Skrillex - Recess

Having released a series of EPs over the past five years, LA dubstep producer Sonny Moore, aka Skrillex, has finally gotten around to releasing his debut long-player. Of course, Moore’s distilling of the dubstep formula into a rave-friendly mash-up of thumping beats, squalling noise and mangled vocal samples hasn’t exactly made him a critical darling – a state of affairs unlikely to improve with the stylistically limited Recess.

Skrillex has spearheaded the popularisation of EDM in the States, and his success is understandable given that his default setting is a party-friendly brand of blaring electro. The likes of ‘All Is Fair In Love And Brostep’, ‘Try It Out’ and ‘Dirty Vibe’ are merciless exercises in no-frills dubstep, all pounding rhythms and ferocious synths, hold the subtlety. The producer does attempt to vary the template on occasion, though with decidedly mixed results – the atmospheric electro pulse of the title-track is an unconvincing Aphex Twin tribute, whilst ‘Try It Out’ aims for a mood of urban desolation, only to end up sounding like a Burial record played at the wrong speed.

Following the quirky instrumental interlude ‘Doompy Poomp’, Srillex launches into a quite stylish dance workout, but given that it’s too little, too late, listeners may be tempted to take the track’s title – ‘Fuck That’ – all too seriously.