Music Reviews

Abandon Ship

Introduction

I guess I have grown too attached to this cave (And Nala) because I have neglected doing a review on Knife Party's debut album, Abandon Ship, and believe me, this has been LONG OVERDUE.

There has been a majority of speculation and pre-release hype surrounding the album, so much so that it has worked with and against Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, the duo behind Knife Party. Not just that, it was originally due to be released on 27 October 2014. It was then delayed twice and given a final release date of 24 November. Cue the dumb decision by iTunes. They decide to leak the album 2 1/2 weeks early, releasing it in its entirety on 7 November. I have purchased the album and have taken fifty-six (56) minutes out of my life (And 56 minutes that I will never get back because fuck you.) to listen to it in its entirety. In short, it was a doozy.

Now before Nala wakes up to yell at me for blaring this album at a loud volume (I say that because she hates this album as much as I do), let's get down to business and dissect this album. I will not be giving a final score for any of the entries into this series because it's self-explanatory. Also, I will leave you off with a warning. I have included links to all of the songs from the album on YouTube. Listen to these songs at your own discretion. I am not responsible for anything that happens to anyone during or after listening to any of these songs. Don't say that I didn't warn you.

Tracklist

1. Reconnect (1:38) - I'm going to say this only once. There are a few glimmers of hope in this album, and this is one of them. The minute-and-a-half opener to the album is a lovely progressive house track that has an opening monologue that does not bore me to death. Unlike the other tracks on this album, which have a pause in between them before transitioning into the next one, this track immediately segues into the following track. Overall, this should have been released as an official single and have an extended version released in the near future.

2. Resistance (5:12) - So, this is what "Reconnect" segues into? We get this little number that could have used a little bit more work before it got released. The opening is tolerable, but once we hear the famous line "You call that a knife? This is a knife." (A direct line from a 1995 episode of The Simpsons titled "Bart v. Australia.") and the drop hits, all sanity is thrown out the window (Or in my case, out of the cave opening). The drop is what I consider a major factor into my loss of sleep because it plays on repeat over and over again nonstop at times. I do get a minute-and-a-half long break to a nice melody before another drop kicks in and my ears have to suffer through it. Knife Party, if you want my advice, listen up. Listen to your fans, take notes on what they want to hear and what they do not want to hear, and take their suggestions into consideration when producing more music. If you do so, then you MIGHT have a chance at earning some respect and critical acclaim. Until then, have fun with your numerous critics, because they are relentless and are showing no sympathy towards your generic sound. (Hell, I'm being one right now)

3. Boss Mode (3:47) - It can't be a Knife Party album without a little bit of controversy. For those who have not heard, the Korean girl group 4MINUTE was accused of plagiarism in February 2015 when a Korean blogger noted that their song "Crazy" directly plagiarized this track (To listen for yourself, here's the 4MINUTE song.) . Although Rob Swire did not hear a similarity between the two tracks (His tweet about it can be found here.), it still caused a stir in the EDM community. This does not hide the fact that this song is somewhat listenable if you are in the right mood.

With a vocal sample that does get annoying after ten listens, we are treated to a trap track with Middle Eastern influences that make you wonder if you are listening to the same song or not. Also, I might as well mention this: What in God's name was the purpose for the "Slightly Different" portion that lasts for the entire last minute of the song? It makes the first drop sound like a masterpiece. Fortunately, this is the shortest song on the album (If you do not count "Reconnect") and is nothing new for Knife Party.