One of the first records that really got me hooked on all things Dubstep was Skream’s debut – Skream! This album was unlike anything I had heard before and coupled with Burial’s debut I would cite it as having a seriously significant effect on my musical tastes from that moment onwards. Since the first album I, and many others, have eagerly anticipated the follow up. It’s been four years in the making and has a hell of a lot to live up to.
So when I received a copy of Outside The Box I was pretty excited to see what Skream had delivered. Unfortunately, as a whole, I have to say that I’ve been a little disappointed with the results. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing tracks - it’s just that on first listen the album doesn’t deliver the same heavy impact felt on the debut. This might in part be due to the move away from the reggae dub feel of the first album, making use of collabs with artists like Warrior Queen, and towards a more commercially viable sound, collaborating with La Roux and Murs.
I’ve heard that Skream aimed to bring the ‘rave’ back to UK dance music, so with this new album he takes on influences from the sound of those infamous illegal parties of the early '90s held under the London’s orbital. Throughout the album you do get those characteristic ‘hands in the air’ moments and you do get a definite feel of what Skream is trying to accomplish. It’s just that it doesn’t seem to quite work.
Looking at individual tracks, it’s obvious that Skream is an amazing producer. The quality of each track and the way they’re crafted is second to none. The opening of Perferated is genuinely epic, it’s a big synth filled track with no beat and most definitely does get your juices flowing as a proper set up for the body of tracks to follow. The second tune 8 Bit Baby, which features American rapper Murs, does not follow on from the opener in the same impressive way. It simply feels lacking in emotion; if the aim is to ‘get ravey’ this track doesn’t fit the bill.
I don’t want it to seem as though I don’t like the album, because I genuinely do. There are some really stand out tracks that evoke a whole lot of feeling and it can be listened to again and again with ease. How Real is a definite highlight, the computerised vocal and more up-tempo beat coupled with the amazing building of tension had me dancing round the room manically. Other highlights include Listening To Records On My Wall, taking a classic jungle break and transforming it to fit the rave-heavy feel of the album, and the absolutely stunning A Song For Lenny, a grand orchestral piece of music which undoubtedly had a lot poured into it. Skream closes the album with The Epic Last Song, another nod to classic jungle which really does what it says on the tin.
As a whole the album should be approached as a record to be listened to at home, in the car, on the bus etc. It’s not an album of club bangers, the notable exception being the brown-nois inducing Wibbler. The tracks are skilfully put together and the production quality on each one absolutely shines through. The goal that Skream had in mind when putting Outside The Box is evidently clear – to create an epic journey taking on board the past sounds that have really influenced him, I just can’t help feeling that all in all the album falls short.
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