“Fight till you can’t fight”
Formulaic yet jarring, predictable yet adrenaline filled, Skrillex’s music presents something of a Catch-22 situation for music critics, one where ample ammunition is provided to both the “he’s shit” and “he’s amazing” lines of thought. However, no matter which side of the ‘Skrillex Paradox’ you fall I’d urge you strongly to put aside any prejudices you may have and take a listen to Recess, the title track from his latest album. Bearing all the hallmarks of the Sonny Moore template for success; crude bass drops, distorted synths and a reach for the lasers chorus, it’d be easy to label this as just another off his production line, it’d also be a mistake. Hidden underneath the maximalist production is a song rife with emotional subtext, that plays with the drunken dance-floor nostalgia for Fatman Scoop’s ‘Put Your Hands Up’ and delivers the sort of genuinely melancholy hook that Passion Pit’s Angelakos excels at. It’s Moore going back to his Emo roots to create something which on paper shouldn’t work, but in practice sounds thrilling.