go back and listen to too often. Nonetheless a nice track.
We then move on to Fn Pig, a track with an amazing build-up and probably one of Joel's best build-ups. It's very epic in its tone and melody and also utilizes retro-sounding synths quite well. After that, however, the track becomes a typical dancefloor beat that doesn't stand out too well, but nevertheless it's still quite a well-crafted track. Then we have what I consider one of deadmau5's best songs: Professional Griefers. This song isn't just intense. It's riot-level intense. The album has been fairly soft up until this track. Gerard Way's lyrics are pretty much screamed in this song, and it's awesome. Just the edginess and rebelliousness - which I'm not even sure is a word - of this whole anthem is just incredible. (Plus it has a sick-ass music video. Seriously.) This intense style doesn't stop here - oh no, it gets more and more from there - what with the club banger Maths. It's a great track that I would recommend to anyone who wants to get into deadmau5's music, and has a killer melody too. The riffs here progress to the point where they're practically screeching.
There Might Be Coffee is an epic track with an awesome tune. Whenever I hear the start of this one, I always imagine someone has just been told that there might be coffee wherever it is that person's going, and this is like a victory anthem to the fact that he has just found out that there could possibly be coffee wherever he's going. ...I hope that's not just me. It's definitely an anthem for victory, though. Take Care of the Proper Paperwork is awesome. It might not have a beat, but damn does it take you on a journey. It's a very experimental one, and that's exactly what I like about it. Closer opens with another awesome melody, and continues it with a really cool beat. It sounds a little similar to one of his previous tracks, Slip, but I think they sound just different enough to make them stand out from each other. October to me is kind of boring. It's solid, but really doesn't stand out all that much compared to everything else on here. After this we get Sleepless, which is a great trip-hoppy track that likens back to the Get Scraped era of Joel's music. It has an awesome beat and some cool techno melodies above it. Overall, a really cool track that I would say is one of the best on the LP.
Now we get into Failbait, which features none other than mainstay hip-hop act Cypress Hill. You know, the ones who made Insane in the Membrane. (INSANE IN THE BRAIN! ...Sorry, that was irrelevant.) The verses and flow on here are classic Cypress Hill and are honestly delivered really well. The beat has a cool mechanical theme that I really like, and this is definitely one of the highlights of the entire album. To close this heck of a ride, we have Telemiscommunications, a nice closer with lyrics delivered by British singer Imogen Heap that depict several phone calls with a man's lover. Her singing is stellar here, and the beat is very cool in its experimental style.
And that's the full album! This is definitely one of deadmau5's best records, as you're probably tired of hearing me say. Sure, it's got some hit-or-miss tracks on it, but at best it's a very fun LP that has some awesome beats and melodies. I would recommend this one to anyone who wants to get into Zimmerman's work.
