Artist: LAXX
Album: Step Two
Label: Never Say Die Records
Genre: Bass music

Naysayers would lead the uneducated electronic music fan to believe it’s all downhill from here as repetitive festival house tracks among others plague the scene and producers leave behind their strengths to capitalize on trends, but it’s simply not the case. Rather, right now is a truly exciting time for the scene as there is a plethora of producers experimenting with new sounds and expanding their visibility daily, one of those being Oxford-based musician LAXX. Never looking to stay within any sort of comfort zone, he is proficient at constantly modifying his sound, and this notion shines on Step Two.

As a whole, Step Two tends to lean towards the club ready hip-hop influenced side of LAXX’s catalog with ecstatic synth work and snares as seen on album opener “Brainbug.” Weaving back and forth across like a sonic rollercoaster, the track continuously switches back and forth from adrenaline-pumping buildups that climax into barrages of synths at full blast while the percussion lays out a base of pure swagger. While the album’s title track follows a similar route, “The Limit” takes a glitched-out turn that is not a banger by any means as it maintains a relaxed flow of calming synths that are occasionally interrupted by choppy sounds aplenty, but it still calls for a session of vibing out and absorbing the song more carefully. Similar to most of TNGHT’s hallmark debut EP, these tracks are all unique in their own right, but they are united by the fact that the intention for them obviously lies inside packed rooms and open-air festivals as they are begging to be heard via massive speaker systems pumping out bass at full force for crowds to embrace the music.

Topping off the three original cuts, the album closer is an absolutely destructive remix of “Brainbug” by MUST DIE! that turns the trapped-out cut into a coldblooded dubstep tune with piercing high-pitched synths that audibly slice up LAXX’s original into a completely different monster. While not fitting in with the rest of the EP sonically, there’s no reason for complaints as it does a fine job of closing out a fantastic addition to LAXX’s catalog.

SCORE: 8/10
Review written by: Michael Giegerich (Follow him on Twitter)

Purchase Step Two on Beatport

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Mike Giegerich

Mike Giegerich is a freelance journalist with an affinity for the hip-hop scene. His top-five favorite records of all time are Future's last five releases. Feel free to blow up his mentions on Twitter.

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