Bangarang EP

Skrillex blew me away with Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites; this time, he gives us a follow-up that feels more direct and less layered. The hooks aren't as mindblowing as Scary Monsters, but there's enough on here to satisfy. While there was less vocal layering than I would like, this album deserved every penny I paid for it. Let's take it a track at a time.

01. Right In: Definitely feeling the drop at around 0:59 (sounds like S-S-SONNNYY). Whenever Skrillex layers vocals and instruments into a melody, it's creates a very powerful effect. While the other distorted, "transformers-sounding" drops are more forgettable, this beginning track sets off the album right, with an absolute club shaker coming in afterward - reminding me of why I love Skrillex.

02. Bangarang: The drop hits HARD. Sirah was NOT needed, however; I am not feeling this sudden mix of house music with rap (David Guetta, recent tracks by Deadmau5 with Sofi); this may be an opinion of only mine, because it keeps happening, but I digress. This is definitely one of my favorite drops by Skrillex, though, hands down.

03. Breakn' a Sweat: The centerpiece of the album comes in at full force, with one of the most ADDICTING hooks I've ever heard in a song. This collaboration with the Doors showcases Ray Manzarek's awesome keyboarding abilities that I'm sure we're all well aware of; Skrillex takes hold of the buildup and never lets it down, repeating a chorus that is more than well-deserved to be repeated, although one bridge too many. A nice quote from Jim Morrison from back in the day accurately predicts how the song it is featured in has been made; very interesting.

04. The Devil's Den (feat. Wolfgang Gartner): This is definitely a different style for Skrillex, for all of those people saying that he is mostly rehashing his old presets on his Massive VST. Wolfgang Gartner gives this track not only a different BPM, but a different feel overall - becoming the closest thing we can get to at the moment of what a collab with the Mau5 would sound like.

05. Right on Time: This is two different songs, with the 2nd starting at 1:39, and then going back to the first at 2:50. Personally, my least favorite song. A discord synth that reminds me of the most generic house music you can think of, with an extremely repetitive "RIGHT-ON-TIME" sample playing throughout the whole time. I had to skip this one, although I listened to the whole album straight through. I know that Skrillex is trying to venture into other genres, and he definitely has. But this is just a mistake.

06. Kyoto: The hook is pure quality. One of his best; so good, to the point where Sirah actually fitted in here. The guitar hook, the rolling hip-hop snares, everything about this track shows Skrillex getting into a more hip-hop/rock/crunk feel, but still sticking to what he's known for best: distorted dubstep & electro. But honestly, I'm only using genres for comparison; I still am at a loss for words in terms of a genre to put Sonny Moore in. And it shows - with his wide variety of musical styles, apparent with the transition from this to the next track.

07. Summit: The "With You, Friends" of Bangarang. Very light, but in contrast to "With You", keeps it's tempo and beat all throughout (besides a few well-fitted breakdowns). The "chill" track of the album, it sends us off with a feeling of uncertainty, as if there might be a second part to an album that was already a sequel.

In short, this album is worth buying. Is it a complete work? In a sense, yes. Does it feel that way? Unfortunately, no - but if you like catchy electronic music that you can dance to, and has a recognizable well-crafted hook, then you will easily enjoy Skrillex's newest work. You can always be a critic, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this - ignore the fact that Skrillex has put something out similar to this, and instead let your instinct allow you to decide.

A 22 year old kid at work turned me on to this.
People my age can't believe I listen to Skrillex.

I've always liked electronic music but there's always been separation between all the sub-genres. Skrillex's work cannot be defined by classification really. Bangarang EP is his latest and flows from start to finish (though the titles wouldn't really indicate so). It's very high energy, and you'll find yourself bobbin' to the beat during whatever it is that you're doing. There were some mixes out there (I'm thinking about Bangarang) done by other DJs, but Skrillex's sound is very unique and polished, so these songs still sound new and different to me. If you've listened to most of his work, you'll agree that you can't really categorize it (and you shouldn't). That's his visionary style. Forum-warriors will duke it out to determine where he belongs along the spectrum of electronic music. He doesn't care. He just sees "music", and that's good. Nowadays, I tell people to just listen. If you like it, you like it; if you don't, you don't. Plain and simple.

I listen to a lot of electronic music and like to try things by new acts. That's how I discovered Matthew Dear and deadmau5 and I've very much enjoyed their music. In reading some material, I noticed Joel Zimmerman's name (aka, deadmau6) mentioned along with Skrillex so I had to try his music. I bought "Scary Monsters and Nice Spirits." I had mixed feelings about the CD. He showed promise as a composer, but the recording was just a hodge-podge. Well, I liked it enough that I bought his latest CD "Bangarang." My feelings are much the same. Here and there Skrillex shows real promise. Then comes a mixture of awful sounds that just ruins the composition. What a disappointment. This guy could write some genuinely beautiful music, if someone would just take all his strange electronic gadgets away from him. Just because he can produce a plethora of weird sounds doesn't mean that he has to.

Alas, Skrillex has caught major attention very early in his career and this is both good and bad. One, I'm happy for his success. But two, much attention brings much pressure to produce and I don't think he's ready. He needs to be cloistered away somewhere and work on a really refined CD masterpiece, such as several produced by dreadmau5 ("Random Album Title" and "For Lack of a Better Name" come to mind). I think he's wasting his creative energies on these little EP quickies.They're partly good, however. Just look at the enthusiastic responses in the reviews. What could he do with a masterpiece CD?

Gary Peterson

This album is great. I will say this though, I got sick of it rather quickly, but this is a personal experience. Dubstep in general got old rather quickly. I was a super fan (or bandwagoner if you will) for months, then all the sudden it fell of the map.

I recommend it to any dubstep fan however.