Day 1: Random Album Title by Deadmau5
Today was a very nice sunny day, and probably the last one of the year, so it felt like a perfect day to listen to an Ibiza god. If you are not familiar with Deadmau5(pronounced "dead mouse"), his music is best described as progressive house mixed with electro house. His song structure is very similar to progressive trance, but his sounds are more influenced by electro house. And not all of his music is progressive and trancey, some of his remixes are prime examples of electro house.
The album starts off with "Sometimes Things Get, Whatever," and "Complications," which are more like minimal electro songs, with no real melody, but more of a soothing hypnotic vibe, and they set the feel for the whole album. Then it smoothly shifts into the trancey progressive vibe with "Slip," and from there builds up the energy through more and more complex songs with more melody. The energy keeps building, and reaches its high point at the track "Faxing Berlin." This is the strongest, most emotional part of the album, partially due to the strength of the track itself(it is my favorite Deadmau5 song) and partially due to the incredible build-up that happened during the first 7 songs. From "Faxing Berlin," the energy dies back down, and endes with "So There I Was," another sort of minimal electro track, bringing the mix back to where it started.
As for the mix itself, it is completely seamless. Since it is mixed in the studio, you wouldn't expect any DJ mistakes of course, but the way that he puts the album together is top-notch. The arrangement of the songs is just perfect, and as mentioned, builds the energy up and down, in very subtle ways. It is extremely hard to pause the album at any point, as, while some songs being stronger then others, the way they are mixed makes each vibe perfect, and the vibe is constantly changing. Therefore, each song presents a great, new-feeling vibe. Which is just my theory of why it is such an addicting album, might be somewhat confusing and I am very tired as I write this, so if you don't understand, just disregard that whole thing.
Rating: I will make my rating simple, since I don't want to deliberate over mere decimal points, I will simply rate 2 thumbs up, 1 thumb up, 1 thumb down or 2 thumbs down.
2 thumbs up: I could find no flaw in the album, every song was a new experience and the only way you could grow bored is to listen to it 10 times in a week.
Recommended for: Anyone who likes club music, trance, or house, or anyone looking for a feel-good, but contemplative and inner-looking mix of repetitive, hypnotic music.
Not recommended for: People who dislike repetitive music, think synthesizers are of the devil, or think uplifting melodies are for douchebags.
I'm a dude.