Bassnectar’s newest album, Divergent Spectrum, stays consistent with his usual style. Most of his albums have each had their own unique mix of similarly styled songs, and this one is no different.
If you don’t know who Bassnectar is, he is one of the most well-known and successful dubstep artists. Dubstep is one of the fastest growing and diverse genres of electronic music, which has also seen a recent resurgence in popularity.
Bassnectar is known for hip-hop styled beats and percussion seen best in The Matrix, with hip-hop vocals throughout most of the song. His scathingly intense electronic drops and some of the heaviest bass you’ve ever heard will remind some and teach other why he calls himself Bassnectar. His newest album comes off a little less bizarre than some of his past work, which might scare away those new to the genre. Divergent Spectrum will be a bit more welcoming to those who haven’t listened to a lot of dubstep before.
Upside Down starts the album off hard, and is definitive of his unique style, it also sets the pace for the rest of the album, with most of the songs being similarly styled. Bassnectar exhibits his usual revamping style with remixes of songs by gypsy-punk champions Gogol Bordello, and British electro pop star Ellie Goulding. With past remixes usually being mostly of other dubstep artists, it’s nice to see Bassnectar remix some more popular artists, especially one from a very distant genre in the case of Gogol Bordello.
Don’t let the punk or the hip-hop fool you. This is dance music. It reaches farther than its usual home at the club or the rave. You could jam this album anywhere, a party, in your headphones while bombing the ski hill, or in your car on the freeway. Which is where I put Bassnectar to the test, a car with a good sound system and preferably a subwoofer will really show what he is made of.
The best track on the album is Red Step, collaboration will close electronic artist Jantsen. Meshing techno synthesizers and a tribal clap-kick for over a minute before a face melting bass drop that is perhaps the hardest on the whole album.
A frequent issue I have with electronic music is that by halfway through a lot of songs, the beats and effects start to get repetitive after a while. Bassnectar is notoriously good at keeping his songs interesting from beginning to end.
If Divergent Spectrum is your cup of tea, consider delving farther back into Bassnectar’s discography, albums Cozza Frenzy and Timestrech will surely be up your alley. While this album is good, it certainly doesn’t outshine Bassnectar’s past work, but it might not be a bad place to start for those less acquainted with electronic music.
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elinko@mavs.coloradomesa.edu