DJ Snake: Encore
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Posted
September 2, 2016 by J Matthew Cobb
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Pros:
Radio-ready cuts like "Talk," "Sober" and "Let Me Love You" feel like cousins of "Lean On"Cons:
A few tracks try too hard to be different that it slightly comes off as obnoxious ("Pigalle," "Propaganda")Impressive debut disc from DJ Snake comes with international flair, ethereal dance suites
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Impressive debut disc from DJ Snake comes with international flair, ethereal dance suites
The rise of DJ Snake is a narrative that tends to happen a lot for arising EDM stars. They hit the jackpot and run fervently with the momentum. His breakthrough moment happened when he put old school rapper Lil’ Jon back on the saddle again with the verseless hip-hop/trap jam “Turn Down for What.” It was an underground feature that quickly rounded out as one of the requested summer songs of 2014. But it should not be crowned a great song; it lacks mostly all the qualities that matches that ilk. Nevertheless, the French DJ — born William Sami Grigahcine — showed off a colorful exercise of well-rounded international-tinged gems in the months to come, all mastered with a transcendent mood that gives credence to what makes the perfect EDM crossover. First came, the AlunaGeorge-featured “You Know You Like It” and then came the exceptional “Lean On.” That continuum is pretty much carried over on Encore, Snake’s debut solo album and first for Interscope.Encore successfully frames the perspective that Snake needs. The sound is nuanced, evolved, more global-reaching, flirting with the magic of dancefloor glitz and over-the-horizon creativity. “Middle” is the finest example of that experiment, thanks to Bipolar Sunshine‘s dopey pipes and its intergalactic chorus. Then comes “Sober,” a song treasured by its galloping chorus, JRY‘s Adam Levine-esque pipes and catchy lyrics (“Come on, tell me do you want me/Do you need me like drugs need money”).
He does take a chance to wild out in total anarchy, breaking away from any type of convention. On the Skrillex-powered “Sahara.” and the two-part mini-saga of “Pigalle.” The first segment of the latter is wrapped in communal house. It repeats itself after a vortex of bleeps and off-centered beeps is exalted. One may frown at the exodus of sound on that, but DJ Snake knows a decent party always has its ups and downs. Some offerings also possess more of an off-kilter framework, perfect for lightshow extravagance at music festivals (“Propaganda,” “Ocho Cinco”). But the collection is well packaged with good stock, mesmerized by the delicious “Talk,” the thick club swag of “Oh Me Oh My,” the disco-lite sounds of “Future Pt. 2” and the Justin Bieber-guested “Let Me Love You,” where the latter traces the same tempo and world vibes of “Lean On.” And it’s enough to make you scream “encore” for the bubbling producer and disc jockey.
