SKisM: Down with the Kids EP

When I started this blog, I thought it would be a good outlet to share my taste in 80s and 90s alternative and indie, particularly that which was slightly left of "left of the dial." A dash of punk, a hint of shoegaze. The biggest deviation from the broad "rock" heading would be some posts expressing my love for trip-hop. That's the most electronic I'll get on this blog, I thought. I've never been a big electro fan, save for the odd 8-bit stuff, anyway.

As one might guess, I don't have a whole lot of experience with electronic music. My collections of glowsticks and synthetic drug experiences are embarrassingly small, and my knowledge of electronic subgenre taxonomy is limited. I do indeed realize that I'm putting myself forward for electro-hipster ridicule by even attempting a post on this subject, but this post (as well as my next planned post [!]) is about "dubstep." I use the quotes because a lot of people can't quite agree on what "dubstep" is exactly.

To be clear, I will be using it to define the musical chainsaw sound that can be found pulsing through pretty much every party you go to. You know, the downtempo whirrs, buzzes, and wub-wub-wubs that you hear before you hear the police sirens answering a noise complaint. (Some dubstep artists have gotten efficient, cutting out the middleman by incorporating the sirens into their songs.)

Anyway, my first journalistic foray into this strange, dimly-lit (by glowsticks) world is to cover the "Down with the Kids" EP by London-based artist SKisM, a five-track aural explosion. This album, which perhaps leans a bit more towards filthy IDM music than most, is often thoughtful and generally remains fresh, even amongst a genre built on a specific sound where each song sounds remarkably similar to the last. Well, to me, anyway.

The gem of this EP is easily the first track, "Rave Review," the title being simultaneously ironic and a play on words. The song samples large chunks from a spoken word piece by Henry Rollins (easily found on YouTube), in which the hardcore punk legend releases an intense diatribe on the moronic simplicity of bad rave music. (Get it now?) While certainly ambitious (turning a Henry Rollins rant about rave music into a rave anthem?), the execution is brilliant. Even if you don't like this kind of music, this song is definitely worth a listen, if only for a bit of a laugh at the genius that unfolds throughout the song, as the music builds on each section of the rant. Hardcore punk and electro fans alike should be able to appreciate this song for that very reason.

The rest of the album perhaps isn't quite as inventive, but it holds its own. If you're a fan of dubstep that is looking for something a bit more intelligent than those boneheaded party anthems by Skrillex and the like, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this EP. And even if you are just looking for some good drops; don't worry, the wub-wub-buzz-shoomps are all here. Like I said, I don't know much about dubstep, nor do I generally care for it at all, but I do know that this EP contains most of the handful of dubstep songs that I can actually tolerate.

Tune in next time for the "dubstep" song (and its remix) that floored me and inspired my newfound ... respect ... for the genre.

Track Listing:

1. Rave Review
2. Elixir
3. Power 
4. Rise Of The Idiots (Remix)
5. Back Off (Remix)