Knife Party - 100% No Modern Talking EP

Posted on Dec 15, 2011 in Bangers, Brand New, Compilation Album, DubStep

If you haven’t heard of Knife Party by now, you are making a major mistake. Knife Party is the new side project of Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, of Pendulum fame. Last Monday they released they feverishly anticipated EP “100% No Modern Talking”. For those perplexed by the title, it’s an ironic “tip of the hat” to a particular plug-in setting in Massive used exhaustingly by brostep producers. Even if the EP is in fact NOT “100% No Modern Talking”, there is no one out there who can say it is nothing less than an absolute juggernaut. Boasting three ridiculous electro-house anthems and one dubstep head-thrasher, this record is yet another nearly perfect piece of work to join the esteemed ranks of other OWSLA releases.

However (and this is less of a critique and more of a simple observation), this album breaks no new ground. Rather, it is the quintessential brostep symphony. You’ve got your basslines, kicks, uplifters, breakdowns, wobbles, womps, vocal cuts, and all of the pejorative descriptors of those elements (face-melting, sternum-shattering, childhood innocence stripping, etc…). But there is nothing I can walk away with saying, “Wow, that changed the game.” Again, this is nothing to frown about. This album is incredible. In the short week it has been officially released, each track has already achieved anthem status (went to a Vaski show last night, the club went absolutely off for “Fire Hive”) For your friends, family, lovers, and haters who keep asking you what brostep is, this should be one of the first things you show them.

Track by track “100% No Modern Talking” opens with “Internet Friends,” which tells the tale of a young woman scorned via social media and the wave of bass fury unleashed as a result. It’s a hilariously awesome track with mega synths and real character. Next is “Destroy Them With Lazers,” another electro-house banger composed of an arsenal of lazer fire. The ambient “Sound Of The Ocean” breakdown in the middle offers some much needed respite from the onslaught and then it’s right back in to finish the fight. “Tourniquet” follows with a much funkier, but unfalteringly aggressive ride of cutting synths and growling bass. Wrapping up the EP is the solo dubstep record, “Fire Hive.” This track is my ideal for the genre; massive drop, a swagalicious cadence, and some simple but catchy harmonics so we’re not just listening to a bunch of expertly produced noise.

This EP is fantastic and certainly worth setting on repeat while you study for finals (and consequentially failing all your finals because you thought listening to Knife Party was a good study method). However, the best part of the album is that it was released for 100% FREE, available from their website http://www.knifeparty.com/. So get after it.

DOWNLOAD THE 100% NO MODERN TALKING EP HERE

STARTING A WEB SITE? Get $5.99 .COM domains.