- Diplo's Major Lazer project may be inspired by dancehall, but ultimately they make world-traveling pop music informed by EDM excess. Their records are overloaded with collaborators and crammed so full of ideas that they usually end up fidgety and half-baked. But their biggest hits—"Pon De Floor" and "Original Don" among them—have shown the collective are capable of writing strong pop songs. Apocalypse Soon, their first release since last year's patchy Free The Universe, is their tightest material yet.
The EP opens with "Aerosol Can," which is so uncharacteristically clean and uncluttered it's almost stunning. Augmented by the shake of—you guessed it—an aerosol can, a motor-mouth verse from Pharrell rushes things breathlessly ahead like the bus from Speed: if it slowed down it might blow up (or at least fall apart). Machel Montano guests on the feel-good reggae jam "Sound Bang," which has a hyper-percussive breakdown, while the Mr. Fox-featuring "Dale Asi" apes TNGHT, with apocalyptic hi-hats and angry brass. All of them feel taut and controlled—even the dancehall-EDM of the Sean Paul collaboration "Come On To Me" feels reined in.
RDX and Moska guest on "Lose Yourself," which outlines the overstuffed side of Major Lazer: a synth lead scratches up and down the track, there's an out-of-nowhere autotuned breakdown, and towards the end the increasingly crowded rhythm feels as if it's about to burst. It may sounds too hectic to hold together, but if anything the track is proof that Major Lazer are learning how to manage their shambles.
Tracklist01. Aerosol Can feat. Pharrell Williams
02. Come On To Me feat. Sean Paul
03. Sound Bang feat. Machel Montano
04. Lose Yourself feat. RDX & Moska
05. Dale Asi feat. Mr. Fox