I'm so sorry for the immense delay in posting this review! I started back at college on Wednesday, so I spent the first half of last week making sure that all of the college work I'd been set was done, and spent the latter half doing yet more homework and college-y stuff. College does take up a lot of my time, but I'm going to try my best to post something once a week (at the very least) on this blog, so at any one time an update will never be too far away!
The album cover of 'Electronic Earth' by Labrinth, © Syco
Labrinth's 'Electronic Earth' has taken the world of pop and electronic music by storm. An entire 5 tracks from the album have been released as singles so far, with a 6th one in the pipeline. The album has been immensely successful both in terms of radio airplay, and in terms of the support received from music fans. In the first week of the its release alone, it sold over 32,000 copies and entered the UK Albums Chart at number two - a great feat considering that it is Labrinth's first (and only) album. Although 'Electronic Earth' isn't without some weak moments, overall it's an impressive and very innovative effort from a relatively new artist.
Rather than meticulously writing about every single moment of every single track, Twin Atlantic style, I thought I'd pick out a few tracks that seem to sum up the album: The best track, the worst track, and one that sits in between.
Top Track: 'Sweet Riot'
'Sweet Riot' is a song that, surprisingly, hasn't been released as one of the album's many singles. After all, it is undoubtedly one of strongest tracks on 'Electronic Earth'; a song that's just oozing with the creativity and originality that makes Labrinth so popular as a producer. It has everything that you could possibly want from an electronic track: A strong, heavy beat to dance to, prominent synthesizers, lyrics that speak directly to the young target audience - or, to quote the song, "the mosh pit generation" - the list goes on. 'Sweet Riot' even features a (pretty good) guitar solo! It's rare in the world of pop music to find something that sounds totally original and new, but this track defies that rule. If you have 5 minutes to spare, 'Sweet Riot' is a must-listen.
Other Top Tracks on the 'Electronic Earth' album include 'Vultures', 'Earthquake' and 'Last Time'
It's-Alright-I-Suppose Track: 'Express Yourself'
In my opinion, 'Express Yourself' is quite overrated as a track. It does have several strong points - in today's celebrity and perfection-obsessed world, it's great to hear lyrics that give out the message that "it's not what you look like" that matters, for example. Also, like 'Sweet Riot', the track does sound quite unique compared to the material that other artists are producing at the moment. It's instantly identifiable as a Labrinth song.
Compared to tracks like 'Vultures' and 'Earthquake', however, 'Express Yourself' seems distinctly simple and over-commercialised. And although the synthesizers and production of the song sound distinctly Labrinth, the main body of the track is in actuality a cover of 'Express Yourself' by 'Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band' - and Labrinth's version isn't all that different from the original.
The track's still worth listening to, but by no means is it in the same league as the Top Tracks mentioned above.
Similar songs include 'Let The Sun Shine' and 'Treatment'
The 'What Were You Thinking, Labrinth?' Track: 'Sundown'
'Sundown' is, in my opinion, the weakest track on the album. The first 3 minutes and 50 seconds of the song seem to consist only of Labrinth singing crude innuendos and descriptions of a girl who is, apparently, "every man's dream". The track feels slow, lacks a consistent beat, the synths are too subtle and underused, and Labrinth's use of autotune in this slow, quiet song often seems excessive and out of place.
Although the track admittedly increases in pace and vigour (a bit) towards the end, it just seems as though it takes way too long to build up to what is quite an undramatic anticlimax.
Similar tracks include... well, none, because Labrinth is generally an awesome artist, who generally produces much better material than this!
So, that's 'Electronic Earth' in a nutshell. Overall, it's a great, upbeat and fresh album, and one that any pop and/or electronic music fan should definitely have in their record collection! Like any other album, it has some disappointing moments, but it contains an abundance of incredibly exciting tracks like 'Sweet Riot' and 'Climb On Board' that completely outweigh any such lapses in musical judgement.
PsyD
Stay tuned to Superunknown for a review of 'Everlong (Acoustic)' by Foo Fighters! Also, I've already started planning September's edition of 'You Know You're Only In It 'Cause It's Hot Right Now' - this month I'll be posting my top 5 tracks from the world of TV and Film music, so keep an eye out for that article over the next few weeks!
