Each week we’ll be partnering with The QR Network to compile a short weekly recap of notable tracks that we didn’t have time to cover during the previous week. We hope you enjoy our selection and if you have any tracks you’d like to see here, please feel free to use our contact form or post your suggestions in the comments.
Wasback, DIVARO & RMCM – Over Again
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When you first see the artists that worked on this track, you might think this was a premium release. However when you give this track a listen, you’ll see that while all of these artists have been released on the label before, this track is a strong generic offering at best. The typical, flat male vocals paired with a midi guitar are enjoyable as is the progressive, upbeat melody that plays through the track. However, no matter how much emotion they try to squeeze out of the lyrics and melody, it still feels like this track is from an older time. Which isn’t a bad thing by any means, this is all just to say that this track doesn’t particularly stand out in 2018.
78/100
Sick Individuals & Jewelz & Sparks – Reaction
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Seeing these names come together is sure to build some hype, and when you play this track, you’re greeted by strong vocoder work which truly gets you pumped up for the drop. However when the time finally comes to show their true colors, they settle for absolutely abhorrent, unoriginal simplicity. Calling back to recent simple hits like Dannic’s “No Dip” or Jewels & Spark’s “Safari,” this track just doesn’t have enough power to hold up its own weight. In its defense, the second breakdown turns those powerful vocals into a euphoric melody which carries you into the next disappointing drop. While to their credit, they did change things up by adding some chromatic elements, it’s not enough to save this disappointing collaboration between these two strong producing powerhouses.
62/100
JAGGS – Gravity
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JAGGS has always brought power and originality to the genres they choose to bring their sound into. This venture into bass house further reinforces the duo’s versatility and creativity. It’s impossible not to get sucked in and pump your fist to the breakdowns fueled by this deep, powerful, vocoded acapella which will surely have your fist pumping. However, while the drop has those signature JAGGS bass growls, it doesn’t seem to click as well as “Heavy Guns” or “Like This” which are both simple drops yet so energetic. Over the years, JAGGS has taken their sound to many sub-genres within house and so this bass house experiment is still fantastic to see. They’re putting their sound through the gamut and keeping it fresh. While we might not particularly enjoy the drop in this one, more JAGGS is always a good thing. Who knows, maybe it’ll grow on you.
81/100
KSHMR & 7 Skies – Neverland
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As EDM evolves, it’s been interesting to see these really nostalgic movements in 2018 like Protocol releasing more progressive house tracks and Hardwell & Blasterjaxx teaming up for a big room anthem about the genre itself. With “Neverland” KSHMR seems trying to cash in on this movement by attempting to create a new festival anthem. It starts off with this hardstyle-esque vocal followed by what sounds like genuine, human whistling. That whistling is so realistic that it’s almost offsetting because it seems like there are imperfect notes which just don’t quite sound right. The synth kicks in to bring back that familiarity followed by a shorter than usual four bars of build to a generic big room drop. These four bars of build feels out of place for such an anthemic sounding melody. It feels like they could have gotten more mileage out of that first drop. The only modern aspect of this track is adding the psy trance elements at the tail end of the first drop. At the start of the second breakdown, they tease us with some wild carnival trap sounds but those quickly fade out to make way for more guitar and whistling to the same melody. The second breakdown is much more fleshed out and complete feeling than the first, but the abrupt transition to increase the tempo for the second hardstyle drop ruins any sort of headway that KSHMR and 7 Skies had made. The drop is powered by some weak hardstyle or hard bounce kicks which lack the fine details which true hardstyle producers put into their work. “Neverland feels like what it would sound like if KSHMR blended with Steve Aoki. This would have been a hit a few years ago, but for now it’s just a above-average transition track for DJ sets.
77/100
Prismo – Solo
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“Solo” sounds like what would happen if Imagine Dragons was a true EDM group. It almost sounds like a blend between Two Feet’s “Go F*ck Yourself” and Imagine Dragons’ “Believer.” Prismo really takes this track to the next level with power and swing that will surely make your head bob and body sway. There’s a bit too much high passing and high frequencies to be a true gem, but it’s a damn good, powerful, energizing song.
88/100
Merk & Kremont – Hands Up (Raven & Kreyn Remix)
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Such an interesting piece I wrote about when it came out. Happy pop stuff. R&K speed it up to future house speed and add their “Honey” sounds. It’s simple, bright, enjoyable. Feels a bit empty but the time spent listening feels enjoyed. Great for DJs and Future House lovers. Again the structure is pretty copy paste but it’s an enjoyable sample/vocal/original so this is a fun new take on it
82/100
R3HAB & Skytech – Starflight
R3HAB has been quite prolific as of late with lots of midtempo and future bass tracks. With this latest collaboration with longtime partner, Skytech, they return to their roots of progressive house to the much needed relief of R3HAB’s long time fans. The melodies in the breaks are reminiscent of Sonny Bass & Timmo Hendrick’s “Slingshot” and the drop is pretty standard fare as well. If you wanted progressive R3HAB and Skytech, here you have it, but if you wanted something unique, keep on looking.
78/100
Twoloud – My game (Sonic One Remix)
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While the original was an enjoyable Brazilian bass track with catchy loops, this one is something much more. It blends electro house with this new future bass house trend as well as a hint of big room. Sonic One didn’t doo much to edit the breaks but the drop is just so unique for blending so many styles together. This is certainly the definitive version of this track in our opinion.
84/100
Armin van Buuren x Vini Vici x Alok – United
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United feels like a follow-up to Armin van Buuren’s latest mainstream hit, “Blah Blah Blah.” It follows the same structure and uses the same tricks an synths. “United” starts off with a catchy, hummable melody but the first drop gets overtaken by Vini Vici’s psy-trance mania with no build to warrant the amount of energy. The second break has this call and response between the chanting and a flute paired with percussion. This all leads up perfectly to the second which is much more fluid, fun, and jovial. Not as energetic but it makes me want to dance and sway much more than the first. The same synths used in “Blah Blah Blah” take over the melody for the second part before heading into an orchestral third breakdown. One can only wonder if the crowd will still be with the DJs after all of this time of making them chant this one melody over and over for three breakdowns. To make matters worse, the third drop is just plain strange. The flute takes over along with some white noise to indicate how much energy you should be feeling but the result just leaves us scratching our heads and asking why. “United” has some great source material but it drags on for far too long and is completely butchered by strange arrangement choices. Hopefully the remixes will be great.
74/100
We hope you enjoyed our recap of selected songs from last week. If there is a song that you felt should have been on here, be sure to leave it in the comments below and we’ll do our best to give our take on it. Certain songs were not included because they will be covered in more detail in the following days so make sure you’re following our social media pages to see all of our latest posts!
In case you missed it, here are the songs and stories we covered last week!
Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Far Out Remix)
Seven Lions Ft. Fiora – Dreamin’
This recap was provided in part by The QR Network which is a blog for interviews with producers and DJs such as Husman, Gustaf Bjornberg, Jordan Jay, Axollo, and Protohype to name a few.
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