The Upbeats – Primitive Technique (Vision Recordings)
For the most part, I’ve kind of shied away from writing reviews of electronic music. I listen to a lot of it, but somehow reviewing a genre that is so varied and diverse, not to mention one that isn’t as familiar to me as metal or punk, always seems a little overwhelming. However, when I heard the latest offering by The Upbeats, I knew I had to break my silence and share this the world! Or, at any rate, any Richmonders who bother to read my reviews.
The Upbeats – Primitive Technique (Vision Recordings)
For the most part, I’ve kind of shied away from writing reviews of electronic music. I listen to a lot of it, but somehow reviewing a genre that is so varied and diverse, not to mention one that isn’t as familiar to me as metal or punk, always seems a little overwhelming. However, when I heard the latest offering by The Upbeats, I knew I had to break my silence and share this the world! Or, at any rate, any Richmonders who bother to read my reviews.
The Upbeats are a drum n’ bass production duo from New Zealand, consisting of producers Jeremy Glenn and Dylan Jones, also known as Terror Snake and Downie Wolf. They have been making music together since 2001, and have released three albums before Primitive Technique, which came out this April. It seemed a bit unfair to review a new release without being previously familiar with the band, so I checked out their catalogue, and was pretty impressed with all of it. It seems that they have always played a harder blend of drum n’ bass known colloquially as Neurofunk. It’s a bit hard to explain, but basically, Neurofunk is super dancey bass music influenced by the catchiness and energy of funk and techno, but created using the same sound design as dark dubstep or hardstyle, and resulting in what sounds like the soundtrack to some evil, cosmic dance party. The Upbeats are especially good at conjuring this vibe; they always use super dark-sounding basses, drums, and synth pads, and a lot of their songs are themed around concepts involving space. I did notice that each of their older albums has a good deal of variation, with some songs that really grabbed me and others that didn’t stand out so much. Their first, self-titled album was a little sillier and happier-sounding than their newer stuff, although it was still a really solid release.
Which brings me to the subject of this review, Primitive Technique. I first heard this album when I was browsing new drum n’ bass artists online. I was intrigued by their name and the cool imagery on the album cover. I was immediately blown away by the opening track, “Beyond Reality,” an extremely dancey and aggressive track boasting blaring synth pads and crunchy basslines, and tempered with weird interludes that calmly highlight the eerie spaceship beeping sounds from Star Trek. After that strong opening, the album then moves into “Drum Stop,” one of the catchiest dance songs I’ve ever heard, and then on to “Diffused,” which has some clean vocals and synth work that almost make it cheesy, but work just well enough that the song is another huge success. Rather than slow down after this, the album gets heavier and heavier up until the track called “Thrasher,” which has crazy drums and sounds more like a hardstyle song, and then slows down with the ambient “Interlude” and the weird, retro-sounding “Falling Into Place,” before quickly picking up again. Another track worth mentioning by name is “Alone,” the album’s second single. It features vocals from Tasha Baxter, and is an awesome example of how female vocals can be incorporated into a track without sounding corny or annoying. They sound haunting, trip-hoppy, and great, and go so well with the production.
Really, my only complaint about the album, if you can call it a complaint, is that at fourteen songs, most of which are over six minutes long, listening to the entire thing can be a bit of a chore. I was convinced at first that I just didn’t like the last half of album as much, but when I started at track ten and listened from there, I realized it is almost as good as the first–the repetition in sound design and style just gets a tiny bit old after a while. This would be OK, since it is dance music, and therefore more single-focused and less heavy on the “you have to hear the whole album” approach of traditional rock music. However, it feels like a bit of a shame, since they took the time to lay the album out like a craftily planned DJ set, with all the songs seamlessly blending into each other. The tracks seem written with their surrounding songs in mind, and nothing is unnatural or out of place. One slightly disappointing moment is the track “Again I”–the production is amazing, but Armanni Reign, the garage-sounding rapper on the track, is mixed a little loudly, and his flow comes off as a bit heavy-handed at times. Still, these few slight glitches (bad pun intended) are definitely worth dealing with to enjoy the awesomeness that is this album.
I would overwhelmingly recommend The Upbeats to anyone who likes dark electronic music or drum n’ bass. They’d also be up the alley of any casual listeners who discovered Noisia from their hit single “Split The Atom,” or who love the glitch-hop stylings of Bassnectar and want to expand their musical vocabulary a bit further. Hell, I would even go so far as to recommend this to anyone who appreciates really solid production. If you want to listen to something that sounds like an evil, cosmic dance party, check this album out right away!
