By Matthew Goodman | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Fun-filled pop icons Taylor Swift and One Direction were joined on the charts by a sonic assault from the likes of Australia’s electronic duo, Knife Party.
“Abandon Ship” is the first studio album from producers Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen since they were in the electronic rock group, Pendulum.
Originally slated for an October 27th debut, the album has been pushed back to an in-store release date of November 24th, much to fans’ dismay.
To the relief of many, iTunes goofed up and released the album several weeks early. Knife Party made the announcement on Facebook along with a picture showing the album’s #3 spot on United States iTunes charts.
The album also landed at #2 on Australian iTunes charts and #4 in the United Kingdom.
Three songs were released prior to the album and became available for download with an iTunes pre-order.
“Boss Mode,” a heavy mix trap beats with dubstep buildups, has one of the most impressive drops to hit records in recent memory. The trap style, which many listeners find similar to hip hop beats, led some fans to bash Knife Party for caving to what’s currently popular in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene.
“Resistance” is a more traditional Knife Party song, coming with plenty of laser noises and wobbling bass at a fast tempo.
The third song released before the album, “Begin Again,” features vocals from Rob Swire and is very reminiscent of the work the duo did in their band Pendulum.
Fans of Knife Party’s previous EPs, “100% No Modern Talking” and “Rage Valley,” will not be disappointed as there are plenty of fast, hard hitting tracks on “Abandon Ship” like “Resistance,” “404,” and “Red Dawn.” Listeners will also find a variety of different genres that they may or may not like.
EDM producers are constantly being criticized for changing their style, more so, even, than rock bands. When Skrillex released his first studio album “Recess” in March of 2014, it completely revamped the way people looked at his music. The change from heavy dubstep tracks with violent sounding bass drops to hip-hop and reggae influenced tracks led many fans to claim they were leaving.
Skrillex can’t complain about record sales, though, as “Recess” reached #4 on the Billboard Top 200.
Knife Party is aware of the trend of changing music and they seem pretty accepting of the fact that not everyone will like the songs. Their song “Superstar” features a very poppy, “disco” styled dance beat with vocals from Bryn Christopher of I See MONSTAS. In the middle of the song, the group mocks critics with the lyrics “Oh my god. What the f*** is this disco s***? What happened to the dubstep?” The song then slowly transitions to a heavier climax that longtime fans would be more accustomed to.
Studio albums have become more popular among EDM producers as of late. Popular artists like Porter Robinson, Feed Me and Skrillex all released their debut studio albums fairly recently, the oldest being Feed Me’s “Calamari Tuesday” which came out in October of 2013. Deadmau5, who has been releasing full length albums for years, released his seventh studio album “while(1<2)” in June of 2014.
Feed Me’s album reached as high as #3 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums in the US while Skrillex, Porter Robinson and Deadmau5 all hit the #1 position following their release. Knife Party’s “Abandon Ship” will likely reach a high chart position on the Dance/Electronic Album chart (currently topped by Disclosure’s “Settle”), if not doing the same on the Top 200 chart.
EDM is an incredibly fluid medium of music. Knife Party’s album shows how a group can be successful and create quality work while toying with their style. “Abandon Ship” is an intense audial show that stays faithful enough to their wild dubstep fan base while moving the group forward at the same time, and it’s definitely worth the price of admission.
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