N.O.R.E. and Isis spit insipid R&B staples on Bounce, and even a cameo from Ghostface Killah fails to buoy the catatonically repetitive progressions that reverberate through all 11 tracks. Vivuvu is pure, unapologetic filler complete with a pretty trite meltdown in the middle, and Heartbreaker is a bland synthetic piano ballad featuring John Legend that doesn’t really add much to the record.
Happily, things pick up after the initial lag, and the album’s titular track finds them back at their blistering best. Despite sounding suspiciously like its predecessor, So Deep is a decent enough offering, featuring Jamal of soul-punk band The Carps – who sings (quite enjoyably) like some bizarre lovechild of J.T. and Fallout Boy – though quite why he warranted a return on throwaway track Breakaway is a bit of a mystery.
Click Click’s electronic metal power chords and old-school rap courtesy of E40 turn it into easily one of the best tracks here. A reprise of 1000 Cigarettes at the end, now featuring Freeway, does a good job of reconciling the record’s different directions and summons the frentic energy that was so sorely lacking from the middle of the album – which is, all in all, passably decent party music, but lacking in the divine touch its title might imply.
MSTRKRFT MP3s or CDs
MSTRKRFT on Spotify
