I read a ton of stuff about this band before actually listening to the music. Do not take this approach. Rather, take in the music first before looking at a single article about them. According to virtually every article written about them, they are total jerks of the highest (literally) order. Seeing their youtube video of their South by Southwest concert almost convinced me to write them off. Having their music compared to “Dubstep” a musical movement whose charms elude me didn’t exactly encourage me.
Honestly though, the music is surprisingly good. Oh boy, it is dark. No light shines in at any point in the proceedings, these are dense, bleak productions. The sound overwhelms at times in a good way. They know how to make a good song.
Also, they are aware of the history that preceded them. Bits and pieces of that large house sound from the early 90s bleeds through the songs, from the oddly triumphant “King Night” to the almost happy “Redlights”. The bass is absolutely massive. No matter what the song or tempo, the bass reigns supreme through all of these songs.
Sometimes hype does good or bad things. In this case, the hype turned decidedly negative against these guys. That is a shame, because the album is surprisingly solid, and helps to ease someone like me into Witch House and Dubstep, two things I’m usually ambivalent about.