Midway through this month already, and the releases are ramping up in number by the Friday. Nevertheless, we are here to cover as much it is humanely possible. Martin Garrix, Salvatore Ganacci, Barely Alive and more star-studded names are here for the eighteenth roundup.

Also, my colleagues happened to cover about other songs from Pegboard Nerds and Jeffrey Sutorius, feel free to read about those in greater details!

Martin Garrix, Matisse & Sadko – Won’t Let You Go (ft. John Martin)
68+1/100

Lightning doesn’t strike twice, or if it even did, certainly not after that. That is the case with this collaboration between an all too familiar team-up of Martin Garrix and Matisse and Sadko, with the renowned John Martin in the vocal department… what could go wrong after all?

Technically, it sounds great. Soulfully? Not so much. It tries to milk the same usual “festival progressive house” stamp the trio have done over and over, even when the latter were mentioned on credits only. And this time it’s slower, so you know its new and better. If you do happen to admire it, no worries. But as a critic, its better to point out clearly hackneyed approach.

Armin van Buuren, Susana – Home With You (Rising Star Remix)
83/100

Bringing back his demanded alias “Rising Star” for another tempting VIP remix, the Dutch trance veteran gave a classic and euphoric treatment to “Home With You”, an orchestral ballad in its original form.

Since their evergreen collaboration “Shivers” that came years before, the pair haven’t lost the spark- pairing pounding drums and emotional synths led by hypnotic vocals, the drop emulates a peak-timer schema beloved by fans of the genre, although maintaining that delicate aspect of the slower prototype version.

Salvatore Ganacci – Can you speak English
No hables inglés/100

After a banging “Step-Grandma” (hey don’t give me that look!), the Bosnian-Swedish master memelord that he is, Salvatore Ganacci has come forth with his final single for the year “Can you speak English”.

Idiosyncratic and weird as it gets, the song (probably) samples a hilariously crude moment in Malaysian parliament that went viral. Choosing a slower pace with gritty percussions and unexpectedly lightweight pads, the production changes between a comically “zen” vibes to a complete hard-hitting “throw dirty moves” stance.

Conclusion – Ganacci has ascended to whole another dimension for us mere mortals to understand fully.

Sub Zero Project – Rave Culture 2022
82/100

The song which started it all – “Rave Culture” by W&W was the inaugurating single for the titular label, which has now garnered millions of streams thanks to its ever-expanding roster of talents, inclusive of all festivals genres.

Inviting Sub Zero Project for delivering a hammering twist on the original, “Rave Culture 2022” begins with the recognizable melodic riff, changed later by more distorted saw-synths. Myriad of drops launch one after another there after, from hard-psy to hardstyle, each picking its own weapons of choice- the kickdrums.

It’s mention worthy for being a great edit. Definitely for the ones who have followed since the imprint’s earliest days.

Crystal Lake, Matty McDonald – Years
84/100

There’s another hardstyle tune for the readers obsessed with the driving style, only a bit more melodic and experimental this time around.

Formulating a hybrid between a bittersweet 2000s rock styled breakdown, it picks up the pace later with a striking hardstyle drop. It’s not everyday that you would see a gorgeous amalgamation such as this, so highly recommended!

Barely Alive – Flak Jacket
85/100

Even a body armor wouldn’t be enough to preserve you from this explosion that “Flak Jacket” makes happen.

A cohort of highly contorted and distorted synths go in rampage mode on this one, as abrupt FXs and vocals don’t let the groove break a sweat as it decimates. There’s also a mystical Arabian hymn that comes and goes, elevating the already creative beat.

As a part of the massively sized and romping “Disciple Alliance Vol. 7”, this is but another bomb in a stack of dynamite, if that makes sense.

Bonus Review

Kill The Noise – Don’t Look Back (with MOELLE)
77/100

Part of KTN upcoming album, “Don’t Look Back” shows an impressive amount of dynamism with a brutal Dubstep schema, in line with the artist’s newest strategies. The first drop impressed me with its melodic pattern, perfectly blending with MOELLE’s vocal, while the final one didn’t particularly stand out in my priorities.

Still a solid release!

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