Skream Presents The Freeizm Album

Skream
Skream Presents The Freeizm Album
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

And you thought I couldn't possibly have more free music for you, right? Well, you would be wrong. Skream, one of the godfathers of dubstep, continues his habit of putting out unreleased material for free. Freeizm is an interesting cross section of material from him. The album doesn't necessarily work as an "album" per se; the tracks are not that cohesive. With that said, however, the songs are not mere sketches or unpolished demos, but are completed tracks that didn't fit within the confines of his album last year, Outside the Box.

While the majority of tracks on Freeizm are typical dubstep material, skittering beats, and the omnipresent bass wobble, Skream does venture into other territory, noticeably drum and bass, downtempo, and even a slight excursion into beatless ambient land. Strangely enough, it is these excursions that stand out more on the album, like on the drum and bass highlight "Emotional Shizzle:"



the drill n bass workout "Krazy Snares" with it's almost annoying use of a cell phone vibration as percussion:



the jazzy, downtempo of "Cold Outside," which works in Skream's penchant for 808 State style sax:



or the dreamy, dub influenced "Minor:"



But of course, most people will want to listen to Skream's dubstep output, and his fans will not be disappointed, as there are plenty of tracks featuring his trademark bass wobble. Highlights include the skittering "Lightning VIP:"



the unrelentingly brutal bass wobble of "Commercial Sellout:"



and the aptly named "Skwelcha:"



What I liked about a lot of these tracks were that, although they stuck to the requisite dubstep template, Skream would add just enough of his own personality into the songs to make them interesting, either through a bizarre piece of percussion (as noted with the use of a cell phone vibration) or some unexpected breakdown towards the middle of a track.

Freeizm is a nice overview of what Skream has been doing over the back end of 2010. What it lacks for in cohesiveness, it definitely makes up for in breadth and depth. And it is free, so what are you waiting for, download the damn thing.

http://www.liveforthefunk.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-skream-presents-freeizm/

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 great; 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.