Outside The Box

Skream
Outside the Box
Rating: Grrrr

It is beginning to look like this is the year that dubstep is looking to expand its territory. Artists well-known in the genre are seemingly more willing to cross-over into a more "pop" area, increasing their audience and opening the doors for people to find out more about what was once a niche sound. Earlier this year, we saw dubstep darling Rusko release his first cd, O.M.G!, which was heavy on cross-over appeal, and also saw him as the guiding force behind the new M.I.A. cd. Now, we have the second full length cd from Skream, who is one of the originators of the dubstep sound. His first cd, Skream!, was actually already leaning in a "pop" direction anyway, so this latest cd doesn't really come as a huge surprise.

There are amazing collaborations with other artists that I could easily see on the radio as well as packing the dancefloors. The two standouts are the song "Where You Should Be" featuring Sam Frank, with its wobbly bassline, squonking synths, and autotuned vocals, it is by far the most commercial track on the cd.



Probably the other song that will get the most attention is his collaboration with La Roux, "Finally," where her delicate voice is perfectly encapsulated into the haunting melody.



He also shows amazing production skills with Freckles on "How Real," basically cut and pasting her voice into almost a secondary percussion on the banging track.



The cd shows a nice range between these forays into a more mainstream sound and singles that are definite hardcore dubstep, such as the blistering track "Wibbler":



or the track "Fields of Emotion," which is more on the dub side of the genre:



But it is really the songs where he merges the sounds seamlessly that he truly shows promise. First single "Listenin' To Records On My Wall" is a perfect example:



Also, the video for the song is completely amazing.

The cd is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There is a definite pacing issue, with the first three tracks being the three least interesting on the record, which makes getting to the meat of the album a long slog. But once the Sam Frank track takes over there is rarely a misstep. It will be interesting to see where Skream goes from here. My hope is that he keeps towing the line between the hardcore and the more mainstream, as it would make the dubstep sound much more interesting in the long run.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not good; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.