K.O.B. - Identity Mash Album

Excellent !!! This is Powerful Psychedelic Sound for the Trancefloor and even Very Enjoyable at Home !!! :D <3

3-stars.

Identity Mash has the same issues as the other Suntrip release I reviewed earlier (E-Mantra - Arcana) in that the sound & energy is good for a short while, but the actual musik doesn't go anywhere interesting. It's playing it safe. An example of this is Cousin It, which builds ominously over several minutes with a spooky vibe, the expectation is building too, and then it bails out with tired old acid lines over the same rhythm. Compare & contrast with an example from old-school: Shaolin Wooden Men - Remember The Slime, which has a similar (tho' more varied) build-up before banging with a surprising & exciting climax which took the piece in a different direction. Or Tandu's Alien Pump which for its climax exploded into synth-heaven. Over 20 years later people still enthuse over these records.

New-school goa appears often afraid to take such musical risks so as not to possibly upset the applecart (dancefloor). It's much like prog in this sense. The other issue with a lot of contemporary EDM (psy or otherwise) is that it's become very samey sounding. This isn't just everyone using the same VST's, synth-presets and 303-machines. As competent as Tim Schuldt's mastering is (and as respected as many of his own late-90's productions are) his dominance in the mastering sector is arguably a factor in many productions today sounding similar to each other. The reasons for tight compression, loudness-equalisation, clarity-wideness and kick-presence are understandable: to sound faultless & consistent on big systems. The side-effect appears to be a constant sheen of sameyness, which fatigues the ears somewhat. This 'wall-of-sound' effect is most present on the title track, which climaxes into a mess of competing sounds with no space left for them to breathe.

That's not to say old-school is necessarily full of classics, back then there was a bunch of landfill productions too. Crucially, the highlight/landfill ratio was better back then, and the main reason for this is 'variance'.

*gets back off soapbox* - Identity Mash is ok, let's not put it down too much just because it's part of the trend. There's no weak track per se here. Generally the production of the whole album is good, and there's some experimentation & effort gone into the sounds, helping to create a psychedelic effect. But psychedelia isn't just about layering and randomising sounds, the endgame of it is to build a state of trance using those techniques, and knocking your socks off with a surprise or two. If an entire album lacks this, then it has less chance of being listened to again.

As a listener having a critical ear is useful for getting to the musik you want most, so maybe this long review is also useful for someone out there.

This album is recommended if you enjoy the new-school/new-fullon style & sound. If you're looking for variety, space and world-building, you'll more find this in forest & hi-tech and of course old-school goa.

Ratings guide:
5-stars: outstanding, never gets old, best of the best.
4-stars: very good with plenty highlights, tho' some weaknesses here and there.
3-stars: worth checking out but with reservations.
2-stars: not recommended. Might have potential, it's just not much good.
1-star : everything is skippable, worst of the worst.