- The first single to come off Josh Davis’ new album in over 5 years is this beauty. Some may view DJ Shadow’s work as being a little too abstract and that he should stick to the usual Solesides style of output (straight up hip hop), others, such as I, tend to think that his approach to making music is quite mind boggling and at times quite extraordinary.
You Can’t Go Home Again comes off sounding like a ska beat and is the first time I have seen a Radio Edit of a DJ Shadow track (I could easily be wrong though but DJ Shadow tracks and singles are hard to find and usually expensive). You also get it in it’s full form on Side Two so don’t worry. For a beats based ska track this works quite well and DJ shadow demonstrates the form he should have been in when producing the UNKLE album. Complete with drum breaks that would make any drummer proud, 80’s style synthesiser lines and that ska like bass line, it really makes the listener wonder what record(s) he used to create this track.
Treach Battle Beat is the Number Song of 2002, this is the typical DJ Shadow madness that we are familiar with. Power chorded guitar samples add to the aggressive feel of this track and the cut up hip hop samples and beat are enough to make any hip hop producer wince and cower in shame. This is a remix of Walkie Talkie which appears on The Private Press.
Disavowed rides on an electro tip but before you break out the cardboard, Adidas Gazelles and start doing the robot, put them back on the shelf as this baby starts off on a chilled out vibe and then builds up from there reaching a breaks crazy climax before Shadow decides to pull the plug and start the chilled out vibe all over again. This is a typical DJ Shadow production in that he takes different drumbeats and breaks from different records and can make them sound like one drummer.
Letter From Home is a sample of a guy talking about his holiday and buying cars. I wouldn’t call it a track.
You Can’t Go Home Again is more than a return to form for DJ Shadow, for me Josh Davis’ sound is maturing and getting better with each release. Artists like him and our own Avalanches show that hip hop production isn’t always about the funk or an overused James Brown sample, no, for artists like these who everybody classifies as “coming from the left field”, hip hop production is about creating something funky from something already been done.
TracklistSide A:
You Can't Go Home Again (Radio Edit)
Disavowed
Side B:
Treach Battle Beat
You Can't Go Home Again (Album Version)
(Letter From Home)